Relief for North Carolina’s Manufacturers Passes the House: the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) Act of 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Mark Walker (R-N.C.) today released the following statement after the passage of H.R. 4318, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) Act of 2018 in a 402-0 vote:

'After we delivered on our promise to cut taxes on hardworking families and businesses, we have seen a wave of wage increases, bonuses, and increased investment, along with record-breaking levels of economic growth. That is the power of the government ending harmful tax policies and promoting efforts that reward hard work and personal freedom. Today, we continued that progress by passing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act, legislation that will help manufacturers in North Carolina continue to grow, hire, and invest in our state.'

To learn more about this legislation, please read the information below or here in a release from January 15th.

This bill is the result of efforts by Walker and Members of the House Ways and Means Committee in the 114th Congress on H.R. 4923, the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act - legislation that revived and reformed a process for American businesses to apply for a suspension of harmful tariffs on materials that are needed, but not made in the United States.

Part of that process is for businesses to petition the independent, non-partisan International Trade Commission (ITC), and following review and rejection based on any request that would impact a U.S. producer, the ITC reports the petitions to Congress for consideration as legislation. The collection of those petitions is the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) Act of 2018.

'[Walker] was the champion for this,' Leib Oehmig, President and Chief Operating Officer of Glen Raven Inc. in Glen Raven, N.C., said. (See Oehmig's full testimony to Congress in a 2016 hearing here.)

SEE RELATED: Local Business Praises Walker for His Work on the Passage of the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act

To learn more about the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act, watch the video below which features Vern Hawkins, President of Crop Protection at Syngenta in Greensboro, N.C., explaining the economic impact these tariffs have on their business and the North Carolina economy.

Looking at the MTB petitions that make up the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) Act of 2018, one thing is clear, North Carolina is a big winner. The legislations consists of 1,686 petitions - American manufacturers who need to purchase materials for production that are not available in the United States. Of those 333 petitions, 19.75%, are manufacturers in North Carolina, more than any other state. That represents a savings of $71 million in 2018, also the most in the nation.

Examples of manufacturers in North Carolina's 6th congressional district who will be impacted by this legislation are:

• Syngenta of Greensboro, N.C. | 47 petitions representing $13.7 million
• Glen Raven Inc. of Glen Raven, N.C. | 9 petitions representing $6.4 million
• Revlon Inc. of Oxford, N.C. | 4 petitions representing $1.9 million
• BGF Industries Inc. of Greensboro, N.C. | 2 petitions representing $445,900

These needless taxes, which do nothing to support the production of American products, drive up production costs and ultimately the final costs of the product being manufactured. This relief will help North Carolina's manufacturers free up their resources, hire more employees and grow overall business in our local communities.

Manufacturing represents more than one-fifth of North Carolina's total output and employs more than 10% of the state's workforce.