On September 4, 2018, the House agreed to Senate amendments made to the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) Act of 2018 last month, moving the legislation to the president for signature. The White House reportedly indicated President Trump will sign the bill. The last MTB passed by Congress expired on December 31, 2012.
Once signed into law, the bill would cut or eliminate tariffs on articles such as chemicals, footwear, toasters, and roughly 1,660 other items made outside the United States. Roughly half of those items are produced in China and there is an overlap between MTB and the Section 301 tariffs in effect, and those being considered.
Section 1664 states the effective date is on or after the 30th day after the date of the enactment of the Act. It provides for duty suspensions and reductions through December 31, 2020.
The next MTB petition cycle will be in the Fall of 2019.
The purpose of MTB is to reduce or eliminate what many businesses claim are unfair, out-of-date and/or anticompetitive taxes.