Donald Riegle: “I introduce legislation to suspend the duty on the personal effects of participants and others associated with the 1994…”

“I introduce legislation to suspend the duty on the personal effects of participants and others associated with the 1994 World Cup soccer games. This summer, the United States will host the World Cup for the first time ever, a very special privilege for the United States. The World Cup, the largest single sporting event in the world, will include 52 games played in nine cities: Detroit, New York, Washington, Orlando, Boston, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. These games will have huge positive economic impacts in those cities and the surrounding areas. Duty-free privileges are an important aspect of hosting an international sporting event. Granting these privileges to World Cup participants will give us the opportunity to reciprocate the hospitality that has been afforded our athletes in sporting events hosted by other countries. There is considerable precedence for duty-free legislation for international sporting events held in the United States. The revenue loss caused by the suspension of these tariffs will be negligible, while the positive effects of continuing the policy of encouraging international sports competitions is great.”