Pennsylvania manufacturers join NAM in urging Congress to pass tariff bill

A number of Pennsylvania manufacturers joined the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Thursday in urging Congress to pass the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill currently being considered.

Citing losses over the past three years, NAM and nearly 200 manufacturers and industry partners – including the Lancaster Chamber, Greater Reading Chamber Alliance, Hershey Company, the Northeast PA Manufacturers & Employers Association – asked Congress to pass the legislation that expired in 2020. The previous MTB was passed in 2018. The MTB temporarily eliminates or reduces tariffs on products not readily available in the United States and is typically renewed every few years, NAM said.

Not having the MTB puts U.S. manufacturers at a disadvantage, the group said. Since the MTB expired, a NAM analysis found, manufacturer and other businesses have paid more than $1.4 billion in tariffs to get materials they are unable to source in the United States.

“Congress can reverse course by passing the MTB through 2026 with meaningful retroactivity and reauthorizing future MTB cycles without broad and arbitrary restrictions that would be difficult to implement,” the NAM and partner groups said in a letter to Congressional leaders. “Congressional passage of the MTB will spur growth: according to the U.S. International Trade Commission, tariff relief under the previous MTB boosted U.S. GDP annually by as much as $3.3 billion and output annually by as much as $6.3 billion.”

Without the MTB, the group said, overseas manufacturers have a competitive advantage which costs American jobs and adds more expense to the American taxpayer through increased prices on manufactured goods.

“If Congress is serious about supporting manufacturers and workers in the United States, they must prioritize the passage of the MTB by the end of this year,” NAM Director of Trade Facilitation Policy Ali Aafedt said.