WASHINGTON, DC – A bill introduced late last month by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) proposed to suspend duties on certain PCB assembly imports. S. 3750, proposed on July 26, proposes “to suspend temporarily the  duty on certain printed circuit assemblies for measuring equipment for telecommunications.”

Feinstein’s home state, California, is also home to major server equipment OEMs including Sun Microsystems (sun.com) and Cisco (cisco.com). The bill “was initiated by a company based in California for incorporation into the proposed Miscellaneous Tariff Bill that is currently being crafted in the House and Senate,” John Kania of IPC wrote in a letter sent to the IPC Government Relations committee. Kania, who spoke with Sen. Feinstein's staff, said
“The miscellaneous tariff bill is designed to suspend the tariffs on certain imports when doing so will help the competitiveness of a U.S. company. Generally, provisions included are noncontroversial items,” Kania wrote.

Moreover, the effect to the U.S. would be minimal. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the tariff suspension would cost the U.S. Treasury a sum no greater than $500,000. Moreover, the International Trade Commission claimed the product imported is not produced in the U.S.

The bill is currently in committee. According to Kania, “At this stage the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees are only considering possible provisions that may comprise a bill should they decide to move forward.”  

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