II 112th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3292 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 13, 2012 Mrs. McCaskill (for herself, Mr. Portman, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Risch, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Coats, Mr. DeMint, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Toomey, Mr. Johnson of Wisconsin, Mr. Graham, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Coburn, and Mr. McCain) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To require the United States International Trade Commission to recommend temporary duty suspensions and reductions to Congress, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Temporary Duty Suspension Process Act of 2012.

2.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

Appropriate congressional committees

The term appropriate congressional committees means the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives. (2)

Commission

The term Commission means the United States International Trade Commission. (3)

Duty suspension or reduction

The term duty suspension or reduction means an amendment to subchapter II of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States— (A)extending an existing temporary suspension or reduction of duty on an article under that subchapter; or (B)providing for a new temporary suspension or reduction of duty on an article under that subchapter.

3.

Recommendations by United States International Trade Commission for duty suspensions and reductions

(a)

Establishment of review process

Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall complete all actions necessary to establish a process pursuant to which the Commission will— (1)review each article with respect to which a duty suspension or reduction may be made— (A)at the initiative of the Commission; or (B)pursuant to a petition submitted or referred to the Commission under subsection (b); and (2)submit a draft bill to the appropriate congressional committees under subsection (d). (b)

Petitions

(1)

In general

As part of the process established under subsection (a), the Commission shall establish procedures under which a petition requesting the Commission to review a duty suspension or reduction pursuant to that process may be— (A)submitted to the Commission by a member of the public; or (B)referred to the Commission by a Member of Congress. (2)

Requirements

A petition submitted or referred to the Commission under paragraph (1) shall be submitted or referred at such time and in such manner and shall include such information as the Commission may require. (3)

No preferential treatment for Members of Congress

A petition referred to the Commission by a Member of Congress under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) shall receive treatment no more favorable than the treatment received by a petition submitted to the Commission by a member of the public under subparagraph (A) of that paragraph. (c)

Public comments

As part of the process established under subsection (a), the Commission shall establish procedures for— (1)notifying the public when the Commission initiates the process of reviewing articles with respect to which duty suspensions or reductions may be made and distributing information about the process, including by— (A)posting information about the process on the website of the Commission; and (B)providing that information to trade associations and other appropriate organizations; (2)not later than 45 days before submitting a draft bill to the appropriate congressional committees under subsection (d), notifying the public of the duty suspensions and reductions the Commission is considering including in the draft bill; and (3)providing the public with an opportunity to submit comments with respect to any of those duty suspensions or reductions. (d)

Submission of draft bill

(1)

In general

The Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a draft bill that contains each duty suspension or reduction that the Commission determines, pursuant to the process established under subsection (a) and after conducting the consultations required by subsection (e), meets the requirements described in subsection (f), not later than— (A)the date that is 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act; (B)January 1, 2015; and (C)January 1, 2018. (2)

Effective period of duty suspensions and reductions

Duty suspensions and reductions included in a draft bill submitted under paragraph (1) shall be effective for a period of not less than 3 years. (3)

Special rule for first submission

In the draft bill required to be submitted under paragraph (1) not later than the date that is 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall be required to include only duty suspensions and reductions with respect to which the Commission has sufficient time to make a determination under that paragraph before the draft bill is required to be submitted. (e)

Consultations

In determining whether a duty suspension or reduction meets the requirements described in subsection (f), the Commission shall, not later than 30 days before submitting a draft bill to the appropriate congressional committees under subsection (d), conduct consultations with the Commissioner responsible for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies. (f)

Requirements for duty suspensions and reductions

(1)

In general

A duty suspension or reduction meets the requirements described in this subsection if— (A)the duty suspension or reduction can be administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection; (B)the estimated loss in revenue to the United States from the duty suspension or reduction does not exceed the dollar amount specified in paragraph (2) in a calendar year during which the duty suspension or reduction would be in effect; and (C)on the date on which the Commission submits a draft bill to the appropriate congressional committees under subsection (d) that includes the duty suspension or reduction, the article to which the duty suspension or reduction would apply is not produced in the United States and is not expected to be produced in the United States during the subsequent 12-month period. (2)

Dollar amount specified

(A)

In general

The dollar amount specified in this paragraph is— (i)for calendar year 2013, $500,000; and (ii)for any calendar year after calendar year 2013, an amount equal to $500,000 increased or decreased by an amount equal to— (I)$500,000, multiplied by (II)the percentage (if any) of the increase or decrease (as the case may be) in the Consumer Price Index for the preceding calendar year compared to the Consumer Price Index for calendar year 2012. (B)

Rounding

Any increase or decrease under subparagraph (A) of the dollar amount specified in this paragraph shall be rounded to the nearest dollar. (C)

Consumer Price Index for any calendar year

For purposes of this paragraph, the Consumer Price Index for any calendar year is the average of the Consumer Price Index as of the close of the 12-month period ending on September 30 of that calendar year. (D)

Consumer Price Index defined

For purposes of this paragraph, the term Consumer Price Index means the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. (3)

Consideration of relevant information

In determining whether a duty suspension or reduction meets the requirements described in paragraph (1), the Commission may consider any information the Commission considers relevant to the determination. (4)

Judicial review precluded

A determination of the Commission with respect to whether or not a duty suspension or reduction meets the requirements described in paragraph (1) shall not be subject to judicial review. (g)

Reports required

(1)

In general

Each time the Commission submits a draft bill under subsection (d), the Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the duty suspensions and reductions contained in the draft bill that includes— (A)the views of the head of each agency consulted under subsection (e); and (B)any objections received by the Commission during consultations conducted under subsection (e) or through public comments submitted under subsection (c), including— (i)objections with respect to duty suspensions or reductions the Commission included in the draft bill; and (ii)objections that led to the Commission to determine not to include a duty suspension or reduction in the draft bill. (2)

Initial report on process

Not later than 300 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes— (A)an assessment of the effectiveness of the process established under subsection (a) and the requirements of this section; (B)to the extent practicable, a description of the effects of duty suspensions and reductions recommended pursuant to that process on the United States economy that includes— (i)a broad assessment of the economic effects of such duty suspensions and reductions on producers, purchasers, and consumers in the United States; and (ii)case studies describing such effects by industry or by type of articles, as available data permits; (C)a comparison of the actual loss in revenue to the United States resulting from duty suspensions and reductions recommended pursuant to that process to the loss in such revenue estimated during that process; (D)to the extent practicable, information on how broadly or narrowly duty suspensions and reductions recommended pursuant to that process were used by importers; and (E)any recommendations of the Commission for improving that process and the requirements of this section. (h)

Form of draft bill and reports

Each draft bill submitted under subsection (d) and each report required by subsection (g) shall be— (1)submitted to the appropriate congressional committees in electronic form; and (2)made available to the public on the website of the Commission.

4.

Reports on benefits of duty suspensions or reductions to sectors of the United States economy

Not later than January 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that— (1)makes recommendations with respect to sectors of the United States economy that could benefit from duty suspensions or reductions without causing harm to other domestic interests; and (2)assesses the feasibility and advisability of suspending or reducing duties on a sectoral basis rather than on individual articles.