Duty Modification Petitions May Now be Submitted; Due by Dec. 12

The International Trade Commission has announced that it will accept petitions for import duty suspensions and reductions from Oct. 14 through Dec. 12. Petitions must be submitted electronically via the ITC’s designated secure web portal and may be filed by members of the public who can demonstrate that they are likely beneficiaries of such changes.

This is the first step in the revised miscellaneous trade bill process established by the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act enacted earlier this year. Following its receipt of the petitions filed the ITC must publish them on its website and allow public comment on them. The ITC must subsequently submit to the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees preliminary and final reports that include:

(a) The ITC’s analysis of each petition, including whether there is domestic production of the article, whether the estimated loss in revenues due to the duty suspension or reduction exceeds $500,000, and whether the duty suspension or reduction will be available to any person importing the article.

(b) The ITC’s recommendations as to whether each petition should be included in or excluded from an MTB. Congress will then make the final decision regarding those petitions that will be included in the MTB.

Petitioners should be prepared to complete their entire petition when they enter the portal and will not be able to edit, amend, or complete the petition at a later time. Any changes required must be made by withdrawing the original petition and filing a new one, which must be done by Dec. 12.

For more information on how to prepare and submit a petition, please contact David Olave at (202) 730-4960.