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Bill may add taxes on imports

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 6/7/2007 1:18:00 PM

Washington-- A bipartisan quartet of Congressmen today introduced legislation that would levy a border tax on imported goods unless the U.S. Trade Representative negotiates with other countries to end their border taxes onU.S.exports as well as tax rebates to their own manufacturers.

The Border Tax Equity Act was sponsored by Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME) and Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC). The sponsors argue U.S. producers and services providers face a $379 billion trade disadvantage due to foreign border-adjusted taxes on U.S. goods, as well as value-added taxes (VAT).

Further, proponents of the bill note that while World Trade Organization rules do not allow the United States to rebate the corporate taxes its exporters pay, the majority of U.S. trading partners still do so under an exemption in the WTO rules. Under the proposed legislation, if the US Trade Representative fails to negotiate a remedy by an as-yet unspecified date, the federal government will issue rebates to U.S. exporters equal to the amount of taxes they've paid on their goods to an importing nation. It will also levy new taxes on goods being imported into the United States .

"I strongly support fair trade, but it needs to be on a level playing field," said Jones. "Differential treatment of direct and indirect taxes under international trade rules puts U.S. producers at a profound disadvantage."

The action is being supported by the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, the AFL - CIO and the United States Business and Industry Council.

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