USMCA Fixes in Omnibus; GSP, MTB to Expire Dec. 31

Technical fixes for USMCA, including the restoration of merchandise processing fee refunds for post-entry filings, are part of the end-of-year legislative package expected to pass later today, a Senate Finance Committee spokesman said.

In that same fixes package, tariff treatment for goods manufactured in foreign-trade zones will return to the way it was handled under NAFTA. The FTZs lobbied fiercely to be able to use USMCA rule of origin to avoid tariffs on imported inputs. Applicable tariffs will be due on the goods that exited those zones since July 1.

The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill and Generalized System of Preferences benefits program renewals did not make it into the legislative package, so those programs will expire at the end of the day on Dec. 31.