NEMA Urges Congress to Finish Chinese Packages Compromise Minus de Minimis Changes
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association is asking House and Senate leadership to "expeditiously advance" a compromise China package by resolving differences between the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) and the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength (America Competes) Act.
CEO Debra Phillips wrote that NEMA supports the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill and Generalized System of Preferences benefits program renewals in USICA, and the requirement to reinstate previously approved product exclusions under the Section 301 action against Chinese imports. "However, NEMA has concerns about the nature of the Section 301 exclusions process put in place under the previous Administration and urges you to restart and reform this process in a way that has clear eligibility standards for companies, is transparent, and is fair to all who apply," the letter says.
The trade group opposes the House bill's changes to de minimis. "NEMA companies rely on this program to import essential electrical and medical-imaging components used to support U.S. jobs and U.S. manufacturing. Changes to this program require robust consideration by Congress and a further evaluation of the provisions’ potential impact on the availability of core components for the electrical and medical-imaging supply chains. We urge Congress to delay inclusion of this provision in the conference process and pursue further information-gathering activities to better understand its potential impact," the letter said.
NEMA also asked for federal dollars to manufacture "transistors, diodes, and other components which are critical to manufacturing many electrical products and are not currently available from U.S. sources."
The group said the conference needs to get done soon, "[g]iven the urgency of supply-chain disruptions, inflationary pressures affecting all aspects of the U.S. manufacturing value chain, long lead times needed for manufacturing investments, and robust support provided in this legislation for critical component industries such as semiconductors."