MSCI Joins U.S. Chamber To Argue For COVID-19 Liability Relief

The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) is now a member of the Coronavirus Liability Coalition, a group of trade associations and other organizations led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Last week, the Coalition sent a letter to members of Congress calling for timely, targeted, and temporary COVID-related liability relief legislation that will protect businesses, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and healthcare providers from unwarranted lawsuits related to COVID-19.

The Coalition argued frivolous lawsuits “are a deterrent to reopening” and said “litigation could devastate those entities that are just beginning to reopen their doors or have kept them open throughout the crisis.” The Coalition also noted that, “in the wake of prior crises, Congress came together to pass timely and targeted liability protections with strong bipartisan support because lawmakers understood the acute economic threat of lawsuits at moments of maximum economic vulnerability.”

Specifically, the Coalition asked federal lawmakers to pass temporary provisions that protect:

• Businesses, non-profit organizations, and educational institutions that follow applicable public health guidelines from COVID-19 exposure claims;
• Healthcare workers and facilities providing COVID-19-related care and services;
• Manufacturers, donors, distributors, and users of vaccines, therapeutics, medical devices, personal protective equipment, and other supplies, such as hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies, that are critical to the COVID-19 response; and
• Public companies targeted by unfair COVID-19-related securities lawsuits.

Several U.S. states already have implemented COVID-19-related liability protections for some businesses, but a uniform national response would provide more certainty for companies in the industrial metals sector. Read the Coalition’s full letter here. The National Association has provided an update on efforts to pass business liability legislation that is available here.