The current Miscellaneous Trade Bill (MTB) (H.R. 4318) is in place through December 31, 2020. However, the USITC is opening the new Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Portal this Friday, October 11, 2019 to allow U.S. manufacturers and importers an opportunity to include products on the list for consideration over the next year.

If the MTB petition passes Congress in 2020 and is signed into law by the President, it will become effective January 1, 2021 and expire on December 31, 2024.

The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Portal can be found by clicking here and the deadline for submission of petitions is December 10, 2019. The site includes information to help with certain petition filings, guides, reports and a contact section.

Please note that the petition process requires more information to be provided than in previous processes. The petitioner should include:

1. CBP rulings on the product
2. CBP documentation that supports the HTS of the article

The following information should also be included in the petition:

1. Value and Duty estimates for the next five calendar years
2. Estimated petitioner’s share of total imports of that particular article
3. Names of any domestic producers
4. Certification of completeness and correctness
5. Petitioner’s acknowledgment of USITC’s ability to audit and verify

A complete list of the current USITC issued MTB items can be found by clicking here. Please note that while these items can be petitioned again, they may or may not be approved in the new MTB legislation.

What is the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill?

The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill offers importers the ability to import certain approved commodities at a reduced or duty-free tariff for three years. These tariffs normally apply to chemicals or other raw materials used by U.S. manufacturers in their domestic manufacturing process, allowing them to be more price-competitive with foreign manufacturers. Importers can also petition for MTB consideration on products where there are no domestic suppliers or there are limited imports with a minimal duty impact per calendar year.

If you have questions regarding this process, please reach out to your Ascent Global Logistics representative or contact [email protected].