Description:
H.R. 4923 would establish a new process under which the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) would determine which imported products on the Harmonized Tariff Schedule would become eligible to have tariffs suspended or reduced through a future act of the Congress. Currently, petitions for tariff relief are sent to the Congress and incorporated into legislation before being analyzed by the USITC. Under H.R. 4923, the USITC would receive and analyze petitions submitted directly by the public in two separate rounds—one in 2017 and the second in 2020. After receiving analysis from the International Trade Administration (ITA), the USITC would submit reports to the Congress identifying the products it determines would be eligible for tariff relief. On the basis of information from the USITC and ITA, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $47 million over the 2017-2021 period, assuming appropriation of the estimated amounts.
Pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply because enacting H.R. 4923 would not affect direct spending or revenues. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4923 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 4923 is shown in the following table. The costs of this legislation fall within budget functions 150 (international affairs) and 370 (commerce and housing credit).
