The Center for Individual Freedom ("CFIF") this week joined a coalition on a letter, organized by the National Taxpayers Union, urging Congress to create a path forward for Miscellaneous Trade Bills (MTBs). 

 Read the full letter below.

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September 11, 2015

On behalf our organizations’ members across the country, we urge you to create a path forward for Miscellaneous Trade Bills (MTBs) in H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015.

MTBs allow Congress to reduce tariffs, which are nothing more than taxes on American consumers and businesses. While we would prefer broader, more comprehensive approaches to tariff reductions, MTBs have long served as a bipartisan approach to lessening the burden of government and increasing economic growth. Indeed, since they provide relief from tariffs on highly-sought finished goods and raw materials brought into the United States, MTBs deliver advantages to our consumers and businesses above all others. Congress should not allow this opportunity to pass it by once again. It should pass legislation that allows for permanent tariff reductions on as many product categories as possible.

At the same time, Congress must ensure that MTBs do not give undue consideration to special interests in Washington. To that end, the House and Senate should reform the process so that individual companies request tariff relief from the International Trade Commission, rather than appealing directly to Members of Congress. This would greatly benefit taxpayers by increasing transparency and accountability. Additionally, Congress should ensure that the ITC does not use MTBs to reward or deny tariff relief based on political considerations.

Congress has not passed an MTB package since 2010. It’s time to act. We urge you to include language in H.R. 644 that will allow Congress to pass MTBs, thereby reducing unnecessary tariffs and strengthening the economy here at home.

Sincerely,

Brandon Arnold, Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union
Tom Schatz, President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Jeffrey Mazzella, President, Center for Individual Freedom
Fran Smith, Board Member and Adjunct Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Lori Sanders, Outreach Director and Senior Fellow, R Street Institute
Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council
Lisa Nelson, CEO, The Jeffersonian Project, An Affiliate of the American Legislative Exchange Council
David Williams, President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance