[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 106 (Thursday, July 24, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8092-S8093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROCKEFELLER:
  S. 1063. A bill to suspend temporarily the duty on KN001 (a 
hydrochloride); to the Committee on Finance.


                       TEMPORARY DUTY SUSPENSION

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, today I am introducing a duty 
suspension bill that will not only benefit the chemical workers in my 
state of West Virginia, but also will enable U.S. farmers to grow more 
crops at lower cost and protect the environment at the same time.
  This legislation will suspend the U.S. duty on a hydrochloride known 
by its code name of KN001. This substance is a key raw material in a 
new, environmentally safe family of agricultural chemicals invented by 
DuPont in the 1980's. These new agricultural chemicals, called 
sulfonylureas, are used in extremely small amounts by farmers to 
control weed growth in their fields without harming the crops that the 
farmers are trying to grow. By suppressing weed growth, these chemicals 
make sure that all of the available soil nutrients and moisture go into 
growing the crops instead of growing weeds. Because sulfonylureas 
operate on plant enzymes, they do not affect insects or animals, and 
because they biodegrade

[[Page S8093]]

rapidly, they are among the most environmentally friendly crop 
protection chemicals in use today.
  An additional benefit of suspending the duty on KN001 is the effect 
it will have on jobs in my home state of West Virginia. DuPont is in 
the process of constructing a $20 million revitalization project at 
their plant in Belle, West Virginia, and KN001 is the cornerstone of 
that project. The new investment will enable the production at Belle of 
a new sulfonylurea product family that uses KN001 as a feedstock. This 
revitalization project will preserve 50 existing jobs at Belle and 
create over a dozen new jobs.
  On top of all that, I've been told that this duty suspension is 
unlikely to result in any substantial revenue loss to the U.S. 
Treasury. Because it is used in the manufacture of new products, U.S. 
imports of this chemical are very small, and the resulting duty is also 
small. Equally important is the fact that this substance is not 
manufactured in the United States by another company, so no U.S. 
producer should be disadvantaged by the duty suspension. It's rare that 
we get a chance to support legislation that benefits workers, farmers, 
and the environment at virtually no cost to the Treasury. This is one 
of those times, and I hope the Senate will look favorably on this 
modest measure at the appropriate time.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full text of this 
bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1063

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF DUTY.

       (a) In General.--Subchapter II of Chapter 99 of the 
     Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States is amended by 
     inserting in numerical sequence the following new heading:

``9902.30.41.....................  2-4-dichlon-5-                             Free             No change             No change  On or before 12/31/98''.
                                    hydrozyhydrazine
                                    hydrochloride (CAS No.
                                    189573-21-5) (provided
                                    for in subheading
                                    2928.00.25).
 

       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section 
     applies with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from 
     warehouse for consumption, on or after the 15th day after the 
     date of enactment of this Act.
                                 ______