Summary#
This bill would require the Secretary of Commerce to create a process for U.S. entities or associations to request that certain articles used in building or furnishing homes be excluded from new or higher tariffs. The Secretary must grant an exclusion if the article is a listed “critical homebuilding product” or if the Secretary finds the tariff would raise the cost of home construction and the exclusion can be enforced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The bill defines a "covered article" as any product used in single-family or multi-family home construction or furnishing, and a "covered duty" as any duty above the rate in effect on January 19, 2025, except antidumping, countervailing, and section 201 duties.
The bill sets short deadlines for decisions: 15 days for listed critical products and 60 days for other covered articles. It requires the Secretary to publish each decision online within 15 days and to report quarterly to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee explaining granted and denied requests. The bill also allows retroactive liquidation or reliquidation of entries that would have benefited from an exclusion, subject to a CBP request deadline, and requires the United States to pay amounts owed from such liquidations without interest within 90 days.
What it means for you#
- U.S. companies and trade groups can ask the Commerce Department to exclude certain homebuilding items from higher tariffs.
- If the request is for a product on the bill's long list of "critical homebuilding products," Commerce must decide within 15 days. Other items get a 60-day decision window.
- Decisions will be posted online within 15 days of the decision.
- Importers may ask CBP to reliquidate past entries if those entries would have been charged a lower duty because of an exclusion. Such requests must be filed within 180 days after the exclusion is issued.
Expenses#
- The bill requires the United States to pay amounts owed because of liquidation or reliquidation of entries covered by a granted exclusion, and those amounts must be paid without interest within 90 days of liquidation or reliquidation.
- No publicly available information on other budgetary or administrative costs, such as costs to Commerce or CBP to run the process.
Proponents' View#
- The bill’s "Sense of Congress" section says the United States faces a severe housing affordability problem and a shortage of housing supply. It states that tariffs on key building materials will add billions of dollars to the cost of home construction and that added costs will reduce home building and make homes more expensive to buy or rent.
- Supporters want a fast exclusion process to lower material costs and support more home construction.
Opponents' View#
No publicly available information.