9/5/2018

HOUSE OF REPS/PAUL RYAN/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “TRUMP’S TARIFF CUTS: House lawmakers easily passed legislation on Tuesday [9-4-18] to waive tariffs on roughly 1,700 imported products used by U.S. manufacturers, sending to President Donald Trump’s desk a bill that some of his allies have said undercuts the president’s trade leverage. Supporters of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (H.R. 4318) say the legislation makes U.S. manufacturers more competitive. House Speaker Paul Ryan said the legislation will eliminate ‘costly, needless taxes on key materials that can’t be found in the U.S.’ The MTB waives tariffs on raw materials and intermediate goods used by domestic manufacturers but has been expired since 2012, after it became entangled in the House Republican ban on earmarks. The new process gets around that problem by having the U.S. International Trade Commission vet petitions for tariffs cuts, instead of lawmaker offices.”

Adam Behsudi, “Trump’s tariff cuts,” Politico, September 5, 2018 10:00 am