[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 53 (Monday, April 19, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S3849]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself and Mr. Byrd):
  S. 827. A bill to establish drawback for imports of N-cyclohexyl-2-
benzothiazolesulfenamide based on exports of N-tert-Butyl-2-
benzothiazolesulfenamide; to the Committee on Finance.


                DUTY DRAWBACK ON IMPORTS OF CBS AND TBBS

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill that 
would establish the authority to provide a duty drawback on imports of 
two commercially interchangeable rubber vulcanization accelerators 
known commonly as CBS and TBBS.
  CBS and TBBS are the major primary accelerators used in the 
production of tires and other rubber products. Both CBS and TBBS belong 
to the same class and subclass of rubber vulcanization chemicals, and 
can be used interchangeably with one another to perform the same 
function and to achieve the same end results. They can be manufactured 
by similar industrial processes using the same raw materials and 
identical process steps; and for all practical purposes, it is not 
possible to tell if CBS or TBBS were used in the final rubber product. 
In short, the two chemicals are commercially interchangeable in both 
function and use, and therefore, I believe they meet the specified 
circumstances required under Section 202 of U.S. trade law to receive 
duty drawback benefits based on a substitution basis.
  More specifically, this bill is extremely important to a West 
Virginia company, Flexsys, that produces both CBS and TBBS, and employs 
230 West Virginians with an average annual salary of $42,000. Passage 
of this bill will preserve these jobs in an increasingly competitive 
chemical market, and will permit American-made products to compete more 
effectively in world markets.
  Because of the competitive nature of the chemical business, American 
companies must constantly look for new opportunities to improve 
efficiency, strengthen U.S. operations and cost position, and provide 
benefits to their customers. I believe the Congress had these goals in 
mind when we passed the duty drawback provisions in the Customs 
Modification Act of 1993. Flexsys meets the conditions set forth under 
the duty drawback provision that two products must be ``commercially 
interchangeable'' to claim a drawback credit, and I urge my colleagues 
to adopt this bill.
  I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 827

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

     SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF DRAWBACK BASED ON COMMERCIAL 
                   INTERCHANGEABILITY FOR CERTAIN RUBBER 
                   VULCANIZATION ACCELERATORS.

       (a) In General.--The United States Customs Service shall 
     treat the chemical N-cyclohexyl-2-benzothiazolesulfenamide 
     and the chemical N-tert-Butyl-2-benzothiazolesulfenamide as 
     ``commercially interchangeable'' within the meaning of 
     section 313(j)(2) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
     1313(j)(2)) for purposes of permitting drawback under section 
     313 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1313).
       (b) Applicability.--Subsection (a) shall apply with respect 
     to any entry, or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption, 
     of the chemical N-cyclohexyl-2-benzothiazolesulfenamide 
     before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act, that 
     is eligible for drawback within the time period provided in 
     section 313(j)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
     1313(j)(2)(B)).

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I am pleased to add my name as an original 
cosponsor of the bill introduced by Senator Rockefeller that would 
provide the necessary authority to implement the trade drawback 
allowance based on the commercially interchangeable feature of two 
rubber vulcanization accelerators.
  These two chemicals, commonly referred to as CBS and TBBS, are one-
and-the-same for all practical purposes. CBS and TBBS belong to the 
same class and subclass of rubber vulcanization accelerator chemicals; 
they can be manufactured by similar industrial processes using the same 
active ingredients and identical process steps; and they generally 
cannot be distinguished by informed analysts once used in the finished 
rubber product. In short, CBS and TBBS are commercially interchangeable 
in function and use--the specified circumstances required under Section 
202 of U.S. trade law to receive duty drawback benefits on a 
substitution basis.
  By establishing the commercial interchangeability for CBS and TBBS, 
duty drawback law can be implemented. Under duty drawback law, a 
company would receive a refund of import duties--called a duty 
drawback--paid by that company on its imports of CBS, based on the 
exports of the company's production of TBBS, or vice-versa. In other 
words, for every ton of TBBS that a company exports out of the United 
States, the company would receive a refund of duties that it paid on a 
ton of CBS that was imported into the United States. A drawback 
allowance on the commercially interchangeable standard is granted on a 
case-by-case authorization. The bill I join Senator Rockefeller in 
cosponsoring would simply provide the commercially interchangeable CBS 
and TBBS chemicals with the necessary authorization required by law.
  This bill is vital to a West Virginia company, Flexsys, that produces 
both CBS and TBBS. Flexsys provides 230 jobs in West Virginia with an 
average annual salary of $42,000. Without the duty drawback, these jobs 
are at risk due to the increasingly competitive chemical market. The 
purpose of the drawback statutes is to permit American-made products to 
compete more effectively in world markets. The Congress adopted 
drawback provisions recognizing that U.S. manufacturers need the 
authority to enable them to select the most advantageous production 
methods. Flexsys meets the conditions set forth under drawback law, and 
my review of Flexsys has convinced me that it is the type of company 
that was in mind when this Body approved the drawback statutes.
  In closing, I urge my colleagues to support our effort to aid 
hardworking Americans through passage of this bill. Enactment of this 
bill would fulfill the purpose of drawback law by advancing the 
continued operations at Flexsys and, as a result, the utilization of 
American labor and capital.
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