The U.S. International Trade Commission Initiates A Second Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Process -

On October 11, 2019, the United States International Trade Commission (“Commission”) will again initiate the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (“MTB”) process. Under the MTB process, parties can file petitions with the Commission to request a temporary suspension or reduction of duties on their imports into the United States. Under the MTB process, Congress may eliminate or reduce import duties on specific products in an amount up of to $500,000 per year if the products are not otherwise available in the United States. The reduction in import duties lasts for three years.

The new MTB process is the second of two rounds that Congress authorized in the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016. At the end of the first round, Congress enacted the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of 2018 (H.R. 4318), which President Trump signed into law on September 13, 2018. The reductions in duties included in the bill last through December 31, 2020. With this new round, importers may request an extension of the duty suspensions or reductions put into place by the 2018 bill, or request a new temporary duty suspension or elimination for a product not covered by the 2018 bill.