[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3620 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3620
To provide duty-free treatment for certain tuna.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 21, 2003
Mr. Neal of Massachusetts introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide duty-free treatment for certain tuna.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Trade in Pouch Tuna Act of
2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) a strong relationship between the United States and the
member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) is a force for stability and development in the
Southeast Asian region and international trade is a critical
element of this relationship;
(2) many of the ASEAN nations are important friends and
allies in the ongoing fight against world terrorism;
(3) ASEAN nations provide a large portion of the processed
tuna imported into the United States;
(4) such imports are subject to tariffs, whereas tuna in
airtight pouches imported from the beneficiary countries of the
Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (Andean) are
not;
(5) as a result, tuna in airtight pouches imported from
ASEAN member nations is placed at a competitive disadvantage
that has harmed the economies of these nations and that will
ultimately harm consumers in the United States; and
(6) eliminating tariffs on pouch tuna imported from the
ASEAN countries in a quantity equal to the quantity imported
from Andean countries will restore fair trade in the pouch tuna
market and will benefit United States consumers and the
economies of the ASEAN nations.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DUTY TREATMENT FOR CERTAIN TUNA.
(a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 99 of the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States is amended by inserting in
numerical sequence the following new heading:
`` 9902.16.04 Tuna in foil or No change Free, if the No change On or before 12/
other flexible product of a 31/2006
containers country listed
weighing with in U.S. Note 17
their contents to this
not more than subchapter and
6.8 kg each in the quantity
(provided for provided for in
in subheading such Note......
1604.30.91)....
''
(b) ASEAN Countries.--The U.S. Notes to subchapter II of chapter 99
of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States are amended by
adding at the end the following:
``17. For purposes of heading 9902.16.04:
``(a) Products of the following countries are eligible to
enter at the special rate of duty set forth in such subheading:
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
``(b) The aggregate quantity of tuna entered under
subheading 9902.16.04 during any calendar year shall be limited
to the quantity of tuna entered free of duty from an ATPDEA
beneficiary country (as defined in section 204(b)(6)) of the
Andean Trade Preference Act (19 U.S.C. 3202(b)(6)) and
designated in Note 11(d) of this Schedule) during the preceding
calendar year pursuant to section 204(b)(4) of the Andean Trade
Preference Act (19 U.S.C. 3202(b)(4)).
``(c) The products of a country listed under subsection (a)
shall be eligible to enter at the special rate of duty set
forth in such subheading only if--
``(1) the processing of the products is carried out
entirely in that country;
``(2) the harvesting of the tuna complies with the
International Dolphin Consortium Program implemented under
title III of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16
U.S.C. 1411 et seq.); and
``(3) that country provides and enforces internationally
recognized worker rights and environmental protections.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section apply to
goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after
the 15th day after the date of enactment of this Act.
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