The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) applauded the US House of Representatives for unanimous bipartisan approval of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act (H.R. 4318). AAFA sent a letter to members of the House identifying the bill as a key yes –vote and encouraged the Senate to quickly follow suit. Rick Helfenbein, President and CEO of AAFA says, “The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) is bipartisan and provides much-needed duty relief on products and inputs that are not available domestically. Our business community is firmly behind this bill because it has a defined purpose and will be helpful on all counts.”

The MTB would temporarily eliminate or reduce import duties on over 1,700 products (both inputs and finished products) that are not made in the US. Once approved, the bill would provide the apparel and footwear industry with much needed duty relief – in 2016 the industry generated over 50 per cent of duties collected by the US government despite only accounting for six per cent of total US imports by value.