Smith Pushes Effort to Protect U.S. Producers and Manufacturers in World Market

August 4, 2003

Smith Pushes Effort to Protect U.S. Producers and Manufacturers in World Market

WASHINGTON, DC–Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) last week sent a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee urging them to ensure U.S-based producers, manufacturers, and their workers are not further competitively disadvantaged in any legislative response to the World Trade Organization (WTO) rulings against the Extraterritorial Income Exclusion (ETI) Act of 2000. Smith was joined by 43 Senators on both sides of the aisle.

"Any legislative response to the WTO decisions against ETI must take into account the current difficulties in the manufacturing sector and the critical role ETI (and FSC before it) has played in helping to enhance the international competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers and agricultural producers," wrote Smith.

The full text of the letter is available upon request.

Smith urged that any legislation include two principles that will provide much-needed relief to U.S. manufacturers and agricultural producers and their workers:

Any legislation must be intended to rebuild and strengthen the American manufacturing sector in a manner that is WTO-compliant
Any legislation must cushion the loss of ETI by providing meaningful transition relief

"Absent these two principles, ETI repeal will amount to a multi-billion dollar annual tax increase on small, medium, and large U.S. manufacturers and agricultural producers," wrote Smith. "Such an increase would severely damage the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers and agricultural producers and put at risk the almost 3.5 million jobs that ETI directly and indirectly supports – a result that will surely deepen the current manufacturing slump."

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