国际英语新闻：Obama signs bill to boost U.S. manufacturing

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed a bill into law to boost domestic manufacturers by suspending import duties on a variety of raw materials.

The bill, formally known as the Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010, was approved by the Congress last month. It is expected to save companies 298 million dollars over the next three years in tariff payments to the Treasury, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

"The Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010 will create jobs, help American companies compete, and strengthen manufacturing as a key driver of our economic recovery," Obama said at the signing ceremony at the White House.

The National Association of Manufacturers, a top industry group that strongly supports the bill, estimated that the measure would boost U.S. manufacturing output by 4.6 billion dollars and support up to 90,000 jobs.

Obama said the legislation will reduce or eliminate some of the tariffs that manufacturers paid to import raw materials from overseas.

"(This) will significantly lower costs for American companies across the manufacturing landscape -- from cars to chemicals; medical devices to sporting goods. And that will boost output, support good jobs here at home, and lower prices for American consumers," he added.

Manufacturing industry has shown strong performance since the U. S. economy began to recover from the recession in the second half of last year. Since the beginning of this year, the sector has added 183,000 jobs -- the strongest seven months of manufacturing job growth in more than a decade.