Business Groups Weigh in with USTR on MTB

On November 5, the Chamber and eleven other business associations sent a letter  to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk warning that USTR opposition to the inclusion of certain tariff-suspension bills in a second Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) could jeopardize passage in the near term of the MTB. USTR has objected to inclusion of roughly 40 duty suspensions for textile and footwear products, arguing that their inclusion could undermine trade negotiations or U.S. trade preference programs. The letter states: "We all share USTR's goals of negotiating strong, market-opening trade agreements and administering fully the U.S. trade preference programs, but we simply do not see any basis through which the MTB process could seriously undermine those objectives." Separately, House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) has signaled publicly that he supports a second MTB advancing in the upcoming lame duck session of Congress.  Several House Republicans opposed the first MTB last summer citing House earmark rules.