President Obama late last week signed legislation to eliminate tariffs on materials that aren't available domestically, which could save manufacturers millions.
The American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act was signed into law Friday after overwhelmingly moving through Congress in recent weeks.
The bill includes a provision to establish a Miscellaneous Tariff Bill process for the first time since the previous program expired at the end of 2012.
Under the MTB, the U.S. International Trade Commission would consider whether products are available domestically and, if not, recommend to Congress that tariffs on those imports be eliminated.
Plastics industry trade group SPI estimated that after the previous process expired, U.S. companies faced $748 million in additional annual manufacturing costs. The group tallied the total cost to the U.S. economy at more than $1.8 billion.
"This bill is about strengthening manufacturing jobs," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said after the measure was sent to the president's desk. "It’s about making sure our U.S. manufacturers don’t pay extra costs or extra taxes."
After the Senate passed the bill in early May, Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., alleged that "Congress never should have allowed this process to lapse" and that the bill would "finally begin to provide the support our American manufacturers and workers deserve."
The ITC is expected to begin accepting petitions under the new MTB process in October.
