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Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), issued the following statement in response to the introduction of the Import Tax Relief Act in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate:
“We applaud Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), Representative Ron Kind (D-WI-03) and Representative Jackie Walorksi (R-IN-02) for introducing the bipartisan Import Tax Relief Act in both chambers of Congress. This much needed legislation would create a fair exclusion process for products on the third Section 301 list and provide stronger protections for businesses submitting exclusion requests for items on the first and second lists.
“While we agree that China does not play fair and should be dealt with, the administration’s current strategy and delay in establishing an appeals system is taking a toll on U.S. businesses, workers and consumers — resulting in taxes that are paid by Americans, not China. With more than 300 marine products and raw materials being unfairly penalized by Section 301 tariffs, this bill will help alleviate the pain for thousands of marine manufacturers across the country who have been affected by these tariffs.
“Businesses of all sizes in the U.S. rely on free and fair trade to access global supply chains that are critical to their operations. However, these companies — including many in our industry — need the ability to compete on an even playing field, which has not been possible due to the impacts of both tariffs and retaliatory tariffs.
“This bill is a step in the right direction toward remedying and removing an unnecessary burden on our nation’s economic engine: our manufacturing sector. We look forward to working with Congress to ensure that this legislation moves forward and encourage the administration to strike a comprehensive deal with China that allows the recreational boating industry to continue creating jobs and bolstering our economy for years to come.”
