Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

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Mr. President, today my colleagues Sen. Barrasso, Sen. Enzi, Sen. Merkley, and I are introducing the Soda Ash Competition Act. Soda ash, or ``disodium carbonate'', is an industrial mineral used in the production of glass and other products. In 2006, in response to efforts by foreign competitors to subsidize non-U.S. production and gain competitive advantages in the world market, including the partial suspension of value added taxes, VAT, by China, Congress enacted legislation to provide a partial suspension of Federal royalties on the ore mined to produce soda ash on Federal lands for 5 years. This royalty relief reduced the Federal royalty rate from 6 percent to 2 percent and helped U.S. soda ash producers to remain competitive in the international market. Over the past 5 years, the U.S. industry has been able to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in production capacity and maintain its market here and abroad. As a result, American companies and workers have provided important economic activity here at home, provided a U.S. export valued at nearly $1 billion a year, all while continuing to generate tens of millions of dollars to the Treasury in mineral royalties.

Foreign competition continues to be an issue for the U.S. soda ash industry, including unfair manipulation of value added taxes that would otherwise be levied on competing foreign supplies. In 2007, China resumed its practice of suspending part of the 17 percent VAT on synthetic soda ash to aid its domestic producers. On May 31, 2011, members of both the House and Senate wrote to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk requesting this unfair trade practice be raised with China through the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade.

The current statutory royalty relief authority for soda ash expires on October 12, 2011, and this bill would extend that authority for five more years. The Department of Interior is currently preparing an analysis, which will provide further information on the impact of the current soda ash royalty relief and foreign competition on U.S. producers. This study is required by the same 2006 law that authorized the current royalty reduction in order to give Congress additional information to consider a future extension. We had hoped that this analysis would have been completed by now and first wrote to the Secretary of Interior over a year ago seeking to expedite completion of the Department's work. Unfortunately, the analysis has not been completed and the statutory clock is ticking. My colleagues and I are introducing the bill at this time because, given the looming deadline, the Senate needs to begin examination of this matter sooner rather than later.

We look forward to working with our colleagues on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate to address this issue before time runs out on the current authority and U.S. soda ash production of this important mineral loses this tool to offset foreign production subsidies.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter of support be printed in the Record.

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