[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 42 (Tuesday, April 16, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S2725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself and Mr. Voinovich):
  S. 2133. A bill to suspend temporarily the duty on Dichlorobenzidine 
Dihydrochloride; to the Committee on Finance.
 Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today to join my friend and 
colleague, Senator Voinovich, to introduce legislation that would 
temporarily suspend the import duty on Dichlorobenzidine, DCB.
  DCB is a chemical used to produce organic pigments for printing ink. 
It is reacted with other materials to form various yellow organic 
pigments. These yellow pigments are used extensively by the printing 
ink industry because yellow is one of the three primary colors used in 
printing and is used in nearly all color printing applications. DCB 
also is used to produce certain red and orange pigments.
  The U.S. printing ink industry is facing increasingly aggressive 
competition from low-cost foreign producers. Despite its widespread 
use, DCB is no longer produced in the United States and is unlikely to 
be produced here in the foreseeable future. Domestic manufacturers of 
synthetic organic pigments must import all of the DCB required for 
their production of yellow pigment. These imports are currently subject 
to high duties despite the fact that there is no longer a domestic DCB 
industry to protect.
  Our duty suspension bill would help U.S. producers remain competitive 
in the global market, and it would remove unnecessary costs on U.S. 
pigment, ink, and printing industries and on millions of consumers of 
printed products.
  Though our bill is quite simple, its effects would be widespread. It 
would suspend the duty on DCB, therefore eliminating a significant and 
unnecessary cost for U.S. pigment producers. That action, by itself, 
would have a significant positive impact on our domestic industry
  I urge my colleagues to join us in support of this legislative 
effort.
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