You need to act now to keep or obtain a suspension or reduction of duties on your imports under the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill process!

A Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) is a law that temporarily reduces or suspends the import tariffs paid on eligible products imported into the United States. Current MTB duty suspensions and reductions will expire on December 31, 2020.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has begun accepting petitions for the tariff suspensions and reductions that are expected to take effect January 1, 2021 and expire on December 31, 2024. The petition is the first step in a process that may result in the MTB legislation that temporarily suspends or reduces the duty on your eligible imports for that period. Petitions must be filed by 5:15 p.m. EST on December 10, 2019.

Eligible products: While there are no restrictions on what can be requested, importers typically request duty relief for manufacturing components that are not produced in the United States. The products can be manufactured in any country. However, to be successful the petition cannot be opposed by a domestic industry.

Impact: MTB will not relieve importers of the additional duties imposed on goods of Chinese origin or on steel and aluminum products. Any reduction of duties resulting from the change to the duty rate for the proposed product may not exceed $500,000 per annum.

Who should petition: (1) Any importer who wishes to continue enjoying the duty suspension or reduction under the current MTB, whether or not they submitted the previous petition. Without a new petition the benefit will expire. It is in your interest to take steps to continue to enjoy the benefit. (2) Any importer who wishes to request duty suspension or reduction on products not included in the current MTB. The petition process is open to all products, including those that do not currently enjoy a tariff reduction or suspension under the existing MTB.

Opportunity to comment: USITC will accept public comments in support of or in opposition to petitions no later than January 11, 2020. The agency will submit its report to Congress on the products to be included in the next MTB by August 2020.

Follow the process here. Questions about the process? Email mtbinfo@usitc.gov or contact us

Andrea Ewart

I am a seasoned international trade and customs attorney, and policy adviser for various companies and governments with a demonstrated history of successfully developing and implementing sustainable and dynamic trade programs. I am experienced in creating partnerships with various business-support organizations to drive compliance and growth in the international market.