Details of the Senate-Passed Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act

The House passed its most recent version of the "Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2003" on November 20, 2003 as part of H.R. 3521, the "Tax Relief Extension Act of 2003." The House had previously passed its own version of H.R. 1047 on March 5, 2003. (See ITT's Online Archives or 11/25/03 and 03/27/03 news, 03112520 and 03032710, for BP summaries.)

Next Step Expected to be House-Senate Conference to Resolve Differences

As the House and Senate have passed different versions of H.R. 1047, the next step is expected to be a House-Senate conference to resolve differences between the two versions of the bill.

Once agreement on a conference version of the bill is reached, that conference version would be voted on by the House and Senate and, if passed by both the House and Senate, would be sent to the President for enactment.

This is Part I of a multi-part series of summaries on the Senate-passed version of H.R. 1047. See future issues for additional summaries.

Highlights of Senate-Passed Version of H.R. 1047

The following are "highlights" of the version of H.R. 1047 passed by the Senate:

Retroactive Reinstatement of Reduced Duty Treatment for Certain Andean Handbags, Luggage, Flat Goods, Work Gloves, and Leather Wearing Apparel

According to a press release issued by the Senate Finance Committee Chairman, H.R. 1047 as passed by the Senate would correct a mistake in the Trade Act of 2002 that inadvertently and temporarily raised duties on Andean originating handbags, luggage, flat goods, work gloves, and leather wearing apparel under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA). H.R. 1047 would retroactively reinstate the reduced duty treatment for eligible products that entered the U.S. from August 6, 2002 to the time in which these products met the import sensititivity test several months later on October 31, 2002.

Specifically, H.R. 1047 states that "the entry of any article described in section 204(b)(1)(D) of the Andean Trade Preference Act (as amended by section 3103(a)(2) of the Trade Act of 2002) for which the President proclaims duty-free treatment pursuant to section 204(b)(1) of such Act shall be subject to the rate of duty applicable on August 5, 2002, until such time as the President proclaims duty-free treatment for such article."

According to H.R. 1047, such entries shall be liquidated or reliquidated as if the reduced duty preferential treatment applied, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall refund any excess duties paid with respect to such entry. (As used in this provision, the term "entry" includes a withdrawal from warehouse for consumption.)

H.R. 1047 also states that liquidation or reliquidation may be made with respect to an entry only if a request therefore is filed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), within 180 days after the date of enactment of H.R. 1047, and such request contains sufficient information to enable CBP to (1) locate the entry; or (2) reconstruct the entry if it cannot be located.

GSP Duty-Free Treatment for Certain Hand-Made, Etc. Rugs

The Senate's version of H.R. 1047 would amend 19 USC 2463(b) in order to add a new paragraph 4 that would allow the President to designate as an eligible article or articles under the GSP program carpets or rugs which are hand-loomed, hand-woven, hand-hooked, hand-tufted, or hand-knotted, and classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) 5701.10.16, 5701.10.40, 5701.90.10, 5701.90.20, 5702.10.90, 5702.42.20, 5702.49.10, 5702.51.20, 5702.91.30, 5702.92.00, 5702.99.10, 5703.10.00, 5703.20.10, or 5703.30.00.

This amendment would apply to any article entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of enactment of H.R. 1047.

(According to the Senate Finance Committee, the primary beneficiaries of this measure will be Afghanistan and Pakistan.)

HTS Subheadings Would be Added to CBERA Footwear Exclusion

H.R. 1047, as passed by the Senate, would amend 19 USC 2703(b) by listing the HTS subheadings for footwear which are not eligible for Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) preferential treatment.

(The exclusion currently indicates that footwear not designated at the time of the effective date of the CBERA as eligible articles for the purpose of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) under title V of the Trade Act of 1974 would not be eligible for CBERA duty-free treatment (with no listing of HTS subheadings).)

Four of these footwear HTS subheadings would still be eligible for CBTPA duty-free treatment if certain requirements are met. H.R. 1047 would also amend 19 USC 2703(b)(3)(A) by adding a new provision stating that footwear provided for in HTS 6403.59.60, 6403.91.30, 6403.99.60, and 6403.99.90 would be eligible for duty-free treatment if certain requirements are met.¹

(¹ the article of footwear must be the growth, product, or manufacture of a CBTPA beneficiary country; and otherwise meet the requirements of 19 USC 2703(a), except that in applying 19 USC 2703(a), "CBTPA beneficiary country" would be substituted for "beneficiary country" each place it appears.)

(Footwear in these four HTS subheadings from CBTPA beneficiary countries is already eligible for the NAFTA-equivalent duty treatment accorded to such goods that are the product of Mexico, which became duty-free effective January 1, 2001. See ITT's Online Archives or 01/24/01 news, 01012330, for BP summary.)

H.R. 1047 as passed by the Senate available at

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills&docid=f:h1047eas.txt.pdf.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman's press release (dated 03/04/04) available at

http://finance.senate.gov/press/Gpress/2004/prg030404.pdf.

BP Notes

Although the Senate Finance Committee reported its version of the "Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Correction Act of 2003" on March 20, 2003 and placed the bill on the Senate calendar that same day, no action was taken on the bill for almost a year as various Senators had placed "holds" on the bill over certain provisions to which they objected. Once those holds were lifted, the Senate passed H.R. 1047. (See ITT's Online Archives or 06/24/03 news, 03062405, for BP summary on this issue.)