Senators Seek to Add MTB Reform Bill as Amendment

U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) continued their push against the ongoing miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB) process, moving to add their MTB reform bill as an amendment to small business tax legislation. The tax bill (S-2237) is scheduled for consideration by the Senate July 12. The House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees have said they will continue work to finish the MTB.

(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 has voiced support for the McCaskill-Portman bill.)

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. 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 Congressional Budget Office, after which Committee determines whether a bill meets the requirements and thus is eligible for inclusion in the MTB.

(See ITT's Online Archives 12040239 for summary of the House and Senate Committees beginning the MTB process. See 2061429 for summary of introduction of the McCaskill-Portman bill. See 12061522 for summary of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees plans to continue the current process. See 12070216 for announcement of the committee's posting MTB public comments.)