Gov. Jay Nixon says Missouri officials expect to finalize billions of dollars of export agreements during an upcoming trade trip to China.
The governor said Monday the trip will allow the state to sign export agreements with Chinese agencies and provide a chance for numerous Missouri businesses to close deals with Chinese customers.
The timing of the trip is a little less than ideal. That's because Missouri lawmakers meeting in a special session have failed to agree this fall on a proposal for millions of dollars of tax credits to transform the St. Louis airport into a trade hub with the Chinese.
A bill to provide $60 million in tax incentives for freight forwarders to build a so-called Aerotropolis trade hub with China at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport fell apart at the legislative special session in Jefferson City.
The special session, which started more than six weeks ago, is now effectively over. "It's disappointing," House Speaker Steve Tilley said. "We had an agreement when we came in."
The state Senate decided not to pursue further negotiations with the House on the special session’s economic development bill. Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer reportedly said the Senate and House cannot agree on 2018 sunsets on low-income housing and historic tax credits.
The Senate wants to keep seven-year sunsets on the low-income housing and historic tax credits. The House, on the other hand, wants voters to decide whether to implement legislative votes on the tax credit programs every four years. |
