The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) said it is aggressively supporting the extension of duty suspension bills on basketballs and volleyballs.

 

If the U.S. Congress approves tariff relief legislation by year's end that includes the SGMA ball bills, duty suspensions will be extended through 2011.  In 2006, Congress temporarily suspended duties on basketballs and volleyballs for three years effective January 1, 2007.  The duty suspensions are scheduled to expire at midnight on December 31, 2009.


According to SGMA, there are two issues which must be resolved in order for the duty suspension bills to be included in a broad tariff bill.  First, is there domestic production of volleyballs and basketballs?  Second, will the total revenue loss to the Treasury from any duty relief on any of the balls exceed $500,000?  


“It's important that SGMA succeeds in getting Congress to pass this duty relief because these products are no longer manufactured in the United States,” said Bill Sells, SGMA's vice president of government relations.  “With no domestic production of volleyballs and basketballs, any duty collected would result in a higher retail prices for the consumer, which is something our economy does not need.”


Back on October 29, four bills were introduced in the U.S. Senate to extend the ball duty suspensions through 2011.  It is expected that these four duty relief bills will be included in the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) that Congress is hoping to pass before leaving Washington, D.C. for the upcoming holidays.