The potential for lower duties and retroactive duty reimbursement is on the horizon for some products as congress has been active in reauthorizing the Miscellaneous Trade Bill (MTB.) The MTB expired in December 2020, but up until that point provided duty relief on products not available in the US.
“Renewing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill is essential to reducing barriers for American manufacturing and agriculture, supporting jobs, private sector growth, and our overall economic competitiveness, while upholding Congress’ constitutional authority over trade.” said Ways and Means Committee Trade Subcommittee Chair Adrian Smith.
“Restoring the MTB would strengthen manufacturing here at home, giving our sector the ability to source raw materials and components that can’t be produced domestically at scale or at competitive prices.”
The MTB Reform Act would:
- Approve duty-free treatment of products recommended under the 2019 application process created by the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act through December 31st, 2025, in order to support domestic manufacturers who participated in that process in a good faith manner
- Provide retroactive duty relief on those items, back to January 1st, 2021
- Make technical changes to align exemptions with the most recent revision of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
- Align MTB exclusions with our trade policy toward China, excluding products subject to Section 301 tariffs while allowing American manufacturers to continue accessing parts which had Section 301 exclusions as of December 31st, 2020
- Reauthorize the ITC-based process for future Miscellaneous Tariff Bills, creating new opportunities for American manufacturers to apply for domestically unavailable inputs in 2025 and 2028
Details are outstanding as to which items are covered by the bill and exactly how the application for duty relief would operate, but this bill could be very beneficial for you if you have to import materials and components as a result of the items not being available in the US.
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