Senators Introduce MTB Revamps Proposal
Lawmakers introduced a new bill April 23 designed to streamline the duty suspension process and prevent “backdoor earmarks” within Miscellaneous Tariff Bills (MTB). The new bill, titled the Duty Suspension Act, was initially introduced last year (see 12061429). Senate Finance Committee members Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., the original authors of the bill, also reintroduced it. Read the bill text (here).
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The bill would allow companies to submit tariff reduction proposals directly to the International Trade Court, instead of requiring them to find a member of Congress to sponsor a duty suspension proposal. Once the ITC reviews and accepts the proposal, it would be sent to Congress for final approval. The bill authorizes the new process for three rounds -- 2013, 2015 and 2018 -- and requires a comprehensive ITC review of all possible eligible items in 2015 and 2018. The bill includes an exception for the 2013 round, so it can be completed under a shorter deadline.
“I am committed to seeing a bill pass this year,” Portman said in a release announcing the bill. “By streamlining the process and allowing job creators to take their concerns directly to the ITC, our bill will not only save job creators time and resources but also make it easier for them to get a fair and thorough review.”
In the House, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., introduced a MTB Jan.1, but the bill has yet to be reintroduced for this session (see 13010207 for more on the bill). The Committee set an April 2 deadline for reintroducing duty suspension forms for inclusion in a new MTB (see 13032903). A large number of duty suspensions or reductions -- mostly for chemical products -- expired at the end of 2012. In a similar expiration situation in 2010, Congress retroactively addressed the duty suspensions.
Correction: The Duty Suspension Act introduced in the Senate April 23 is not a new Miscellaneous Tariff Bill; the Act proposes a new MTB process. Duty suspension proposals would be submitted and reviewed by the International Trade Commission.