Senators Introduce Bill to Revamp MTB Process

Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) introduced legislation June 13 meant to improve the miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB) process and work around conservative objections to the MTB. The Portman-McCaskill bill, the Temporary Duty Suspension Process Act, would "simplify federal processes for America’s manufacturers, while continuing to guard against Congressional earmarks for pork-barrel projects," said a press release.

(The MTB, typically passed by every congress to suspend tariffs on certain products, has faced recent objections, especially from Tea Party favorite Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), over whether MTB violates a congressional ban on earmarks. DeMint voiced support for the bill June 13.)

The bill would allow companies to submit proposals directly to the International Trade Commission and keep final approval for Congress. This would lessen the chance for backdoor earmarks and reduce the need for lobbyists to help get individual legislation, said the release. Text of the bill is (here).

The bill would give three paths for an article to be considered for a temporary duty suspension or reduction: (1) initiated by the ITC; (2) via petition from an outside party; or (3) by a referral from a Member of Congress. Through this process, the ITC would review particular articles for approval, allow public comments and objections, take comments from the Administration and Congress, and submit a draft bill containing its recommendations for duty suspensions or reductions to the appropriate Congressional Committees. The bill preserves the role of Congress in the overall duty suspension process by requiring the USITC draft bill to be processed under regular order.

The bill authorizes the new process to be used for three rounds (2012, 2015, and 2018). While it requires a comprehensive review by the ITC of all possible eligible items in 2015 and 2018, an exception is included for the 2012 round so that it can be completed under a truncated timeline.

Under current rules, following the congressional introduction of duty suspensions, the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees solicit comments from the ITC, the Administration (including Commerce Department and CBP), the public and the CBO, after which Committee determines whether a bill meets the requirements and thus is eligible for inclusion in the MTB. The committees are in the process of gathering comment now, with public comments due June 22. Comments won't be available for review until all are collected.

“This bipartisan bill is an important step to strengthen a valuable tool for our job-creators, while ensuring that tool doesn’t turn into a backdoor for allowing earmarks to worm their way back into the legislative process,” said McCaskill. “We’ve already seen leaders in the U.S. House try to sneak around the earmark ban and nab taxpayer dollars for their own pet projects, so I’m going to stay vigilant while reducing unnecessary burdens for Missouri’s employers.”

“While it is important Washington does away with unnecessary tariffs that increase costs for Ohio businesses and consumers without benefiting any American producers, we need to do it under a better, more efficient system,” Portman said. “Under this measure, we create a transparent, merit-driven process that would allow businesses seeking tariff relief to go directly to the experts at the International Trade Commission. I believe these reforms are the only way we’re going to get important tariff relief through the Congress this year, and I hope Congress will move quickly to provide more certainty for job creators through this merit-based approach.”

(See ITT's Online Archives 12040239 for summary of the House and Senate Committees beginning the MTB process.)