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MO Sen. Talent: 42 bills to cut $10M in pesticide import duties

by txj

Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 01:09:30 AM EST

not sure what all this means, but thought it looked important -- cho

In 2005-2006, Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) proposed 42 bills that if approved would reduce by millions of dollars the import duties paid by a few large corporations on specific chemicals used to manufacture pesticides.

Most of these trade amendments list German chemical giants BASF Corp. or Bayer CropScience as the "proponent," in reports issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) that estimate over $10M per year in U.S. Customs revenue loss.

A classic example of pork barrel politics, this election cycle Talent has received over $600,000 in campaign contributions from the agribusiness sector, almost 25% more than even Senate Agriculture Committee head Saxby Chambliss (R-GA).

commentary :: :: :: buzz-it!

The sole sponsor on all 42 bills, Talent proposed 33 of these amendments to the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule on a single day last last April.

All 33 were immediately referred to Finance Committee, where they will now remain until after next week's elections. In addition, the USITC has only released recommendations for a few of the bills.

However, every chemical on the list for review had been submitted to the USITC in 2005 by a MO member of the U.S. House: 3 by Rep. Cleaver (D), and the rest by Reps. Hulsholf (R) and Graves (R).

The reported $10M estimated loss of revenue to U.S. Customs has been derived from existing USITC reports for Sen. Talent's currently proposed amendments, and loss reported in response to the 2005 bills that include projections for 2006.

SOME CONTRIBUTIONS

AMERICAN CHEMISTRY COUNCIL PAC
$4000

AMERICAN SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION PAC (SOYPAC)
$2000

BASF CORPORATION EMPLOYEES POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
$10,000

BAYER CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
$9,000

CARGILL INCORPORATED POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
$10,000

DUPONT GOOD GOVERNMENT FUND
$6,000

FERT PAC
$2,000

MONSANTO COMPANY CITIZENSHIP FUND AKA MONSANTO CITIZENSHIP FUND
$10,000

PAC OF EMPLOYEES OF DOW CHEMICAL (PACE)
$3000

SYNGENTA CORPORATION EMPLOYEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (SYNGENTA PAC)
$1,500

ZENECA INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
$9,000

The table below shows the dates, bill numbers, chemicals proposed for suspension of duty, and estimated customs revenue loss:

MO Sen. Talent: 42 bills to cut $10M in pesticide import duties | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)

txj (5.00 / 1) (#1)

I wish my knowledge of tariffs and the customs revenue structure were better so I could understand the true impact of the bills.

I do know that Talent has been endorsed by Farm Bureau. Farm Bureau, contrary to what many farmers believe, is a big advocate and lobby for large corporate agribussiness. I wouldn't be surprised to learn FB has also played a role in this too.

by standingup on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 12:58:55 PM EST

It means suspending (5.00 / 1) (#2)

the tax to import these chemicals. IOW, currently companies like BASF and Bayer, who import the chemicals mostly from China and India for products like Monsanto's Roundup, pay a flat tax of a few percent of the purchase price.

If all 42 of these bills become law, i.e. changes to the tariff schedule, those companies will pay 0% to import those chemicals.

So each year they will save about $10M by not having to pay any taxes on the listed chemicals.

Then of course there's the issue of why they import these toxic substances in the first place. Worker safety is highly regulated in the United State, which drives up the cost of making chemicals.

But China and India can make them for a fraction of the cost because they pay their workers substandard wages and don't implement the safety guidelines recommended by the U.N., etc.
They said, "kick all the illegal aliens out, then build a super-fence so they can't get back in." And I went, "Um, who's gonna build it?" --Carlos Mencia
by txj on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 01:33:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

: Thanks (none / 0) (#4)

I appreciate the additional information. Maybe I'll have time to read more on this after the election and my workload decreases. One point I would be interested in knowing more on is why there is a tarriff on these specific chemicals. International agricultural trade is a nightmare to meander through.
The use of pesticides is a particularly difficult topic. From an agricultural standpoint there is a need for some of them. One downside of international trade has been the introduction of foreign pests/diseases into our environment. Uncontrolled they can be very destructive to plants, trees and pastures.

by standingup on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 12:03:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Ugh. (5.00 / 1) (#3)

Bad on so many levels. In bed with business, reducing tax revenue and encouraging outsourcing of jobs/industry. A republican trifecta...

by jeninRI on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 06:28:14 PM EST

MO Sen. Talent: 42 bills to cut $10M in pesticide import duties | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)

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