[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 159 (Thursday, October 29, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S10928]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN:
  S. 2149. A bill to suspend temporarily the duty on orthotoluidine.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, the legislation I am introducing would 
suspend temporarily, through the end of 2011, the import duty on ortho-
toluidine, a chemical compound used by several U.S. companies in 
manufacturing an important agricultural herbicide used for crops 
including corn, soybeans, peanuts, and cotton. One of the manufacturing 
plants is a facility in Muscatine, IA, that employs 500 workers. Other 
U.S. companies use the compound in manufacturing dyestuffs, pigments, 
optical brighteners, and pharmaceuticals. This legislation is drafted 
and intended for inclusion in the miscellaneous tariff bill being 
assembled by the Committee on Finance.
  Currently, there is only one U.S. manufacturer of orthotoluidine, and 
that company has already announced plans to end production of the 
compound by the end of this year. Manufacturers in the U.S. will soon 
have no choice but to import this ingredient and to pay a duty of 6.5 
percent unless it is suspended. Suspending this duty will help to 
control U.S. production costs, keep jobs at home, and enhance the 
competitiveness of U.S. businesses, workers, farmers, and the 
communities in which they are located.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.
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