U.S. Senator Katie Britt recently joined U.S. Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah), Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey), and Congressmen Adrian Smith (R-Nebraska) and Don Beyer (D-Virginia) to introduce the Formula 3.0 Act, legislation that would permanently suspend tariffs on baby formula from certain nations, bolstering continued access and affordability for American families.
In 2022, families across the U.S. struggled to find formula to feed their infants after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) temporarily shut down one of the country’s two formula producers. Amid the dire shortages, Congress passed legislation to temporarily suspend tariffs on imported baby formula from allied countries, bringing much-needed supply into the marketplace. The tariff suspensions expired in January 2023.
With the potential of another possible shortage looming and rising prices, the Formula 3.0 Act would reinstate these tariff suspensions and make them permanent, helping to ensure that parents always have access to affordable baby formula that meets the FDA’s standards.
“As a mom of two, I know firsthand how critical it is to be able to find formula for your baby,” said Sen. Katie Britt. “During the formula shortage last year, too many families were forced to confront the unthinkable, often desperately searching and coming up empty-handed. Permanently waiving these tariffs on allied countries gives parents greater access to formula. I’m proud to join my colleagues in bringing forward this bipartisan legislation that would ensure American families are able to provide their children with critical, life-sustaining nutrition.”
“The welfare of our families, especially our infants, is of utmost importance. The formula shortage has highlighted the need for long-term solutions that promote accessibility and affordability,” Sen. Lee said. “With the FORMULA 3.0 Act, we take a significant step towards permanently eliminating trade barriers and ensuring a stable supply of infant formula for families across the nation.”
“I’m proud to be co-leading this bipartisan effort to permanently waive tariffs on infant formula, which will lower prices and ensure we can protect infants from risks associated with current or future supply shortages,” said Sen. Menendez. “We have a responsibility to care for our families and children, and this common-sense solution will do just that.”
Rep. Smith is the Chairman of the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee.
“The baby formula crisis put an additional spotlight on the serious supply chain challenges we face,” said Rep. Smith. “Congress immediately came together in a bipartisan way to waive tariffs on safe, FDA-approved formula, and it alleviated some of the pressures families faced when searching for formula. Now that those tariffs have returned, the availability of formula has become strained once again. That’s why we are working in a bipartisan, bicameral way to permanently lift barriers to safely import formula and give families more options and access to the formula they need.”
“The fragility of the domestic infant formula market was put into stark relief last year when a problem at just one company’s facility led to a drastic supply shortage and massive price increases for parents nationwide,” said Rep. Beyer. “Due to high tariffs and other protectionist obstacles preventing high-quality infant formula imports from the global market, parents with small children were left scrambling to find affordable alternatives. With the expiration of temporary emergency measures designed to ease the shortage, the market remains extremely vulnerable to another supply shock. This bill would permanently eliminate trade barriers to encourage the import of FDA-compliant infant formula, bringing prices down for parents in the near term and staving off a potential future crisis.”
The tariffs were designed to encourage domestic manufacture of baby formula, but with only two companies in that space domestically, the tariff effectively drives the price up for imported baby formula.
Katie Britt was elected to the Senate in 2022.
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