NWRA urges Congress to pass tariff relief legislation

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, Virginia, joined with other associations on a letter urging Congress to pass the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) by the end of the year. The association says the bill temporarily reduces or suspends tariffs on goods not made domestically or that are not available in sufficient quantities in the United States. 

The previous MTB expired in 2020 and, since then, manufacturers and other businesses have been paying $1.3 million per day in anti-competitive tariffs, the NWRA says.

“As manufacturers and businesses work to lead the U.S. economic recovery in the face of supply constraints, shipping challenges, rising prices and other COVID-19-related issues, Congress can lift one hurdle by passing the MTB,” says Darrell Smith, president and CEO of the NWRA. “The MTB supports manufacturers and other sectors in the U.S. and the workers they employ. We urge Congress to pass this important legislation.”

Based on analyses by the National Association of Manufacturers, the MTB would eliminate import tariffs of more than $1.5 billion over three years with full retroactivity to January 2021. NWRA says this would bolster manufacturers and other businesses in the United States, especially small and medium-sized manufacturers. 

The NWRA says this tariff relief translates into U.S. economic growth. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, tariff relief under the previous MTB boosted U.S. gross domestic product by $3.3 billion and output by $6.3 billion annually.

In 2018, the MTB passed both chambers of Congress unanimously, and in June 2021, the Senate voted by a margin of 91-4 to include the MTB and other trade priorities in the United States Innovation and Competition Act.