To find out about a proposed program that is earmarked to help small/mid-sized manufacturers transact business online, the possible extension of the Internet Sales Tax moratorium; and The Supreme Court’s surprising decision regarding the Clean Air Act, click:

Most e-commerce studies of U.S. companies have indicated that small/mid-sized manufacturing businesses are adopting e-commerce technologies at a significantly slower rate than the rest of industry. Looking toward the future and fully e-commerce-enabled businesses, U.S. lawmakers are considering a federally backed e-commerce pilot program geared toward helping these businesses get online. Known as the “Electronic Commerce Enhancement Act”, the proposal will require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to assemble a panel of advisors to assess the challenges facing smaller manufacturing companies in becoming e-commerce enabled. If the proposal were to be passed in its present form, a network of centers, providing advice and training in the Internet and e-commerce, would be established throughout the U.S. The NIST offices that are most effective in identifying solutions for the slow rate of adoption of e-commerce, would be awarded competitive grants to help further their efforts. The ultimate goal of the network would be to have smaller sized businesses use their websites to transact business, as opposed to simply providing company information on-line.

It is likely that lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives will be proposing a five-year extension to the Internet Sales Tax moratorium. As it currently stands, the moratorium would expire in October 2001. Lawmakers from both parties, however, are concerned that this brief reprieve does not allow enough time for e-commerce to grow, unimpeded by the burden of taxation. Yet, another even more ambitious bill, recently submitted by Republican Senator Bob Smith, would ban Internet sales tax indefinitely. Despite widely held belief, the Internet Sales Tax moratorium only prohibits three types of taxation: (1) accessing the internet itself; (2) purchases subject to taxation by two or more states; (3) taxes on products that are already designated as being tax-free when purchased offline. Industrial Market Trends will keep its readers posted on this legislature, as it develops.

On the rules and regulations front, The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (E.P.A.) to set rules under the Clean Air Act. In addition, The Supreme Court ruled that the E.P.A. does not have to consider or factor in costs when setting standards for the environment, stating that “how best to protect public health” should be the only consideration in setting air quality standards. The court did, however, reject the E.P.A.’s plan to apply the rules in metropolitan areas that have yet to meet previous standards. Industry’s response to the decision has been decidedly mixed, with praise for The Supreme Court in not deciding on the implementation of ozone standards (this has been remanded to the lower court for further review), and disappointment with the court’s decision in not considering costs in the setting of the rules for air quality.

Sources: E.P.A.’s Authority on Air Rules Wins Supreme Court’s Backing
February 28, 2001
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/28/national/28SCOT.html

House Passes E-Commerce Enhancement Bill
Robert MacMillan
Newsbytes, Sept. 26, 2000
http://www.newsbytes.com/pubNews/00/155733.html

Bills Would Keep Web Tax Moratorium
D. Ian Hopper
Austin 360.com, Feb. 9, 2001
http://austin360.com/shared/news/technology/ap_story.html/Technology/AP.V0433.AP-Internet-Taxes.html