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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 998 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 998

    To establish a process for the consideration of temporary duty 
          suspensions and reductions, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 16, 2015

 Mr. Portman (for himself, Mrs. McCaskill, and Mr. Toomey) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                               on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To establish a process for the consideration of temporary duty 
          suspensions and reductions, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Manufacturing 
Competitiveness Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE NEED FOR A MISCELLANEOUS TARIFF BILL.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) As of the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
        Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States imposes duties 
        on imported goods for which there is no domestic availability 
        or insufficient domestic availability.
            (2) The imposition of duties on such goods creates 
        artificial distortions in the economy of the United States that 
        negatively affect United States manufacturers and consumers.
            (3) It is in the interests of the United States to update 
        the Harmonized Tariff Schedule every 3 years to eliminate such 
        artificial distortions by suspending or reducing duties on such 
        goods.
            (4) The manufacturing competitiveness of the United States 
        around the world will be enhanced if Congress regularly and 
        predictably updates the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to suspend 
        or reduce duties on such goods.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, to remove 
the competitive disadvantage to United States manufactures and 
consumers resulting from an outdated Harmonized Tariff Schedule and to 
promote the competitiveness of United States manufacturers, Congress 
should consider a miscellaneous tariff bill not later than 180 days 
after the United States International Trade Commission and the 
Department of Commerce issue reports on proposed duty suspensions and 
reductions under this Act.

SEC. 3. PROCESS FOR CONSIDERATION OF DUTY SUSPENSIONS AND REDUCTIONS.

    (a) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to establish a 
process by the appropriate congressional committees, in conjunction 
with the Commission pursuant to its authorities under section 332 of 
the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332), for the submission and 
consideration of proposed duty suspensions and reductions.
    (b) Establishment.--Not later than October 15, 2015, and October 
15, 2018, the appropriate congressional committees shall establish and, 
on the same day, publish on their respective publicly available 
Internet websites a process--
            (1) to provide for the submission and consideration of 
        legislation containing proposed duty suspensions and reductions 
        in a manner that, to the maximum extent practicable, is 
        consistent with the requirements described in subsection (c); 
        and
            (2) to include in a miscellaneous tariff bill those duty 
        suspensions and reductions that meet the requirements of this 
        Act.
    (c) Requirements of Commission.--
            (1) Initiation.--Not later than October 15, 2015, and 
        October 15, 2018, the Commission shall publish in the Federal 
        Register and on a publicly available Internet website of the 
        Commission a notice requesting members of the public to submit 
        to the Commission during the 60-day period beginning on the 
        date of such publication--
                    (A) proposed duty suspensions and reductions; and
                    (B) Commission disclosure forms with respect to 
                such duty suspensions and reductions.
            (2) Review.--
                    (A) Commission submission to congress.--As soon as 
                practicable after the expiration of the 60-day period 
                specified in paragraph (1), but not later than 15 days 
                after the expiration of such 60-day period, the 
                Commission shall submit to the appropriate 
                congressional committees the proposed duty suspensions 
                and reductions submitted under paragraph (1)(A) and the 
                Commission disclosure forms with respect to such duty 
                suspensions and reductions submitted under paragraph 
                (1)(B).
                    (B) Public availability of proposed duty 
                suspensions and reductions.--Not later than 15 days 
                after the expiration of the 60-day period specified in 
                paragraph (1), the Commission shall publish on a 
                publicly available Internet website of the Commission 
                the proposed duty suspensions and reductions submitted 
                under paragraph (1)(A) and the Commission disclosure 
                forms with respect to such duty suspensions and 
                reductions submitted under paragraph (1)(B).
                    (C) Commission reports to congress.--Not later than 
                the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of 
                publication of the proposed duty suspensions and 
                reductions under subparagraph (B), the Commission shall 
                submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
                report on each proposed duty suspension or reduction 
                submitted pursuant to subsection (b)(1) or paragraph 
                (1)(A) that contains the following information:
                            (i) A determination of whether or not 
                        domestic production of the article that is the 
                        subject of the proposed duty suspension or 
                        reduction exists and, if such production 
                        exists, whether or not a domestic producer of 
                        the article objects to the proposed duty 
                        suspension or reduction.
                            (ii) Any technical changes to the article 
                        description that are necessary for purposes of 
                        administration when articles are presented for 
                        importation.
                            (iii) The amount of tariff revenue that 
                        would no longer be collected if the proposed 
                        duty suspension or reduction takes effect.
                            (iv) A determination of whether or not the 
                        proposed duty suspension or reduction is 
                        available to any person that imports the 
                        article that is the subject of the proposed 
                        duty suspension or reduction.
            (3) Procedures.--The Commission shall prescribe and publish 
        on a publicly available Internet website of the Commission 
        procedures for complying with the requirements of this 
        subsection.
            (4) Authorities described.--The Commission shall carry out 
        this subsection pursuant to its authorities under section 332 
        of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332).
    (d) Department of Commerce Report.--Not later than the end of the 
90-day period beginning on the date of publication of the proposed duty 
suspensions and reductions under subsection (c)(2)(B), the Secretary of 
Commerce, in consultation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and 
other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report on each proposed duty suspension and 
reduction submitted pursuant to subsection (b)(1) or (c)(1)(A) that 
includes the following information:
            (1) A determination of whether or not domestic production 
        of the article that is the subject of the proposed duty 
        suspension or reduction exists and, if such production exists, 
        whether or not a domestic producer of the article objects to 
        the proposed duty suspension or reduction.
            (2) Any technical changes to the article description that 
        are necessary for purposes of administration when articles are 
        presented for importation.
    (e) Rule of Construction.--A proposed duty suspension or reduction 
submitted under this section by a Member of Congress shall receive 
treatment no more favorable than the treatment received by a proposed 
duty suspension or reduction submitted under this section by a member 
of the public.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON EFFECTS OF DUTY SUSPENSIONS AND REDUCTIONS ON UNITED 
              STATES ECONOMY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than May 1, 2018, and May 1, 2020, the 
Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
report on the effects on the United States economy of temporary duty 
suspensions and reductions enacted pursuant to this Act, including a 
broad assessment of the economic effects of such duty suspensions and 
reductions on producers, purchasers, and consumers in the United 
States, using case studies describing such effects on selected 
industries or by type of article as available data permit.
    (b) Recommendations.--The Commission shall also solicit and append 
to the report required under subsection (a) recommendations with 
respect to those domestic industry sectors or specific domestic 
industries that might benefit from permanent duty suspensions and 
reductions or elimination of duties, either through a unilateral action 
of the United States or though negotiations for reciprocal tariff 
agreements, with a particular focus on inequities created by tariff 
inversions.
    (c) Form of Report.--Each report required by this section shall be 
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

