John Engler, President of the National Association of Manufacturers, commented after President Obama signed H.R. 4380, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, into law:

President Obama signs H.R. 4380, Miscellaneous Tariff Bill.

“Manufacturers are pleased that President Obama signed the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill into law today, which will provide a needed boost to both large and small companies. The NAM has been working relentlessly to educate Congress on the importance of this bill and how it will preserve and expand good American jobs. This legislation will also cut the costs of doing business in the United States and boost American manufacturing exports. In fact, studies show that these provisions can increase production by $4.6 billion and support almost 90,000 jobs.” 

President Obama greeted our attendees at the White House signing ceremony, Ryan Modlin and Doug Goudie, thanking them for the NAM’s efforts on behalf of the bill. Likewise, Mr. President. Thank you. 

• White House blog, “Another Step for American Manufacturing,” with video.
• Transcript of President’s remarks.
• Bloomberg, “Obama Signs Law to Suspend Duties on Imports of Products Not Made in U.S.“
• Washington Times, “Obama signs tariffs bill to aid manufacturers“
• Reuters, “Obama signs bill to ease U.S. manufacturers’ costs“

The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill extends the temporary reductions or elimination of tariffs on materials, chemicals and other items used in U.S. manufacturing but not available here in the United States. It’s traditionally a very popular bill that passes overwhelmingly when standing on its own. (Shopfloor, “Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, a Popular History.”) Still, we appreciate the extra attention the legislation received this year for sharpening the policy focus on the importance of trade and exports to reviving the U.S. economy, especially the manufacturing sector. (continue reading…)

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Commerce Peter Perez in front of the White House piano he helped restore in the early '90s. (Photo: Ryan Modlin)

Ryan Modlin, NAM’s vice president for government relations, attended today’s White House bill signing ceremony and got to talking with Peter M. Perez, the new deputy assistant secretary for manufacturing in the International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

Peter is former CEO of the family-owned Carter Products Co. in Grand Rapids, Mich., and a former board member of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Along with running the family-owned business, Peter also had a distinguished career in the manufacturing of musical instruments. He served as president of the Elkhart, Ind.-based Conn-Selman Inc. and Waltham, Mass.-based Steinway Musical Instruments Inc. Steinway!

And as a matter of fact, Peter told Ryan, some 20 years or so ago he helped refurbish the piano being played at today’s White House ceremony.

Steinway has more info on the instrument:

The second White House piano was built and presented to President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938 to commemorate the production of Steinway’s 300,000th piano. The new piano, designed by New York architect Eric Gugler, was more than nine feet long, with a case of Honduran mahogany and gold leaf by artist Dunbar Beck. Last renovated in 1992 during the administration of George H. W. Bush, the piano remains today in the East Room of the White House.

Small world! And judging from the music we heard on television, job well done, too.  Congratulations all the way around, Peter.

President Obama will host a White House bill-signing ceremony at 2:50 p.m. today  to sign H.R. 4380, the United States Manufacturing Enhancement Act, more commonly known as the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill.

This bill reduces tariffs for materials and chemicals that are essential for U.S. manufacturing processes but are not made or otherwise available in the United States. As the National Association of  Manufacturers’ “Key Vote” letter summarized:

The MTB is one of the most important short-term actions Congress can take to preserve and expand good American jobs, cut the costs of doing business in the United States and boost American manufacturing exports. U.S. manufacturers large and small use the MTB’s tariff suspension provisions to obtain raw materials, proprietary inputs and other products that are not available in our nation.

Without the MTB, the cost of these companies’ products will inevitably increase, forcing them to pass higher costs on to consumers and making their products less competitive. These higher costs translate into lost jobs for American workers.

Passage of the bill was complicated this year by political disputes over the nature of “earmarks” in the House, but H.R. 4380 still passed handily, 378-43, on July 21. The legislation’s signing into law today is terrific news for manufacturers and America’s workers.

But it is just one piece of a pro-jobs, pro-growth agenda. Depicting the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill as the foundation of a trade or manufacturing strategy is overselling it. For one thing, the legislation is about continuing tariff reductions about specific products and materials coming into the United States. The bill has never been controversial before and if considered by itself always elicits overwhelming votes of support. (See accompanying post, “Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, a Popular History.”)

More importantly, the bill does not address the lowering of trade barriers to U.S. exports shipped to foreign markets. Ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States, and U.S.-based companies have to compete to sell goods and services to those billions of people. That’s why it’s essential to enact agreements to lower tariffs and other barriers to U.S. exports, pacts such as the pending Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama and Korea, then the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and multilateral agreements like the Doha round of the WTO.

