SFIA said the International Trade Commission (ITC) recommended 33 petitions for tariff relief on sports and fitness products as part of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB).
The final recommendations were sent to Congress on August 9.
Each petition was capped at $500,000 in tariff relief per year for $16.5 million in tariff relief annually on Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) members’ products. The MTB is valid for three years after enactment for $49.5 million in total relief on sports and fitness products.
SFIA has worked with its members on 40 MTB petitions. Thirty-three of the 40 petitions were recommended for approval by the ITC and seven were not. The petitions not recommended were declined due to domestic opposition.
Duty relief recommendations:
“This SFIA-led industry effort will correct a problem in our tariff system and save our members millions of dollars.” said Bill Sells, senior vice president for government and public affairs. “Overall, we are pleased with the outcome and will continue to look for new opportunities to improve the business environment for the sports and fitness industry.”
Congress will review the ITC recommendations and vote on the MTB package in November. Congress cannot add products but may remove products from the MTB. We do not anticipate any SFIA member products to be removed from the final package.
Once Congress approves the MTB it will send it to the President for his signature. The reduced duty rates would go into effect January 1, 2018 and last for three years before needing to be renewed.
For more information on the MTB duty relief please contact Bill Sells at bsells@sfia.org.
