On October 11, 2019, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will begin accepting Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) petitions for duty suspension or reduction. Before opening the process and electronic portal for filings, the ITC will be holding a “MTB Walk-Through” on October 8, 2019, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET. The walk-through will provide an overview of the MTB filing process, offer a preview of the MTB Petition System portal, and allow participants to ask ITC staff procedural and technical questions on the MTB process. Under the MTB process, U.S. importers petition for duty-free or reduced-duty treatment of certain imported products by submitting a petition to the ITC.

The American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016 permits MTB petitions to be filed by any member of the public who is a likely beneficiary of the duty suspension or reduction or by a legal representative. A successful MTB petition will cover a “noncontroversial” or “noncompetitive” product:

  • No domestic producer objects to the import duty elimination or reduction for the product;
  • The import duty elimination or reduction for the product is determined to be in the interest of U.S. “downstream” producers and consumers; and
  • The import duty elimination or reduction for the product must not result in a loss to the U.S. Department of the Treasury of more than $500,000 in annual revenue.

Once the ITC begins accepting petitions on October 11, parties will have 60 days to file their petitions (until December 10, 2019). A separate petition must be filed for each product during the petition process period. The ITC will then conduct a notice and comment period on whether individual requests threaten domestic producers. This period will be followed by the ITC’s report to Congress suggesting products for inclusion in a final MTB to amend Chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

On August 27, 2019, the ITC published its Final Rule for the submission and consideration of MTB petitions. Interested companies should begin gathering the materials needed for filing and familiarizing themselves with the MTB petition process. Please note that the ITC portal (https://mtbps.usitc.gov/external/) has not yet been updated for the 2019 petition process.