Letter
Dear Chairs Smith and Wyden and Ranking Members Neal and Crapo:
The undersigned organizations, representing a broad swath of the American agriculture supply chain, urge you to pass a Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) as soon as possible this year. Choosing not to renew the MTB will lead to economic challenges for U.S. agriculture – from business to farmers and consumers.
The MTB temporarily reduces or eliminate tariffs on products that are not available in the United States. Unfortunately, the MTB has been expired since December 2020, which means U.S. businesses and their customers have paid over $1.5 billion in anti-competitive tariffs. The lack of a renewal is harming manufacturers of all domestic industries, significantly raising costs and impacting products and jobs and especially impacting small and medium-sized businesses as they pay more for product inputs. A renewed MTB would mean lower input prices and decreased price pressures for U.S. farmers, ranchers, and consumers.
For example, within the U.S. agriculture supply chain, for agricultural chemical companies the MTB reduces import duties on intermediate inputs that are not available or not available in sufficient quantities domestically which helps reduces domestic production costs of the final product. The MTB can save agricultural chemical companies a range of $2 million to $89 million per year when enacted – savings that now turn into costs that can have a ripple effect on farmers, businesses, and consumers. Without the savings from the MTB, it could lead to increased prices of final agricultural commodities, raising the cost of food and jeopardizing global competitiveness. Or it could lead to less use of inputs and, without the use of pesticides, farmers can lose up to 80% of their crops annually due to pests and disease. The U.S. agriculture chemical industry would also become less competitive as these savings are no longer being invested into strengthening U.S. manufacturing and research and development.
A renewed MTB means lower input prices and decreased price pressures for U.S. farmers, ranchers, and consumers. It is vital that the MTB passes this year to support American agriculture supply chain.
Sincerely,
Agribusiness Association of Iowa
Agribusiness Council of Indiana
Agricultural Council of Arkansas
Agricultural Retailers Association
AmericanHort
American Farm Bureau Federation
American Seed Trade Association
American Soybean Association
Animal Health Institute
California Specialty Crops Council
Corn Refiners Association
CropLife America
Florida Fertilizer and Agrochemical Association
Georgia Agribusiness Council
Illinois Corn Growers Association
Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association
International Fresh Produce Association
Minnesota Crop Production Retailers
National Association of Landscape Professionals
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
National Association of Wheat Growers
National Corn Growers Association
National Cotton Council
National Pork Producers Council
Nebraska Soybean Association
North Carolina Farm Bureau
North Dakota Grain Growers Association
Ohio AgriBusiness Association
RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment)
Rocky Mountain Agribusiness Association
Society of American Florists
South Dakota Agri-Business Association
Southern Crop Production Association
Texas Ag Industries Association
USA Rice
Washington State Potato Commission
Western Growers
Wisconsin Agri-Business Association
Contact Information
Sender:
Agricultural Coalition
Subject:
Miscellaneous Tariff Bill
