text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Temporary Duty Suspension Process 
  Act of 2012''.
  
  SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
  
      In this Act:
              (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
          ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
          Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of 
          the House of Representatives.
              (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the United 
          States International Trade Commission.
              (3) Duty suspension or reduction.--The term ``duty 
          suspension or reduction'' means an amendment to subchapter II 
          of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
          States--
                      (A) extending an existing temporary suspension or 
                  reduction of duty on an article under that subchapter; 
                  or
                      (B) providing for a new temporary suspension or 
                  reduction of duty on an article under that subchapter.
  
  SEC. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS BY UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION 
                FOR DUTY SUSPENSIONS AND REDUCTIONS.
  
      (a) Establishment of Review Process.--Not later than 30 days after 
  the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall complete 
  all actions necessary to establish a process pursuant to which the 
  Commission will--
              (1) review each article with respect to which a duty 
          suspension or reduction may be made--
                      (A) at the initiative of the Commission; or
                      (B) pursuant to a petition submitted or referred to 
                  the Commission under subsection (b); and
              (2) submit a draft bill to the appropriate congressional 
          committees under subsection (d).
      (b) Petitions.--
              (1) In general.--As part of the process established under 
          subsection (a), the Commission shall establish procedures under 
          which a petition requesting the Commission to review a duty 
          suspension or reduction pursuant to that process may be--
                      (A) submitted to the Commission by a member of the 
                  public; or
                      (B) referred to the Commission by a Member of 
                  Congress.
              (2) Requirements.--A petition submitted or referred to the 
          Commission under paragraph (1) shall be submitted or referred 
          at such time and in such manner and shall include such 
          information as the Commission may require.
              (3) No preferential treatment for members of congress.--A 
          petition referred to the Commission by a Member of Congress 
          under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) shall receive treatment 
          no more favorable than the treatment received by a petition 
          submitted to the Commission by a member of the public under 
          subparagraph (A) of that paragraph.
      (c) Public Comments.--As part of the process established under 
  subsection (a), the Commission shall establish procedures for--
              (1) notifying the public when the Commission initiates the 
          process of reviewing articles with respect to which duty 
          suspensions or reductions may be made and distributing 
          information about the process, including by--
                      (A) posting information about the process on the 
                  website of the Commission; and
                      (B) providing that information to trade 
                  associations and other appropriate organizations;
              (2) not later than 45 days before submitting a draft bill 
          to the appropriate congressional committees under subsection 
          (d), notifying the public of the duty suspensions and 
          reductions the Commission is considering including in the draft 
          bill; and
              (3) providing the public with an opportunity to submit 
          comments with respect to any of those duty suspensions or 
          reductions.
      (d) Submission of Draft Bill.--
              (1) In general.--The Commission shall submit to the 
          appropriate congressional committees a draft bill that contains 
          each duty suspension or reduction that the Commission 
          determines, pursuant to the process established under 
          subsection (a) and after conducting the consultations required 
          by subsection (e), meets the requirements described in 
          subsection (f), not later than--
                      (A) the date that is 120 days after the date of the 
                  enactment of this Act;
                      (B) January 1, 2015; and
                      (C) January 1, 2018.
              (2) Effective period of duty suspensions and reductions.--
          Duty suspensions and reductions included in a draft bill 
          submitted under paragraph (1) shall be effective for a period 
          of not less than 3 years.
              (3) Special rule for first submission.--In the draft bill 
          required to be submitted under paragraph (1) not later than the 
          date that is 120 days after the date of the enactment of this 
          Act, the Commission shall be required to include only duty 
          suspensions and reductions with respect to which the Commission 
          has sufficient time to make a determination under that 
          paragraph before the draft bill is required to be submitted.
      (e) Consultations.--In determining whether a duty suspension or 
  reduction meets the requirements described in subsection (f), the 
  Commission shall, not later than 30 days before submitting a draft bill 
  to the appropriate congressional committees under subsection (d), 
  conduct consultations with the Commissioner responsible for U.S. 
  Customs and Border Protection, the Secretary of Commerce, the United 
  States Trade Representative, and the heads of other relevant Federal 
  agencies.
      (f) Requirements for Duty Suspensions and Reductions.--
              (1) In general.--A duty suspension or reduction meets the 
          requirements described in this subsection if--
                      (A) the duty suspension or reduction can be 
                  administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection;
                      (B) the estimated loss in revenue to the United 
                  States from the duty suspension or reduction does not 
                  exceed the dollar amount specified in paragraph (2) in 
                  a calendar year during which the duty suspension or 
                  reduction would be in effect; and
                      (C) on the date on which the Commission submits a 
                  draft bill to the appropriate congressional committees 
                  under subsection (d) that includes the duty suspension 
                  or reduction, the article to which the duty suspension 
                  or reduction would apply is not produced in the United 
                  States and is not expected to be produced in the United 
                  States during the subsequent 12-month period.