President Obama has set a goal of doubling U.S. exports within five years, an ambitious goal that will require action on numerous fronts. The NAM recently released its “Blueprint to Double Exports in Five Years to detail the many steps — including major policy action — that Congress and the Administration must take to achieve the worthy, jobs-creating goal.

The President can be expected to highlight manufacturing and trade at the bill signing ceremony this afternoon, and manufacturers are delighted the tariff reduction bill will become law. And after that ….more work to do.

With the President set to sign H.R. 4380, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, into law this afternoon, we thought a history of how previous Congresses and Administrations have handled the bill might be useful.

The bill has never been controversial before and, if its provisions are considered independently, has always elicited overwhelming votes of support.

In 1996, H.R.3815, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 1996, was introduced on July 16 and President Clinton signed it into law on October 11. It passed both the House and Senate on voice votes and through unanimous consent, respectively.

In 1999, H.R.435, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 1999, was introduced on February 2, passed the House a week later on a vote of 414-1, and the conference agreement was adopted by the House in June by a vote of 375-1. President Clinton signed it into law on June 25, 1999.

In 2003 and 2004, the successor legislation was H.R.1047, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004. It was introduced on March 4, 2003, passed the House March 5, 2003 by a vote of 415-11, got hung up in the Senate but eventually passed on unanimous consent and was signed into law by President Bush on December 3, 2004.

In 2006, the process was complicated as the miscellaneous tariff provisions were included in other major pieces of legislation. As the American Apparel and Footwear Association summarized it: “During 2006, Congress cleared two separate measures containing miscellaneous trade and tariff measures, including duty suspensions on a range of interests to AAFA members relating to apparel, footwear and textile components. These bills included the pension bill (H.R. 4) that was signed by President Bush in early August 2006 and the omnibus trade bill (H.R. 6406) that was signed by President Bush in December 2006. ”

The pension bill, H.R. 4, including a section entitled the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2006, was introduced July 28, 2006, passed the House the same day by 279-131, passed the Senate on August 3 by a vote of 93-5, and was signed into law by President Bush on August 17. The second bill, H.R. 6406, was introduced in the House on December 7, 2006, passed on December 8 by a vote of 212-184 and then folded into H.R. 6111, which was signed into law by President Bush on Dec. 20, 2006.

Bottom line: Enactment of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill is a big deal and a good thing, but its provisions have never been controversial and Presidents have always gladly signed it into law. We’re glad too.

John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, explains how important passage of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill was to manufacturers in the United States and urges President Obama to sign the bill quickly. From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Manufacturing needs law suspending tariffs“: “Studies show that if enacted, these provisions would increase production by $4.6 billion and support almost 90,000 jobs. Without these tariff reductions, the cost of manufacturers’ products will inevitably increase, forcing them to pass higher costs on to consumers and making their products less competitive.”

Donald Lambro of Human Events, interviews business leaders including Engler about what policies are necessary to revive the U.S. economy. The main piece is “Obama’s Economic Faux Pas Finally Recognized,” and Lambro’s blog post, “Business Leaders Explain How to Create Jobs” reviews the policies recommended by Engler, Frederick W. Smith, chairman and chief executive of Fedex Corp., the National Association of Wholesalers and Distributors, U.S. Chamber Of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Business, Lawrence Kudlow, Wall Street economist and CNBC business analyst, and Arthur B. Laffer, chairman of Laffer Associates.

Larry Kudlow, National Review Online, “The Washington War on Investment“: “Geithner tries to make a deficit-reduction argument, saying that extending tax cuts for the wealthy will cost $700 billion over the next ten years. But the real debate in advance of the Erskine Bowles deficit commission, which will restructure budget and tax reform, is about a one-year extension of the Bush tax cuts. That’s priced at $30 billion by the White House, about the same as the new bill to aid state and local governments. Which policy would help growth more?”

Thomas F. Siems, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Wall Street Journal, “Government and the Uncertainty Trap“: “Consumers, investors and business leaders are nervous and uncertain regarding the economic outlook, the legislation newly passed and proposed, and how federal, state and local governments will manage public finances. This uncertainty is inhibiting spending and investment and leading to slower economic growth. In short, there is a crisis of confidence in America.”

Praising the House last week for passing  H.R. 4380, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, re-dubbed the United States Manufacturing Enhancement Act, the National Association of Manufacturers also expressed hope that the bipartisan margin of passage, 478-43, would encourage swift action by the Senate.

It did!

The Senate approved the bill on a unanimous consent motion Tuesday evening. It now goes to the President for his signature.

Tuesday was a big news day, so Senate action made only modest news. Rest assured, it’s big news for many, many manufacturers. (More commentary later at Shopfloor.)

