Senate Formula Tariff Waiver Gets Cool Reception in House

The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee's Trade Subcommittee, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., the lead sponsor of a bill to remove tariffs on imported formula until Nov. 14, said that the Senate bill that would remove both tariffs and quotas for 90 days will not be something the House will take up when it returns to Washington in two weeks (see 2205250013).

"If you look at it, there isn't the full detail that we had. It isn't something that is likely to be implementable," he said in a brief interview in the Capitol June 24. He said he's talked to staffers in the Senate, and they think his bill is a better foundation for action.

"We'll be massaging this over the next couple of weeks, but I think the ultimate approach will mirror the approach that we've given on the House side." Blumenauer said he thinks a bill to temporarily lift tariffs could get through the House and Senate in two weeks.

Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., who co-sponsored the bill, and who is the top Republican on the Trade Subcommittee, said he's gauging members' interest in a temporary tariff waiver (see 2206220047). "I want to keep an open mind on how we can address things both short term, and long term as well, " he said at the Capitol.