GOVERNMENT RELATIONS:   The Remanufacturing Institute

Government relations is an important topic for TRI and its membership. Of particular interest are the following:

• TRI actively encourages more private and public funding for remanufacturing;
• TRI supports Tax Credit legislation for the purchase of equipment used in remanufacturing;
• TRI encourages the purchase of remanufactured goods at all levels of government;
• TRI would like to see trade barriers removed for the trade in cores and remanufactured product, and
• TRI promotes the agenda of the National  Center for Remanufacturing & Resource Recovery at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
• TRI encourages more research and development dollars to further the next generation of remanufacturing technology.

Remanufacturing Tax Credit Bill
On March 31, 2008, U.S. Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.). introduced H.R. 5659, a bill designed to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax for recycling or remanufacturing equipment. H.R. 5659 will establish a tax credit equal to 20 percent of the amount of a taxpayer’s expenditures on certain equipment purchases. A 20 percent tax credit for the investment in equipment used exclusively in remanufacturing operations will accelerate capital investment in remanufacturing and provide significant environmental and labor benefits. We feel this tax credit will help U.S. remanufacturers compete on a more even playing field with overseas suppliers of automotive and truck parts and will enhance the contributions of the remanufacturing industry to the U.S. economy and to protecting the environment.

President Bush Supports Remanufacturing
President Bush statement, “Last year at Evian we agreed to support the development of cleaner, sustainable and more efficient technologies. We reaffirm our conviction that cooperative scientific research on transformation technologies offers potential to improve public health by cutting pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emission to address the challenge of global climate change.

As we continue to implement the G8 Action Plan on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development adopted at Evian, we commit to launching the Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle ("3R") Initiative to encourage more efficient use of resources and materials. The initiative will be formally launched in the coming year at a ministerial meeting in Japan.

….Reduce barriers to the international flow of goods and materials for recycling and remanufacturing, recycled and remanufactured products, and cleaner, more efficient technologies, consistent with existing environmental and trade obligations and frameworks….”

For complete press release, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040610-53.html