Manufacturers in the United States are still struggling to emerge from a severe economic recession that led to job losses and plant closures around the country. Pennsylvania knows this all too well.

The 2011 Pennsylvania Manufacturers Register reports the state lost 27,989 industrial jobs and 411 manufacturers between June 2009 and June 2010. That is a 3.3 percent decline in employment over the last year.

Added to the already difficult business climate are the ever-increasing challenges we face from overseas competitors, whose governments frequently provide ample policy support to give their domestic manufacturers a competitive advantage.

Manufacturers are looking to Washington to take action to reverse this trend. Last month, Congress took a step to help move us in the right direction, passing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, one of the most important short-term actions available to preserve and expand good American jobs, cut the costs of doing business in the United States and boost manufacturing exports.

The House approved the measure in an overwhelming and bipartisan vote. Days later, the Senate followed suit and passed it unanimously.

The bill suspends duties on hundreds of inputs and raw materials that American manufacturers use in everyday production. These items can only be purchased from outside the country -- and the tariffs the United States charges are a tax on making things in America. This bill "suspends" the tariffs.

Studies show that if enacted, these provisions would increase production by $4.6 billion and support almost 90,000 jobs.

Without these tariff reductions, the cost of manufacturers' products will inevitably increase, forcing them to pass higher costs on to consumers and making their products less competitive.

Congress typically passes a new Miscellaneous Tariff Bill every three years. The duty suspensions from the previous legislation expired in December 2009.

This year's effort to reinstate the bill has been more contentious than years past because of the mistaken notion that the duty reductions are a form of earmarks. However, these tariff suspensions are not earmarks under any usual understanding of the term. The entire process is wholly transparent and open to the public.

Each proposed duty suspension is subject to a meticulous and nonpartisan vetting process to ensure that no domestic producers of the affected product exist. The International Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Management and Budget, and the congressional committees of jurisdiction collaborate to review each proposed duty suspension.

Last month's congressional action was a huge victory for manufacturers, and it sent a strong message to the president to move quickly to sign the legislation. The sooner it becomes law, the sooner businesses can grow jobs.

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