MTB Passage Largely Lauded as It Heads to President Trump

The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, which will lower tariffs on nearly 1,700 items, will restore a program that ended in 2012 -- as long as the president doesn't veto it. This version differed slightly from a bill previously passed by the House and was already approved by the Senate (see 1807270003). President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill, though one Trump ally made another call for a veto of the legislation following its passage in the House Sept. 4.

The decreased tariff rates will take effect 30 days after enactment and will expire at the end of 2020, according to the bill text. The last MTB expired at the end of 2012 and this MTB follows a several years-long process of revamping how goods are considered for inclusion. Coalition for a Prosperous America Chairman Dan DiMicco again urged Trump to veto the bill. "At precisely the moment when President Trump is tackling foreign trade cheating and trying to create leverage, Congress is again inviting importers to take over US markets," he said.

House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee ranking member Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., spoke on the floor in favor of the bill before it passed. "New Jersey’s largest industry is chemical manufacturing, employing directly or indirectly over 100,000 jobs, and several of those firms will receive tariff relief from numerous imported chemicals that I dare not try to pronounce," he said, but noted that MTB will lift tariffs on Chinese imports at the same time the administration is levying tariffs on China.

Just before the vote, Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, praised MTB for its benefits to manufacturers, but reminded them that the program is temporary, so it also should encourage them to examine ways to relocate these inputs to the U.S. The tariff relief on the items is supposed to be only for goods no longer manufactured in the U.S., but the International Trade Commission cannot always know if there is no domestic source unless a U.S. company protests.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said "It is great to finally get this done." The bill first passed the House in January; the vote Sept. 4 was on the version passed by the Senate in July. The National Association of Manufacturers said the bill "will end the $1 million a day tax that manufacturers and other American businesses have endured just for buying parts and supplies they need."

The American Apparel and Footwear Association encouraged the president not to veto the bill. "By signing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill into law, the President would immediately provide relief to American businesses shackled with an unavoidable tax bill, due to the unavailability of domestic supply."