The American Foundry Society (AFS) opposes a Treasury Department proposal that would make it more expensive for manufacturers, including metalcasters, to finance the purchase of depreciable equipment by limiting interest deductions four years earlier than Congress intended.

Speaking up for the industry, AFS signed a coalition letter, organized by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), urging Treasury officials to reverse the proposed rule.

President Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 31, 2019, to encourage federal agencies to require the use of more American-made products in infrastructure projects they help finance. The order directs federal agencies to encourage recipients of loans, loan guarantees, grants and interest subsidies to meet Buy American requirements for iron, steel, aluminum, cement and other products in their projects.

On Jan. 22, 2019, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) concerning the agency’s final rule regulating occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica in general industry.

WASHINGTON, D.C.  — Today, American Foundry Society CEO Doug Kurkul, AFS President Jean Bye, and Eric Meyers, chairman of the AFS Government Affairs Committee, welcomed the newly convened 116th Congress. 

“AFS looks forward to working with lawmakers to address important metalcasting legislative and regulatory issues in the coming year,” Kurkul said. “It’s important that both new and returning members of Congress understand and appreciate the unique value of the metalcasting industry to manufacturing and the U.S. economy.”

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers unveiled their replacement to the Obama-era 2015 Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) Rule.

The proposed new rule appears to provide a much more reasonable approach to the limits of Clean Water Act jurisdiction for waters of the U.S.  However, AFS said the details of the new rule require careful review to determine how it will impact metalcasting operations. 

During the G-20 talks this weekend in Argentina, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to halt new tariffs and not increase tariffs already in place.

The U.S. had been scheduled to increase tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% on Jan. 1. The agreement keeps those tariffs on thousands of products, including hundreds of types of Chinese castings at 10% for at least the next 90 days while the countries negotiate further.

“The American Foundry Society and its thousands of members congratulate the newly elected and re-elected public officials. We look forward to working with policymakers to advance a pro-manufacturing agenda that encourages capital investment, infrastructure investment, a strong defense industrial base, regulatory reform, workforce readiness policies, and vigorous enforcement of trade agreements."