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Updated May 14, 2020
Miscellaneous Tariff Bills (MTBs)
Background
related agencies, and reporting findings directly to the
On October 11, 2019, the U.S. International Trade
House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees.
Commission (ITC) announced that it was accepting
The ITC began the MTB process on October 10, 2019, and
petitions from the public for tariff suspension or reduction
followed a timeline specifically established in the AMCA
for possible inclusion in a Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB).
(see Table 1, MTB Process Timeline in P.L. 114-159,
The ITC solicited public comment on these petitions, and is
below).The process began with an ITC Federal Register
preparing a preliminary MTB report, due in June 2020, for
notice asking members of the public who can demonstrate
the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance
that they are potential MTB beneficiaries to submit
Committees. The ITC actions follow a procedure and
petitions within 60 days (October 11 – December 10, 2019).
timeline enacted in the American Manufacturing
Petitioners who wished to continue existing duty
Competitiveness Act of 2016 (AMCA, P.L. 114-159).
suspensions were required to re-apply. On January 10,
This is the second MTB authorized by the AMCA. The
2020, the ITC published all of the duty suspension requests
first, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-
it received on a publicly available website. From January 10
239), enacted in September 2018, currently provides
to February 24, the ITC requested public comments on the
temporary tariff relief until December 31, 2020.
proposed duty suspensions. On March 30, 2020, the ITC
announced that all comments on the duty suspensions were
What is the purpose of MTBs? MTBs aim to temporarily
available to the public.
suspend or reduce tariffs on certain imported products
(called duty suspensions). In order to be considered for
Commerce Report. In the next step in the process, the
inclusion in an MTB, each proposed duty suspension must
Department of Commerce, in conjunction with CBP and
be noncontroversial (e.g., no domestic producer or Member
other relevant agencies, was required to a report to the ITC
objects); revenue-neutral (forgone tariff revenues of no
and Congress on each petition within 90 days of the
more than $500,000 per product); and administrable by
publication of the MTB petitions. For each proposed duty
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
suspension the report was to include (1) a determination of
whether domestic production exists, or if domestic
Debate. Many in Congress support MTBs as a relatively
production does exist, whether the producer objects to the
low-cost method of providing a competitive edge to U.S.
MTB petition; and (2) identification of technical changes to
businesses by reducing tariffs on chemicals and other inputs
the description, if any, necessary for purposes of CBP
used to manufacture downstream products, thus making
administration.
end-use products more affordable to consumers. However,
the former process by which MTBs were assembled was
ITC Preliminary Report. The ITC’s preliminary report,
controversial because it involved constituents asking
due 120 to 150 days after the publication date of the
individual Members to introduce duty suspension bills to
petitions, must contain, for each petition, (1) the product’s
benefit the constituent’s company.
Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) heading or subheading;
(2) a determination of whether or not domestic production
New MTB Process
or an objection to the duty suspension existed; (3) any
To address these prior concerns, Congress enacted AMCA
technical changes necessary to the product description; (4)
to reform the process for vetting MTBs. The law also
an estimate of the amount of loss in U.S. revenue; (5) a
established a process for initiating two MTBs, one in 2016,
determination of whether the duty suspension or reduction
and the second in 2019. To be included in an MTB, the
would be available to any importer of the targeted product;
same conditions for duty suspensions are applied as in the
and (6) the likely beneficiaries of the duty suspension or
previous process (i.e., noncontroversial, revenue-neutral,
reduction. On April 24, the ITC announced that it would
and administrable).
accept additional public comments from June 12-22 related
to its preliminary report to Congress.
Expanded ITC Role. Prior to passage of the AMCA, the
ITC, an independent agency with statutory responsibility to
Final ITC Report. After taking into account congressional
assist Congress (19 U.S.C. 1332(g)), reviewed duty
committee feedback, the additional public comments
suspension bills submitted by Members, made
received, and other information, the ITC must submit a
recommendations regarding proper tariff classification,
final report within 60 days determining, in part, whether
calculated tariff amounts, and surveyed industries to
each petition (1) is able to be administered by CBP; (2)
determine if proposed duty suspensions were controversial.
does not exceed $500,000 in revenue loss per year; and (3)
The AMCA expanded the ITC’s role to include directly
is available to any person importing the product. Based on
receiving MTB petitions from industry representatives,
the timeline (see below) the ITC’s final MTB report to
collecting public feedback, gathering input from other
Congress for the 2019/2020-petition cycle will likely be
completed in August 2020. If Congress decides to pursue
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Miscel aneous Tariff Bil s (MTBs)
MTB legislation, the relevant committees may introduce
as well as those that were inserted) had been previously
MTB bills sometime after the final report is released.
vetted through the ITC process, open for public comment,
and included in the MTB report submitted by the ITC to
Table 1. MTB Process Timeline in P.L. 114-159
Congress. The Senate amendment also extended customs
Date
Action
user fees through October 13, 2027, instead of April 22,
2026, as in the House version. The House agreed to the
No Later than October 15,
ITC publishes notice requesting
Senate amendment to H.R. 4318 on September 4, 2018.
