Tariff waivers signed into law
Tariff waivers signed into law
This article was published on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 6:11 PM CST in News
By Aaron Sadler
The Morning News
WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Thursday signed into law a wide-ranging bill that included hundreds of tax breaks on imported goods, including some benefiting Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart will save on eliminated or reduced tariffs for clock radios, rubber floor mats and nail clippers among other items.
Broad tax legislation containing 520 tariff suspensions was approved on the last day of Congress' term earlier this month.
Critics of tariff suspensions charge they amount to special-interest legislation benefiting a small number of companies that profit from not having to pay fees on goods they import and then sell to U.S. consumers.
Others, like Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said the practice helps home-state interests and home-state jobs. She sponsored many of the provisions benefiting the giant Bentonville-based corporation.
"The process is a customary practice that is intended to make products that are not domestically produced more affordable to customers," Lincoln said in a statement. "I am happy to help any Arkansas company pass along savings to customers."
Congress passed more than 800 tariff suspension bills during its most recent term, estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Lincoln also sponsored bills to reduce or eliminate tariffs for chemicals used by Ciba Chemicals, with operations in West Memphis, and Eastman Chemical Company, which has a plant in Batesville. Those tariff suspensions also were rolled into the legislation Bush signed into law.
In September, Lincoln backed away from another piece of legislation suspending tariffs on imported dog collars, leashes and muzzles. An upstate New York woman complained to the U.S. International Trade Commission the 2.4 percent tariff reduction could jeopardize her domestic operation. Tariffs are instituted not only as a way to generate revenue, but to also shield American manufacturers from foreign competition. Companies often request tariff suspensions when no domestic manufacturer produces an item.
The bill Bush signed into law suspends tariffs until 2009 for clock radios and AM radios without a clock. Tariffs for certain rubber floor mats and manicure/pedicure sets would fall from 2.7 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, to 1.96 percent.
All four tariff measures were requested by Wal-Mart.
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman did not return a call Wednesday seeking comment.
The clock radio waiver was estimated to cost $855,000 annually in lost federal revenue, while the AM radio suspension will cost less than $3,000 annually, according to trade commission estimates.
Reductions on manicure sets were estimated to cost about $588,000 this year up to $770,000 in 2010. Lost revenue from the floor mat waiver is estimated at $784,000 by 2010.
All content © The Morning News. Unauthorized distribution prohibited.
This article was published on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 6:11 PM CST in News
By Aaron Sadler
The Morning News
WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Thursday signed into law a wide-ranging bill that included hundreds of tax breaks on imported goods, including some benefiting Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart will save on eliminated or reduced tariffs for clock radios, rubber floor mats and nail clippers among other items.
Broad tax legislation containing 520 tariff suspensions was approved on the last day of Congress' term earlier this month.
Critics of tariff suspensions charge they amount to special-interest legislation benefiting a small number of companies that profit from not having to pay fees on goods they import and then sell to U.S. consumers.
Others, like Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said the practice helps home-state interests and home-state jobs. She sponsored many of the provisions benefiting the giant Bentonville-based corporation.
"The process is a customary practice that is intended to make products that are not domestically produced more affordable to customers," Lincoln said in a statement. "I am happy to help any Arkansas company pass along savings to customers."
Congress passed more than 800 tariff suspension bills during its most recent term, estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Lincoln also sponsored bills to reduce or eliminate tariffs for chemicals used by Ciba Chemicals, with operations in West Memphis, and Eastman Chemical Company, which has a plant in Batesville. Those tariff suspensions also were rolled into the legislation Bush signed into law.
In September, Lincoln backed away from another piece of legislation suspending tariffs on imported dog collars, leashes and muzzles. An upstate New York woman complained to the U.S. International Trade Commission the 2.4 percent tariff reduction could jeopardize her domestic operation. Tariffs are instituted not only as a way to generate revenue, but to also shield American manufacturers from foreign competition. Companies often request tariff suspensions when no domestic manufacturer produces an item.
The bill Bush signed into law suspends tariffs until 2009 for clock radios and AM radios without a clock. Tariffs for certain rubber floor mats and manicure/pedicure sets would fall from 2.7 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, to 1.96 percent.
All four tariff measures were requested by Wal-Mart.
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman did not return a call Wednesday seeking comment.
The clock radio waiver was estimated to cost $855,000 annually in lost federal revenue, while the AM radio suspension will cost less than $3,000 annually, according to trade commission estimates.
Reductions on manicure sets were estimated to cost about $588,000 this year up to $770,000 in 2010. Lost revenue from the floor mat waiver is estimated at $784,000 by 2010.
All content © The Morning News. Unauthorized distribution prohibited.
posted by Walking Contradiction at 9:09 PM
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