Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) has confirmed that the Senate will not pass its miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB) before adjourning for the holiday recess.
Congress tries to pass an MTB bill every two years to provide temporary duty relief on products where importers, retailers or other stakeholders can prove doing so will not hurt domestic manufacturers. In several cases, temporary duty relief secured by OIA and its allies has temporarily reduced duties on some outdoor performance footwear almost 40% ranges to less than 10%.
Without an MTB bill, duties could revert on some of that footwear, but a less drastic outcome is more likely, according to Alex Boian, director of trade policy for OIA.
“As there are hundreds of MTB duty suspensions that will expire at the end of this year, there are two probable scenarios to ensure current duty suspensions do not expire,” Boian wrote in a note to OIA members late Thursday. “The Senate may pass a smaller MTB package that includes only the expiring provisions that have already been analyzed by the International Trade Commission and the administration. It is more likely that the Senate passes a short-term (six months or less) extension of all current duty suspensions until the larger MTB package can be passed early next year, The House is farther along in their MTB process as its MTB will only include duty suspensions that were originally introduced in the 110th Congress for last year’s House package. The Ways and Means Committee is close to finalizing its MTB and a bill is expected soon. It is not yet clear whether the House will pass its bill this year.”
Outdoor Industry Association has several pending MTBs and has been actively pressing for their passage. Boian urged OIA members to contact him with any questions.
