1st Quarter - Report

Mr. Bengali had met with several Congressional staffers in Q1 to discuss H.R.4521 - America COMPETES Act of 2022 and the impact that it would have on VDMA member companies, specifically regarding how a provision may prevent "finished goods" for being considered under any future MTBs, a prospect that may negatively affect VDMA member companies. Mr. Bengali did note to fellow lawmakers that a certain provision in the COMPETES Act, Sec. 10002, may positively affect VDMA member companies, as it would include not just semiconductors in the $52 billion investment being proposed in the COMPETES Act, but also semiconductor equipment, a product being manufactured by several VDMA member companies. Mr. Bengali also relayed to staffers in the Senate that S.1260 - United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, would have a positive impact on VDMA member companies, as greater investments into semiconductors increase the demand for semiconductor equipment, which as previously mentioned, is manufactured by several VDMA member companies. In addition, Mr. Bengali generally discussed to staffers in both chambers of Congress, as well as staffers at the USTR and Department of Commerce, how an elimination of industrial tariffs between the European Union and the United States would benefit VDMA member companies. In addition, Mr. Bengali has distributed documents drafted by the VDMA to staffers at the USTR, DOC, Senate, and House discussing the challenges its member companies face from the U.S.-China trade relationship, and how China's trade policies affect VDMA member companies. As it relates to the U.S.-China trade relationship, Mr. Bengali has discussed how a robust tariff exclusions process would benefit VDMA member companies, to staffers at USTR, Senate, and House.

In addition to the tariff issues mentioned in the previous section, Mr. Bengali has also lobbied on several other issues related to trade for the VDMA in Q1. Mr. Bengali has held several discussions with staffers at the USTR, DOC, and to a lesser extent, the Senate and the House, on the issue of achieving an agreement between the U.S. and EU to mutually recognize each other's conformity assessment results for machinery and industrial equipment products, as such an agreement would greatly benefit VDMA member companies. Mr. Bengali has also discussed the importance of reforming the WTO and how the WTO's Appellate Body reinstation would be beneficial to VDMA member companies, to staffers at USTR, House, and Senate. In addition, as it related to the October Section 232 tariff agreement between the U.S. and EU, in which both expressed a willingness to achieve a joint Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Mr. Bengali has expressed to staffers at USTR, Senate, and House, how if a CBAM was put in place, it must be between like-minded countries like the EU and U.S., and not just one nation going at it alone, as a joint CBAM effort would be more beneficial to VDMA members compared to individual CBAMs. In addition, although the U.S. and EU achieved an agreement to suspend the long-running aircraft subsidy dispute in 2021, Mr. Bengali has also expressed to staffers at the USTR that the dispute should be completely resolved.

Mr. Bengali has discussed to staffers at the DOC how the increased use of the OPC-UA machine interoperability standard would benefit machine manufacturers and end-users, which are primary businesses of VDMA member companies. The goal of this advocacy is to see if NIST would find it appropriate to recommend this international standard (IEC 62541) to be a standard in the U.S. In addition, the VDMA has also discussed to staffers in the House and Senate how domestic content requirements create roadblocks for VDMA manufacturers