Industry News

Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Opened to Public Comment

May 29, 2012


On May 24-25, 2012, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee posted online the approximately 1,300 individual Miscellaneous Tariff Bills (MTBs) recently introduced in Congress and called for public comments on the bills. The MTB process is designed to reduce or suspend tariffs on products used by American manufacturers that are not manufactured in the United States. For inclusion in the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, duty exemptions are generally required to apply to one product or item, to be non-controversial, and to cost no more than $500,000 per year in duty reductions. While the MTB process is normally fairly non-controversial, there has been debate within the Republican Party this year over whether or not the MTBs should be considered earmark legislation. Public comments on the individual bills are due by June 22, 2012.

For further information or assistance submitting a comment, please contact a Barnes/Richardson attorney.