SEC. 5. JUDICIAL REVIEW PRECLUDED.

    The exercise of functions under this Act shall not be subject to 
judicial review.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Finance of the Senate.
            (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the United 
        States International Trade Commission.
            (3) Commission disclosure form.--The term ``Commission 
        disclosure form'' means, with respect to a proposed duty 
        suspension or reduction, a document submitted by a member of 
        the public to the Commission that contains the following:
                    (A) The contact information for any known importers 
                of the article to which the proposed duty suspension or 
                reduction would apply.
                    (B) A certification by the member of the public 
                that the proposed duty suspension or reduction is 
                available to any person importing the article to which 
                the proposed duty suspension or reduction would apply.
            (4) Domestic producer.--The term ``domestic producer'' 
        means a person that demonstrates production, or imminent 
        production, in the United States of an article that is 
        identical to, or like or directly competitive with, an article 
        to which a proposed duty suspension or reduction would apply.
            (5) Duty suspension or reduction.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``duty suspension or 
                reduction'' means an amendment to subchapter II of 
                chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
                United States that--
                            (i)(I) extends an existing temporary duty 
                        suspension or reduction of duty on an article 
                        under that subchapter; or
                            (II) provides for a new temporary duty 
                        suspension or reduction of duty on an article 
                        under that subchapter; and
                            (ii) otherwise meets the requirements 
                        described in subparagraph (B).
                    (B) Requirements.--A duty suspension or reduction 
                meets the requirements described in this subparagraph 
                if--
                            (i) the duty suspension or reduction can be 
                        administered by U.S. Customs and Border 
                        Protection;
                            (ii) the estimated loss in revenue to the 
                        United States from the duty suspension or 
                        reduction does not exceed $500,000 in a 
                        calendar year during which the duty suspension 
                        or reduction would be in effect, as determined 
                        by the Congressional Budget Office; and
                            (iii) the duty suspension or reduction is 
                        available to any person importing the article 
                        that is the subject of the duty suspension or 
                        reduction.
            (6) Member of congress.--The term ``Member of Congress'' 
        means a Senator or a Representative in, or Delegate or Resident 
        Commissioner to, Congress.
            (7) Miscellaneous tariff bill.--The term ``miscellaneous 
        tariff bill'' means a bill of either House of Congress that 
        contains only--
                    (A) duty suspensions and reductions that--
                            (i) meet the applicable requirements for--
                                    (I) consideration of duty 
                                suspensions and reductions described in 
                                section 3; or
                                    (II) any other process required 
                                under the Rules of the House of 
                                Representatives or the Senate; and
                            (ii) are not the subject of an objection 
                        because such duty suspensions and reductions do 
                        not comply with the requirements of this Act 
                        from--
                                    (I) a Member of Congress; or
                                    (II) a domestic producer, as 
                                contained in comments submitted to the 
                                appropriate congressional committees, 
                                the Commission, or the Department of 
                                Commerce under section 3; and
                    (B) provisions included in bills introduced in the 
                House of Representatives or the Senate pursuant to a 
                process described in subparagraph (A)(i)(II) that 
                correct an error in the text or administration of a 
                provision of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
                United States.
                                 <all>
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