September 22,2000

Roth, Moynihan Urge Expeditious Action on FSC to Prevent Retaliatory Duties Against U.S. Exports

Ask Lott, Daschle to Seek Unanimous Consent to Avoid Amendments and Meet October 1 Deadline

WASHINGTON -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman William V. Roth, Jr. (R-DE) and Ranking Member Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) have asked Senate leadership to seek a unanimous consent agreement to avoid amendments on H.R. 4986, the "FSC Repeal and Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act of 2000."

"The critical point is that, unless the legislation is in effect by October 1, the European Union could begin to impose significant retaliatory duties on abroad range of U.S. exports.

"To avoid that eventuality, we would like to see the legislation, as reported by the Committee, cleared during daily wrap-up so that we can begin what we believe will be a quick conference with the House," Roth and Moynihan stated in a letter late Thursday night to Majority Leader Lott and Minority Leader Daschle.

A copy of the letter is attached.

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September 21, 2000
The Honorable Trent Lott
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Tom Daschle
Minority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Trent and Tom:

We are writing to request that you seek a unanimous consent agreement on H.R. 4986, the "FSC Repeal and Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act of 2000," as recently unanimously reported out of the Finance Committee. This legislation complies with a ruling by a dispute settlement panel of the World Trade Organization ("WTO") deeming the Foreign Sales Corporation provisions of the Internal Revenue Code to be an export subsidy against the WTO rules. The critical point is that, unless the legislation is in effect by October 1, the European Union could begin to impose significant retaliatory duties on a broad range of U.S. exports.

To avoid that eventuality, we would like to see the legislation, as reported by the Committee, cleared during daily wrap-up so that we can begin what we believe will be a quick conference with the House. Given Finance Committee's unanimous approval of this legislation, we believe that an unanimous consent procedure outlined above to be a reasonable request to both sides of the aisle.

Sincerely,

William V. Roth, Jr.  
Chairman  


Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Ranking Minority Member