2016 and October 15, 2019
duty suspension petitions
President Trump signed the measure on September 13.
60-day period beginning on
Public sends duty suspension
What are the effects of the tariffs issued by the Trump
ITC notice publication date
petitions to ITC
Administration on the duty reductions in the MTB (P.L.
No later than 30 days after
ITC publishes duty suspension
115-239)? The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of 2018
60-day period expires
petitions on internet
suspended or reduced tariffs on 1,655 products, about 64%
of which were also subject to additional duties under
45-day period beginning on
Public comment period
Section 301 if sourced from China. Thus, even though the
the publication date of
(comments also viewable by the
MTB provided suspensions and reductions of the general
petitions
public)
(or “normal trade relations” U.S. tariff rate), certain
No later than 90 days
Commerce, in consultation with
Chinese imports were subject to additional tariffs of as
fol owing the publication date
CBP and other relevant federal
much as 25%. However, according to the ITC report only
of petitions
agencies, submits report to ITC
15% of U.S. imports by value (or $839 million) that entered
and appropriate congressional
under the MTB were subject to Section 301 tariffs. This
committees
factor illustrates, in part, that some importers were able to
find countries other than China from which to source these
120 to 150 days fol owing
ITC Preliminary Report to
products.
the publication date of
Congress
petitions
Is the new process working as intended, ensuring more
transparency and timely consideration of these

60 days after submission of
ITC Final Report to Congress
measures? Each MTB must be submitted through a petition
preliminary report
process that allows for public comment, and likely
No later than 12 months
ITC reports on the effects of MTB
beneficiaries are also disclosed. In the 2016-2017 MTB
after enactment of MTB
legislation on the U.S. economy
process, the ITC and other agencies were able to meet the
Source: Sections 3 and 4 of P.L. 114-159.
time lines prescribed in the legislation.
Issues for Congress
Were there any complications in the 2016 MTB petition
cycle?
According to the ITC, many MTB petitions
What are the costs and benefits of MTBs? The AMCA
contained errors in accurately classifying the merchandise
required the ITC to submit a report to Congress on the
according to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
economic effects of duty suspensions and reductions on the
States (HTSUS).Thus, almost 28% of the petitions were not
U.S. economy within 12 months of the enactment of an
recommended for inclusion in an MTB because the duty
MTB. The ITC report, released in October 2019, indicated
suspensions could not be administered by CBP. In the 2019
that the 2018 MTB, which included 1,655 duty suspensions
cycle, the ITC recommends that petitioners research the
applied for by 335 separate firms, showed a small increase
HTSUS product classification using the Customs Ruling
in terms of U.S. output, welfare, and GDP.
Online Search System (CROSS, https://rulings.cbp.gov), or
Does Congress have to act for an MTB to become law?
submit a request to CBP for a binding customs
Yes. Although the AMCA contains a sense of Congress that
classification ruling (https://apps.cbp.gov/erulings/home),
an MTB should be considered no later than 90 days after
prior to filing an MTB petition. The ITC has also
the final ITC report, there is no requirement in the law for
announced a series of workshops and webinars, the first of
an MTB to receive floor action. If an MTB is to be
which were held in July and August 2019, to (1) help
considered, the House Ways and Means Committee and/or
potential filers understand the MTB petition process, and
Senate Finance Committee must draft legislation and
(2) write acceptable product descriptions in various HTSUS
publish a list of all “limited tariff benefits” (i.e., provisions
categories.
modifying the HTS in a way that benefits 10 or fewer
Will MTBs continue under the current process after this
entities) under a process specified in the AMCA.
MTB cycle? The AMCA provided for two MTBs, one in
In the 115th Congress, companion MTBs based on the new
2016 and one in 2019. In order for the MTB process to be
process were introduced in the House (H.R. 4318) and
continued beyond the 2019 process, Congress must extend
Senate (S. 2108) on November 9, 2017. The House
the AMCA, further amend the MTB process, or decide not
unanimously passed H.R. 4318 under suspension of the
to continue MTBs.
rules on January 16, 2018. On July 26, 2018, the Senate
passed H.R. 4318 by unanimous consent, with an
Vivian C. Jones, Specialist in International Trade and
amendment that removed several products from the MTB
Finance
measure and added several types of lower-priced shoe
IF10478
products. All of these products (those removed from the bill
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Miscel aneous Tariff Bil s (MTBs)


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