              (2) Dollar amount specified.--
                      (A) In general.--The dollar amount specified in 
                  this paragraph is--
                              (i) for calendar year 2013, $500,000; and
                              (ii) for any calendar year after calendar 
                          year 2013, an amount equal to $500,000 
                          increased or decreased by an amount equal to--
                                      (I) $500,000, multiplied by
                                      (II) the percentage (if any) of the 
                                  increase or decrease (as the case may 
                                  be) in the Consumer Price Index for the 
                                  preceding calendar year compared to the 
                                  Consumer Price Index for calendar year 
                                  2012.
                      (B) Rounding.--Any increase or decrease under 
                  subparagraph (A) of the dollar amount specified in this 
                  paragraph shall be rounded to the nearest dollar.
                      (C) Consumer price index for any calendar year.--
                  For purposes of this paragraph, the Consumer Price 
                  Index for any calendar year is the average of the 
                  Consumer Price Index as of the close of the 12-month 
                  period ending on September 30 of that calendar year.
                      (D) Consumer price index defined.--For purposes of 
                  this paragraph, the term ``Consumer Price Index'' means 
                  the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers 
                  published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 
                  Department of Labor.
              (3) Consideration of relevant information.--In determining 
          whether a duty suspension or reduction meets the requirements 
          described in paragraph (1), the Commission may consider any 
          information the Commission considers relevant to the 
          determination.
              (4) Judicial review precluded.--A determination of the 
          Commission with respect to whether or not a duty suspension or 
          reduction meets the requirements described in paragraph (1) 
          shall not be subject to judicial review.
      (g) Reports Required.--
              (1) In general.--Each time the Commission submits a draft 
          bill under subsection (d), the Commission shall submit to the 
          appropriate congressional committees a report on the duty 
          suspensions and reductions contained in the draft bill that 
          includes--
                      (A) the views of the head of each agency consulted 
                  under subsection (e); and
                      (B) any objections received by the Commission 
                  during consultations conducted under subsection (e) or 
                  through public comments submitted under subsection (c), 
                  including--
                              (i) objections with respect to duty 
                          suspensions or reductions the Commission 
                          included in the draft bill; and
                              (ii) objections that led to the Commission 
                          to determine not to include a duty suspension 
                          or reduction in the draft bill.
              (2) Initial report on process.--Not later than 300 days 
          after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 
          shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
          report that includes--
                      (A) an assessment of the effectiveness of the 
                  process established under subsection (a) and the 
                  requirements of this section;
                      (B) to the extent practicable, a description of the 
                  effects of duty suspensions and reductions recommended 
                  pursuant to that process on the United States economy 
                  that includes--
                              (i) a broad assessment of the economic 
                          effects of such duty suspensions and reductions 
                          on producers, purchasers, and consumers in the 
                          United States; and
                              (ii) case studies describing such effects 
                          by industry or by type of articles, as 
                          available data permits;
                      (C) a comparison of the actual loss in revenue to 
                  the United States resulting from duty suspensions and 
                  reductions recommended pursuant to that process to the 
                  loss in such revenue estimated during that process;
                      (D) to the extent practicable, information on how 
                  broadly or narrowly duty suspensions and reductions 
                  recommended pursuant to that process were used by 
                  importers; and
                      (E) any recommendations of the Commission for 
                  improving that process and the requirements of this 
                  section.
      (h) Form of Draft Bill and Reports.--Each draft bill submitted 
  under subsection (d) and each report required by subsection (g) shall 
  be--
              (1) submitted to the appropriate congressional committees 
          in electronic form; and
              (2) made available to the public on the website of the 
          Commission.
  
  SEC. 4. REPORTS ON BENEFITS OF DUTY SUSPENSIONS OR REDUCTIONS TO 
                SECTORS OF THE UNITED STATES ECONOMY.
  
      Not later than January 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the 
  Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
  report that--
              (1) makes recommendations with respect to sectors of the 
          United States economy that could benefit from duty suspensions 
          or reductions without causing harm to other domestic interests; 
          and
              (2) assesses the feasibility and advisability of suspending 
          or reducing duties on a sectoral basis rather than on 
          individual articles.
target: Temporary Duty Suspension Process Act of 2012 - Directs the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to establish a process in which it will: (1) review each article in which a temporary duty suspension or reduction has been recommended at its own initiative or pusuant to a petition, and (2) submit a draft bill to the appropriate congressional committees containing each duty suspension or reduction that meets certain requirements.
  
  Requires the USITC to report to appropriate congressional committees on: (1) recommendations with respect to sectors of the U.S. economy that could benefit from duty suspensions or reductions without causing harm to other domestic interests, and (2) the feasibility of suspending or reducing duties on a sectoral basis rather than on individual articles.
feat_title: A bill to require the United States International Trade Commission to recommend temporary duty suspensions and reductions to Congress, and for other purposes.