U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) and other members of the Maine congressional contingent this week won a long-fought battle to ensure a home-state area rug manufacturer obtained an exemption from a federal yarn tariff.
Sanford, Maine-based Flemish Master Weavers prevailed in its application to be exempt from a yarn tariff imposed by the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Board that the lawmakers said will permit the company to more easily compete against foreign competitors.
“We are pleased that, following our advocacy, Flemish Master Weavers will now be exempt from this harmful tariff,” said Sen. Collins and Rep. Poliquin alongside their congressional counterparts U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME).
“The approval of Flemish Master Weavers’ application not only increases the company’s competitiveness but puts it on track to expand operations,” the lawmakers said.
Together, the bipartisan group first called on the FTZ Board, which licenses designated sites as foreign-trade zones, to approve the company’s application in a Nov. 30, 2016 letter in which they noted that “a strong manufacturing industry is essential to Maine’s future, and securing fair trade regulations for Maine-based companies is of critical importance to our communities and economy.”
Flemish Master Weavers (FMW), a Maine manufacturer of machine-made woven area rugs, is the smallest of four such producers in the United States, according to the lawmakers, and the company competes for market share with foreign manufacturers that “increasingly dominate the domestic area rug market.”
According to their letter, the company imports continuous filament polypropylene yarn, a material carrying a U.S. tariff of almost 9 percent, to remain competitive.
“Despite efforts to adjust to a changing market, FMW still faces an uphill battle as foreign area rug competitors enjoy duty-free access to the United States for area rugs made in foreign factories with identical yarn,” wrote the members. “In other words, foreign rugs with the same yarn come in with no U.S. tariff, while FMW’s ability to make the rugs in America is stymied by a U.S. tariff on yarn imports. The end result is that American jobs are, ironically, threatened by a tariff designed to protect them.”
Earlier this week, the lawmakers jointly noted in a statement that FMW plays “a vital role in our state’s economy and provides good jobs for Maine families.”
Johan Moulin, president of FMW, said the board’s approval of its application “resulted from more than three years of intense work by our senators and representatives, the governor, the City of Waterville, the Central Maine Growth Council, our attorney and consulting firm and many others.”
Moulin noted that Sens. Collins and King “were incredibly strong advocates” for FMW at the U.S. Commerce Department, while Reps. Poliquin and Pingree helped the company navigate several government agencies and business groups.
“In this time of political division, all of them strove together to achieve a positive result for the people of Maine as well as for Flemish Master Weavers,” Moulin said.