Thank you to the Senate.

As previewed last week, House Democratic leadership has scheduled several bills this week to emphasize the caucus’ commitment to the manufacturing economy. On the weekly floor schedule are pieces of the House “Make it in America” agenda:

The first bill creates a Clean Energy Technology Manufacturing and Export Assistance Fund in the Department of Commerce. The second calls for establishment of a President’s Manufacturing Strategy Board to research and propose a manufacturing strategy every four years.

Last week, the House passed H.R. 4380, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, which had been redubbed the U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement. The measure passed with strong bipartisan support, and the NAM issued a statement lauding its passage.

Anticipating this week’s emphasis on manufacturing, President John Engler of the National Association of Manufacturers has taped a video message, urging Congress to act on the NAM’s “Manufacturing Strategy for Jobs and a Competitive America.”

Excerpt:

The National Association of Manufacturers appreciates the fact that the House will spend the last week of July talking about the manufacturing economy. But it’s not enough…it’s simply not enough. (continue reading…)

Speaker of the House Steny Hoyer (D-MD) joined other Democrats Thursday at a news conference to promote next week’s legislative emphasis on manufacturing, the “Make it in America” agenda. Rep. Hoyer issued a statement on next week’s agenda, and majority leader’s website now lists the bills that constitute it. Excerpt from the statement:

“Make it in America” is a new legislative initiative from House Democrats to increase American manufacturing and create new American jobs.  The American public strongly supports a renewed focus on American manufacturing. This effort builds on House Democrats’ actions since the start of the Great Recession to create jobs and lay the foundation for a strong economy.

“Make it in America” bills that have passed the House:  

• U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement Act 
• Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success (SECTORS) Act 

“Make it in America” bills that are scheduled to come to the House Floor the week of July 26th, 2010: 

• National Manufacturing Strategy Act 
• Clean Energy Technology Manufacturing and Export Assistance Act
• End the Trade Deficit Act 

We thought it might be helpful to provide more context on the bills as well as the NAM’s position where applicable. On the already enacted legislation, then:

• The U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement Act is H.R. 4380, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, was introduced last December and recently given the new, manufacturing-evoking title. The National Association of Manufacturers supported passage with a “Key Vote” letter and lauded House action with a statement.
•  The SECTORS Act is H.R. 1855, introduced by Rep. Dave Loebsback (D-IA) in April 2009, was referrred to committee, never had a hearing, and then re-emerged earlier this month for the floor vote. The bill authorizes the Department of Labor to award competitive grants for worker training in high-demand and emerging industries. The National Association of Manufacturers supports skills training, generally, but House action on this bill came unexpectedly.

On next week’s bills: (continue reading…)

The arguments on the substance — economic activity, jobs — won the day, as the House just passed H.R. 4380, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. The roll call vote is here.

The National Association of Manufacturers sent a Key Vote letter in support of the bill. Glad it helped!

The National Association of Manufacturers has sent a Key Vote letter to House members urging a yes vote on H.R. 4380, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. Excerpt:

The MTB is one of the most important short-term actions Congress can take to preserve and expand good American jobs, cut the costs of doing business in the United States and boost American manufacturing exports. U.S. manufacturers large and small use the MTB’s tariff suspension provisions to obtain raw materials, proprietary inputs and other products that are not available in our nation.

Without the MTB, the cost of these companies’ products will inevitably increase, forcing them to pass higher costs on to consumers and making their products less competitive. These higher costs translate into lost jobs for American workers.

The MTB process is wholly transparent and open to the public. Each proposed duty suspension is subject to a meticulous and non-partisan vetting process to ensure that no domestic producers of the affected product exist. The International Trade Commission, U.S. Commerce Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Management and Budget and the congressional committees of jurisdiction collaborate to review each proposed duty suspension.

Transparent, reviewed by the Executive Branch and Legislative Branch alike, and benefiting no one congressional district: The tariff suspensions are not earmarks under any usual understanding of the term.

The letter notes that a July 2009 study by the economist, Andrew Szamosszegi of Capital Trade, Inc. concluded that enactment of the tariff bill would increase U.S. production by $4.6 billion while supporting nearly 90,000 jobs.

Unfortunately, the bill has been placed on the House suspensions calendar, where a two-thirds vote is necessary for passage. Fortunately, the case for the bill is so strong that that margin is attainable.

The NAM uses Key Vote letters to determine a member of Congress’ voting record on manufacturing issues.

UPDATE (4 p.m.): Another sound argument for the MTB legislation from Daren Coppock, president and CEO of the Agricultural Retailers Association, at the Hill’s Congress Blog, “Congress: Here’s a commonsense way to save jobs and fuel the economy.”