WASHINGTON DC – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Vice President for Global Trade Policy Tiffany Smith today issued a statement on behalf of the Tariff Reform Coalition (TRC) following the introduction in the House of legislation to reform Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962:
“The Tariff Reform Coalition welcomes the bipartisan introduction of the Congressional Trade Authority Act by Rep. Gallagher and Rep. Beyer. The last five years have demonstrated the need for fundamental reform of the authority granted to the President under Section 232. This legislation makes several important changes to Section 232, including making the Secretary of Defense responsible for the investigations into the effect of imports on U.S. national security.
“Importantly, it also creates much needed predictability for U.S. businesses by ensuring that exclusions are available to all importers of a given product, setting a maximum three-year window for 232 duties to be in place, and transferring the process of reviewing and granting exclusion requests to the International Trade Commission in conjunction with new guidelines to provide greater transparency to those seeking exclusions.
“We applaud Representatives Gallagher’s and Beyer’s leadership in spearheading this commonsense update to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and we urge Congress to pass this important legislation.”
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About the NFTC
The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) is the premier business association advancing trade and tax policies that support access to the global marketplace. Founded in 1914, NFTC promotes an open, rules-based global economy on behalf of a diverse membership of U.S.-based businesses.
