corporate income tax rates and implementing a territorial tax system. As the Company has a March 31 fiscalyear-end, a U.S. statutory federal rate of 21% applies to fiscal year beginning April 1, 2018. The Tax Act eliminates the domestic manufacturing deduction and implements certain transitional impacts to the Company.
The changes included in the Tax Act are broad and complex. The final transition impacts of the Tax Act may differ from estimates, possibly materially, due to, among other things, changes in interpretations of the Tax Act, any legislative action to address questions that arise because of the Tax Act, any changes in accounting standards for income taxes or related interpretations in response to the Tax Act, or any updates or changes to estimates the Company has utilized to calculate the transition impacts, including impacts from changes to current year earnings estimates and foreign exchange rates of foreign subsidiaries. The Securities Exchange Commission has issued rules that would allow for a measurement period of up to one year after the enactment date of the Tax Act to finalize the recording of the related tax impacts. The Company made an estimate at March 31, 2018 on the impact of the Tax Act. There were no changes to that provisional estimate during the first quarter ended June 30, 2018.
The benefits of tax positions are not recorded unless it is more likely than not that the tax position would be sustained upon challenge by the appropriate tax authorities. Tax benefits that are more likely than not to be sustained are measured at the largest amount of benefit that is cumulatively greater than a 50% likelihood of being realized.
As of June 30, 2018 and March 31, 2018, the Company had liabilities of $7,296 and $7,038, respectively, recorded for unrecognized tax benefits for U.S. federal, state and foreign tax jurisdictions. During the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, the Company recognized $138 and $(56), respectively, of interest and penalties in income tax expense in the condensed consolidated statements of income. The liability for the gross amount of interest and penalties at June 30, 2018 and March 31, 2018 was $2,868 and $2,641, respectively. The liability for unrecognized tax benefits is classified in other noncurrent liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets for the portion of the liability where payment of cash is not anticipated within one year of the balance sheet date. The Company believes that it is reasonably possible that $4,542 of unrecognized tax benefits as of June 30, 2018 could be released within the next 12 months due to the lapse of statute of limitations and settlements of certain foreign and domestic income tax matters. The unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would favorably impact the effective tax rate are $6,742.
8. Risk Management Activities and Financial Instruments
The Company is exposed to market risks, both directly and indirectly, such as currency fluctuations and interest rate movement. To the extent the Company deems it to be appropriate, derivative instruments and hedging activities are used as a risk management tool to mitigate the potential impact of certain risks, primarily foreign currency exchange risk and interest rate risk.
The Company uses various types of derivative instruments including, but not limited to, forward contracts and swaps. The Company formally assesses, designates, and documents as a hedge of an underlying exposure each qualifying derivative instrument that will be accounted for as an accounting hedge at inception. Additionally, the Company assesses, both at inception and at least quarterly thereafter, whether the financial instruments used in the hedging transactions are effective at offsetting changes in either the fair values or cash flows of the underlying exposures.
Interest Rate Risk Management
The Company uses interest rate swap agreements (the “Swaps”) to minimize its exposure to interest rate fluctuations on variable rate debt borrowings. Swaps involve the exchange of fixed and variable rate interest payments and do not represent an actual exchange of the underlying notional amounts between the two parties.
In conjunction with entering into the New Credit Agreement (see Note 5), the Company entered into two spotnon-amortizing Swaps with a total notional amount of $300,000 to convert variable rate debt to fixed rate debt. These Swaps became effective October 2017, expire in October 2018, and will result in interest payments of 1.5625% plus the applicable margin per the requirements in the New Credit Agreement. The Company also entered into two forward startingnon-amortizing Swaps with a total notional amount of $300,000 to convert variable rate debt to fixed rate debt. These Swaps will become effective in October 2018, will expire in October 2022, and will result in interest payments of 2.1345% plus the applicable margin per the requirements in the New Credit Agreement.
Upon inception, the Swaps were designated as cash flow hedges under ASU2017-12, with gains and losses, net of tax, measured on an ongoing basis, recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (“AOCI”).
Foreign Currency Risk Management
Foreign currency exchange risk arises from our international operations as well as from transactions with customers or suppliers denominated in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. The functional currency of each of the Company’s subsidiaries is generally the currency of the country in which the subsidiary operates or the U.S. Dollar. At times, the Company uses foreign currency forward contracts to minimize the impact of fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
The Company periodically enters into foreign currency forward contracts to fix the purchase price of foreign currency denominated firm commitments. In addition, the Company periodically enters into short-term foreign currency forward contracts to fix the U.S. Dollar value of certain intercompany loan payments, which typically settle in the following quarter. During the three months ended June 30, 2018 and
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