Temporary Duty Suspension Process Act of 2015

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 2015 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate congressional committees (2) Commission The term Commission (3) Duty suspension or reduction The term duty suspension or reduction (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 90 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 posting information about the process on the website of the Commission; (2) except as provided in subsection (d)(4)(B), notifying the public of the duty suspensions and reductions the Commission is considering including in the draft bill not later than 45 days before submitting a draft bill to the appropriate congressional committees under subsection (d); 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) February 1, 2018; and (C) February 1, 2021. (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) Authority to make certain modifications In including a duty suspension or reduction the Commission determines otherwise meets the requirements of subsection (f) in a draft bill to be submitted under paragraph (1), the Commission may— (A) modify the article description for the duty suspension or reduction— (i) to ensure that U.S. Customs and Border Protection can administer the duty suspension or reduction; or (ii) to correct a technical deficiency in the article description; (B) modify the duty rate for the duty suspension or reduction so that the estimated loss in revenue to the United States from the duty suspension or reduction does not exceed the amount specified in subsection (f)(1)(B); or (C) consolidate the duty suspension or reduction with other duplicative or overlapping duty suspensions or reductions. (4) Special rules for first submission For purposes of submitting the draft bill required to be submitted on the date specified in paragraph (1)(A), the Commission shall— (A) be required to include only duty suspensions and reductions with respect to which the Commission has sufficient time to make a determination under paragraph (1) before the draft bill is required to be submitted; and (B) notify the public of the duty suspensions and reductions the Commission is considering including in the draft bill not later than 30 days before submitting the draft bill. (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 $500,000 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) 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. (3) 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 that includes— (A) the views of the head of each agency consulted under subsection (e) with respect to the duty suspensions and reductions contained in the draft bill; 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 one year 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) to the extent practicable, 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, based on data available at the time of the submission of the report; (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, 2016, 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.

Summary: Temporary Duty Suspension Process Act of 2015 Directs the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to establish a process in which it will: (1) review each article in which a temporary duty suspension or reduction has been recommended at its own initiative or pursuant to a petition, and (2) submit a draft bill to the appropriate congressional committees containing each duty suspension or reduction that meets certain requirements. Requires the USITC to report to Congress on: (1) recommendations with respect to sectors of the U.S. economy that could benefit from duty suspensions or reductions without causing harm to other domestic interests, and (2) the feasibility of suspending or reducing duties on a sectoral basis rather than on individual articles.