AFS Government Affairs Representative—Waterman & Assoc., Washington, D.C. Democrats to Unveil Manufacturing Agenda
Possible measures include Buy American provisions, fair trade act and currency manipulation bill.
with the backing of organized labor. Following are a few of the measures included in the agenda: • National Manufacturing Strategy Act (HR 4692) Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D- Ill.). This passed bill proposes the U.S. government promote policies related to the nation’s manufacturing sector.
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• Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (HR 2378) Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio). Calls for the administering authority to determine whether the exchange rate of an exporting country’s currency is fun- damentally and actionably misaligned against the U.S. dollar.
• Trade Reform, Accountability, Develop- ment and Employment (TRADE) Act (HR 3012) Rep. Michael Michaud (D- Maine). Requires a biennial review of free trade agreements between the U.S. and foreign countries to evaluate their economic, environmental, national security, health and safety.
• Buy American Improvement Act (HR 4351) Rep. Lipinski. Aimed at elimi- nating loopholes in existing domestic sourcing laws.
• Reciprocal Government Procurement with China Creates American Jobs
key group of U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers from primarily industrial states have put together a manufacturing agenda,
Act (HR 5312) Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich.). Limits the total value of Chinese goods that may be procured by the U.S. government during a calendar year to not more than the total value of U.S. goods procured by the Chinese Government.
• Security in Energy and Manufac- turing Act of 2010 (SEAM Act) (HR 5041) Rep. Phil Hare (D-Ill.). Would allocate $5 billion of grants or tax credits to U.S. manufacturers of goods and components used in alternative energy projects.
• Reciprocal Market Access Act of 2009 (HR 3786) Rep. Louise Slaughter (D- N.Y.). Aimed at enhancing recipro- cal market access for U.S. domestic producers in the negotiating process of bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements.
• 21st Century Buy American Act (HR
4553) Rep. Christopher Murphy (D- Conn.). Meant to provide greater transparency regarding exceptions to domestic sourcing requirements Opposition is growing to a few of
these measures, particularly the Buy American provisions and currency ma- nipulation bill. Passing a comprehensive manufacturing package will be chal- lenging. It is likely that one or more of these bills will be attached to another must-pass piece of legislation.
MC
On the Hill WASHINGTON ALERT
OSHA to Issue New NEP Program The U.S. Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) expects to finalize a new primary metals indus- try national emphasis program (NEP) no later than October 2010. The NEP will address the following safety and health issues: material handling and storage; lockout/tag out; machine guard- ing; hazard assessments, including the selection and use of personal protective equipment, fire/explosion hazards asso- ciated with molten metal and emergency action plans; air contaminants; review of all safety and health programs; and ergonomic hazards.
China Currency Manipulation Debated In July, the U.S. Department of
Treasury declined to name China as a manipulator in its biannual re- port to U.S. Congress on currency. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) blasted the report and has vowed to push leg- islation on the Senate floor that could lead to higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. Schumer’s legislation would allow the U.S. to consider currency values in assessing anti-subsidy duties.
Superfund Tax Proposed In June, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson called on Congress to reinstate the Superfund Tax, which expired in 1995, to pay for the cleanup of the nation’s contaminated sites. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) has
introduced legislation to reinstate the tax at the following rates: a $0.97 per barrel tax on imported crude oil, an ex- cise tax ranging from $0.22 to $4.87 per ton on 42 chemicals used as feedstock in many manufactured products, an imported chemical derivative tax on imported chemicals that contain or use any of the 42 feedstock chemicals, and a broad-based Corporate Environmental Income Tax (CEIT) of 0.12% on taxable corporate profits in excess of $2 million. A similar measure is pending in
the House, sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.). The proposals are expected to raise more than $19 billion over 10 years. Forty percent of the Superfund Tax revenues are estimated to come from the CEIT. MC
The Democrat’s manufacturing agenda is aimed at returning manufacturing jobs to the U.S. MODERN CASTING / August 2010 17
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