Republican Lawmaker Introduces Trusted Importer Bill, Which Could Reduce Tariffs
Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, has introduced a bill that would reduce or waive tariffs on some imports for manufacturers who qualify for new general import licenses.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Miller, who worked in the Trump White House during the first term, said in a Jan. 8 press release on the bill, "Heightened costs of necessary imports have impacted manufacturers’ ability to produce, threatening the jobs of over 100,000 of my constituents and over 600,000 laborers across America. The general import license created under this bill is a commonsense approach to ensure tariffs remain effective in supporting and strengthening domestic manufacturing."
Miller, on his campaign website, wrote, "Growing up in Northeast Ohio, Max learned the value of hard work from his father, Abe, who owns an American cap manufacturing company in Cleveland. He saw first-hand the destruction to Ohio's middle class by politicians and corporations who abandoned the American Dream in favor of cheap, exploitative foreign labor."
Economic data shows manufacturing employment and activity shrank throughout 2025; protected areas like wood products, textile mills and primary metals were no exceptions.
The bill would create a 10-year license for firms certified to adhere "to all trade and customs laws," that have robust supply chain security, and that are financially healthy. It also requires the Commerce Department to determine if the reduced tariffs would promote domestic manufacturing competitiveness.
The certification would be designed by both Commerce and CBP. They would have 180 days after passage to set up a program to certify trusted importers.
The reductions couldn't make the tariffs lower than the most-favored nation rate; they also couldn't apply to safeguards, AD/CVD, or to tariffs imposed before Jan. 1, 2025. It's unclear whether the time restriction means there could be reductions for steel and aluminum rates, which went up in 2025 but were first imposed in 2018. It's also unclear how the Section 232 derivatives would be affected. A spokesperson for Miller didn't answer those questions from International Trade Today.