On May 10, Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) announced that the U.S. Senate has passed the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act, legislation he recently introduced along with Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Richard Burr (R-NC), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) to help American manufacturers. The legislation is based on a measure originally introduced by Portman and McCaskill last year. The House passed this measure on April 27, and with Senate passage is now ready for the president’s signature.

“This bipartisan jobs bill embraces and builds on the work that Senator McCaskill and I have done over the last few years, and I’m pleased it’s now ready for the president’s signature. This measure will reform this tariff process in order help our manufacturers reduce costs, create jobs, and compete in the global market,” said Portman. “I have worked hard to help Ohio manufacturers who face unfair foreign competition, and this measure is consistent with those efforts by ensuring our business and workers don’t have to pay unnecessary and anticompetitive taxes. As a result, these reforms will boost our manufacturers, grow wages, and create more jobs.”

NOTE: The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) along with 185 associations and companies, including the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, has urged Congress to support quick action for ongoing efforts to move forward with a new Miscellaneous Tariff Bill process.

This legislation is a bipartisan effort to reform the process for the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) while providing a path forward to passing needed tariff relief for American manufacturers who depend on hard to access inputs.

The MTB provides tariff relief for U.S. companies that need to import product inputs from abroad because there is no U.S. manufacturer. Often the products are specialized chemicals or fibers that are needed to make high tech finished goods. In these cases, tariff relief can mean the difference between manufacturing in the U.S. and relocating abroad.