S 1162

To authorize the International Trade Commission to develop and recommend legislation for temporarily suspending duties, and for other purposes.

June 9, 2011

Mr. DEMINT (for himself and Mrs. MCCASKILL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

To authorize the International Trade Commission to develop and recommend legislation for temporarily suspending duties, 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 `Removing Hurdles for American Manufacturers Act of 2011'.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

The purpose of this Act is to provide a procedure for the development and submission of legislation by the International Trade Commission regarding amendments to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States in connection with the temporary suspension or reduction of duty.

SEC. 3. PROCEDURES FOR RECOMMENDATIONS AND PROPOSED LEGISLATION RELATING TO TEMPORARY DUTY SUSPENSIONS.

(a) In General- Not later than January 1, 2012, and every 2 years thereafter, the International Trade Commission shall submit to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives proposed legislation which includes recommendations regarding the following:

(1) Amendments to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States extending existing temporary duty suspensions or existing duty reductions.

(2) Amendments to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States providing for new temporary duty suspensions or new duty reductions.

(3) Modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to make technical corrections with respect to--

(A) errors in spelling, numbering, or punctuation;

(B) errors in indentation;

(C) errors in cross references to headings, subheadings, or notes;

(D) errors in article descriptions; and

(E) other clerical or typographical errors.

(b) Agency and Public Views Regarding Recommendations- In formulating recommendations and proposed legislation under subsection (a), the International Trade Commission shall solicit, and give consideration to, the views of interested Federal agencies and the public. The Commission shall--

(1) give notice of the proposed recommendations, afford reasonable opportunity for interested parties to present their views in writing; and

(2) provide for a public hearing.

(c) Requirements for Duty Suspension and Reduction- The Commission may not recommend in the proposed legislation under subsection (a) any suspension or reduction in duty, if--

(1) an interested Federal agency determines such suspension or reduction is not in the interest of United States and that determination is included in the record of the public hearing required under subsection (b);

(2) such suspension or reduction is objected to by a domestic producer who demonstrates that there is domestic production of the article for which suspension or reduction of duty is recommended in commercially available quantities;

(3) the loss in revenue to the United States from such suspension or reduction of duty exceeds $500,000 annually (as adjusted under subsection (f)); or

(4) the suspension or reduction in duty is to be effective for a period that exceeds 3 years.

(d) Submission of Proposed Legislation and Recommendations-

(1) LEGISLATION- Any proposed legislation submitted under subsection (a), shall include the following information, if appropriate--

(A) the heading or subheading number of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to be added or amended;

(B) the Chemical Abstract Service or CAS number;

(C) the article description and duty rates for each of the headings or subheadings described in subparagraph (A); and

(D) any other information that is necessary to carry out the proposed legislation, including the requirements described in subsection (c).

(2) RECOMMENDATIONS- Along with the proposed legislation submitted under subsection (a), the International Trade Commission shall submit--

(A) a summary of the information on which the recommendation is based; and

(B) a summary of the views submitted by interested Federal agencies, the public, and other interested parties.

(e) Publication in the Federal Register- Not later than 60 days before the Commission submits the proposed legislation under subsection (a), the Commission shall publish the proposed legislation in the Federal Register.

(f) Indexing for Inflation-

(1) IN GENERAL- Beginning in calendar year 2013, the dollar amount described in subsection (c)(3) shall be increased by an amount equal to--

(A) $500,000, multiplied by

(B) the percentage (if any) by which the CPI for the preceding calendar year exceeds the CPI for calendar year 2011.

(2) ROUNDING- Any increase under paragraph (1)(B) shall be rounded to the nearest dollar.

(3) DEFINITIONS- In this subsection:

(A) CPI FOR THE PRECEDING CALENDAR YEAR- The term `CPI for the preceding calendar year' means the average of the Consumer Price Index as of the close of the 12-month period ending on August 31 of such calendar year.

(B) CONSUMER PRICE INDEX- The term `Consumer Price Index' means the last Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers published by the Department of Labor.

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