Reduce Duties on Crop Protection Inputs Through MTB, Agricultural Organizations tell Congress
Congress should pass a Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) that temporarily reduces duties on crop protection agricultural inputs, including pesticide feedstocks, active ingredients and final products, said a group of nearly 20 agriculture producing organizations in a recent letter to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance leadership. The duties burden industry with increased costs and limit global crop protection research, said the letter.
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“Reduction of import tariffs on their pesticides, active ingredients, and intermediate chemicals is an important aspect of congressional support of modern agriculture,” said the agriculture producers. “Developing advanced products that are safer and more effective is expensive, and the duty reduction in the MTB will also help offset costs of discovery, safety validation and government approval of the products we need for food, feed and fiber production. These research and development programs provide extensive jobs to many professionals.”
The last MTB law expired nearly a year ago on Dec. 31, 2012, and congressional leaders have failed to broker a compromise on additional legislation (see 13111328). “Approximately 50 percent of the MTB package is targeted toward agricultural products,” said the letter. “As a sector, American farmers and ranchers stand to lose the most if no action is taken to pass this bill.”