FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

We are very pleased by the House passage today of legislation to repeal and replace the current FSC regime. We commend the House bipartisan leadership for their efforts on this important legislation. We especially appreciate the bipartisan efforts of Speaker Hastert, Minority Leader Gephardt, Chairman Archer, Ranking Member Rangel, their staffs, and the Joint Committee staff.

This legislation reflects an extraordinary bipartisan, bicameral process to respond to the WTO Appellate Body decision by repealing the FSC and creating a new regime that neither entails a subsidy nor is export contingent. Enactment of this law is necessary to avoid an immediate confrontation with the EU, to ensure that the United States is in compliance with the WTO, and to avoid possible sanctions that would otherwise be imposed by the EU. This legislation would ensure that no U.S. companies are disadvantaged.

We look forward to working with the Senate Finance Committee and the other members of the Senate as we continue to move this legislation toward enactment.