Robert Stang

The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) is legislation providing benefits to importers in the form of temporary duty reductions on qualifying goods. The MTB’s goal is to aid U.S. manufacturers by reducing duties on inputs (raw materials, parts, etc.), thereby cutting domestic production costs and increasing the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers.

The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) statute has been on the books since 1976. It periodically expires and is typically renewed. The GSP last expired on July 31, 2013 and was renewed as a result of the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, which became effective July 29, 2015. Going forward, the GSP renewal extends until December 31, 2017 and permits retroactive claims going back to August 1, 2013. It also broadens certain categories of potentially GSP-eligible goods (subject to presidential approval), most importantly the “travel goods” category including purses, handbags, backpacks, wallets and similar products. Read on for everything you need to know about duty-free imports and retroactive refunds.