MTB Introduced in House; Retroactive to January 2021
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Mo., along with 17 Republicans on the committee, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., have introduced a Miscellaneous Tariff Bill to remove $1.3 million a day in tariffs on items not available from domestic producers.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
The bill is supported by the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Chemistry Council and CropLife America, which represents the pesticide industry.
Smith said, "Renewing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill is essential to reducing barriers for American manufacturing and agriculture," and the largest category in the list is chemicals used in both industries. However, the MTB is more than 800 pages long, and covers more than manufacturing inputs, with items such as mirrors, microfiber cleaning cloths, shoes, aluminum shower caddies, curtain rods and other consumer goods on the list.
The news release said the products included were recommended in the 2019 application process overseen by the International Trade Commission. A spokesperson for Smith's office was not able to say what differences there might be in the list from the last time the House put forward a version (see 2106280044).
Importers of the goods included in an MTB would receive refunds of the tariffs paid since Jan. 1, 2021, unless those goods were subject to Section 301 tariffs at the end of 2020. The bill would cover the imports through the end of 2025, and would authorize a new application process in 2025 and 2028.
Smith said in a recent interview at the Capitol that he expects the MTB could pass the House before the August recess.