Washington, D.C.– Congressman Erik Paulsen (MN-03) voted for, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed, the bipartisan American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act to cut costs for manufacturers and grow the economy. The bill, H.R. 4923, establishes a new process for considering legislation, known as a Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB), for suspending tariffs on products not made in the United States. Paulsen, a member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, has advocated for the passage of a new MTB to decrease costs for American manufacturers – including at a recent subcommittee hearing on the issue.

The passage of an MTB would put American businesses and manufacturers on level ground with their international competitors and inject billions into the economy. When the last MTB expired in 2012, taxes increased by $748 million annually on job creators. The previous MTB also supported 90,000 manufacturing jobs.

“Without an MTB, Minnesota manufacturers are effectively competing against their global counterparts with one arm tied behind their back,” said Paulsen. “Working in a bipartisan way, we’ve developed a new process that will reduce taxes on our job creators and inject much-needed capital into our economy."

Paulsen spoke on the House floor in favor of the legislation. Video is available here.

The American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act is supported by the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and a number of other business and manufacturing coalitions.

Paulsen, a champion of small business and advocate of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation, serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, the bicameral Joint Economic Committee, and is co-chair of the Congressional Medical Technology Caucus.

For more information on Congressman Paulsen’s work in Congress visit Paulsen.house.gov.

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