[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4664 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4664

To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to provide relief from antidumping and 
          countervailing duty orders in cases of short supply.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 28, 1994

  Mr. Hutto (for himself and Mr. Peterson of Florida) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                             Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to provide relief from antidumping and 
          countervailing duty orders in cases of short supply.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. EXCEPTIONS FOR SHORT-SUPPLY SITUATIONS.

  (a)  In General.--Chapter 1 of subtitle C of title VII of the Tariff 
Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1675) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``SEC. 752. EXCEPTIONS FOR SHORT-SUPPLY SITUATIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Petition.--If a short-supply petition is filed under 
        this section and the administering authority determines that a 
        short-supply situation exists with respect to a particular 
        product which is within the same class or kind as merchandise 
        that is the subject of an order or finding described in 
        paragraph (2), the administering authority shall suspend the 
        order or finding and shall authorize the importation of 
        additional quantities of the product free of duties, estimated 
        duty deposits, reporting requirements, or other restrictions, 
        unless the administering authority determines that such imports 
        will erode the pricing structure of the domestic merchandise 
        that is comparable to the class or kind of merchandise subject 
        to an order or finding.
            ``(2) Order or finding.--An order or finding described in 
        this paragraph is--
                    ``(A) an antidumping order issued under section 
                736,
                    ``(B) a finding issued under the Antidumping Act, 
                1921, or
                    ``(C) a countervailing duty order issued under 
                section 706 or 303.
    ``(b) Factors.--In determining whether a short-supply situation 
exists in the United States with respect to a product, the 
administering authority shall consider all relevant factors, 
including--
            ``(1) if there is domestic production of the product with 
        respect to which the short-supply petition has been filed;
            ``(2) to the extent information is available, the recent 
        levels of capacity utilization of domestic facilities producing 
        the product;
            ``(3) the quantity of the product requested in the short-
        supply petition and the ability of domestic producers to supply 
        the product in such quantity;
            ``(4) the reasonableness of the specifications requested by 
        the purchaser or end-user of the product; and
            ``(5) the time the product can be delivered to the 
        purchaser or end-user.
    ``(c) Procedures.--
            ``(1) Petitions.--An interested party may file with the 
        administering authority a petition requesting a determination 
        under this section at any time an order or finding described in 
        subsection (a)(2) is in effect. The petition shall be in such 
        form and contain such information as the administering 
        authority requires.
            ``(2) Publication.--If the administering authority finds 
        that a petition filed under paragraph (1) contains adequate 
        information, the administering authority shall promptly publish 
        in the Federal Register a notice that a determination under 
        this section is under consideration.
            ``(3) Comment.--The administering authority shall provide 
        opportunity for comment by interested parties regarding issues 
        raised in the petition.
            ``(4) Certification.--The petitioner and any interested 
        party submitting information shall certify that the information 
        contained in the petition (or submission, as the case may be) 
        is accurate and complete to the best of the petitioner's or 
        party's knowledge.
            ``(5) Consultations.--In making a determination under this 
        section, the administering authority shall consult with 
        domestic users of the product.
    ``(d) Determination.--
            ``(1) In general.--In any case in which the administering 
        authority finds that a short-supply petition contains adequate 
        information, the administering authority shall determine, not 
        later than the day specified in paragraph (2)--
                    ``(A) if a short-supply situation exists in the 
                United States with respect to the product; and
                    ``(B) if the determination under subparagraph (A) 
                is affirmative, the quantity of the product, if any, 
                that may be imported into the United States without 
                regard to the antidumping or countervailing duty order 
                that would otherwise apply. In making the determination 
                under this subparagraph, the administering authority 
                may consider whether allowing particular quantities of 
                the product to be imported without regard to the 
                antidumping or countervailing duty order will erode the 
                pricing structure of the domestic merchandise that is 
                comparable to the class or kind of merchandise subject 
                to an order or finding.
            ``(2) Time limit for making short-supply determination.--
        The administering authority shall make a determination 
        described in paragraph (1) not later than--
                    ``(A) the 15th day after the date the petition is 
                filed if--
                            ``(i) the administering authority 
                        authorized the importation of additional 
                        quantities of the product during each of the 2 
                        years preceding the date the petition is filed, 
                        or
                            ``(ii) the administering authority finds, 
                        on the basis of available information (without 
                        regard to whether such information is available 
                        as part of the petition under review), that the 
                        product is not produced in the United States; 
                        or
                    ``(B) the 30th day after the date the petition is 
                filed if clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) does 
                not apply, except that if a petition under this section 
                is received more than 30 days before the issuance of an 
                antidumping or countervailing duty order with respect 
                to the product, the administering authority may make a 
                short-supply determination at the time and as part of 
                such order.
            ``(3) Rebuttable presumption.--If a petition is filed under 
        this section, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the 
        short-supply situation alleged in the petition exists.
            ``(4) Short-supply allowance upon failure of a domestic 
        producer to supply.--If the administering authority determines 
        that a short-supply situation does not exist because a producer 
        in the United States states that it is willing and able to 
        supply the product in the quantity requested at the 
        specifications, price, and delivery date requested, and the 
        producer fails to supply the product as promised, the 
        administering authority shall, within 3 days of being notified 
        of the failure, grant a short-supply allowance for the quantity 
        the domestic producer failed to supply.
    ``(e) Notice.--The administering authority shall publish in the 
Federal Register notice of each determination made under this section 
and the reasons therefore.
    ``(f) Definitions and Special Rules.--For purposes of this section:
            ``(1) Interested party.--The term `interested party' 
        means--
                    ``(A) a United States producer or consumer of the 
                product;
                    ``(B) a United States importer or distributor of 
                the product; and
                    ``(C) a foreign exporter or producer who will 
                supply the product to a United States producer, 
                consumer, importer, or distributor.
            ``(2) Product.--The term `product' means the product for 
        which a short-supply allowance is requested, or material which 
        possesses the same physical characteristics and performance 
        standards and which can be used for the same application 
        without imposing any significant alteration costs for the 
        consumer.
            ``(3) Reasonable specifications.--The term `reasonable 
        specifications' means specifications that are developed in the 
        ordinary course of business. The administering authority shall 
        apply a rebuttable presumption that specifications are 
        reasonable whenever such specifications have been in use 
        either--
                    ``(A) prior to the filing of an antidumping or 
                countervailing duty petition; or
                    ``(B) more than two years.
            ``(4) Erode the pricing structure.--The term `erode the 
        pricing structure' means United States prices for the domestic 
        merchandise comparable to the class or kind of merchandise 
        subject to an order or finding will be suppressed by reason of 
        the importation of specified quantities of the product pursuant 
        to a short supply allowance. The Secretary shall apply a 
        rebuttable presumption that the imported product will not erode 
        the pricing structure of the comparable domestic merchandise 
        whenever--
                    ``(A) no United States producers have produced a 
                product meeting the reasonable specifications within 
                the last six months, nor have any United States 
                producers either qualified to supply products meeting 
                such specifications (if such qualification is normally 
                required) or signed contracts that would require the 
                delivery of such products within the next six months; 
                or
                    ``(B) domestic consumption of the product exceeds 
                domestic production by more than fifty percent, and the 
                quantity of product covered by a short supply 
                determination is less than half of the difference 
                between domestic consumption and domestic production.
        In considering whether a short-supply determination would erode 
        the pricing structure, the administering authority shall 
        consider, among other factors--
                    (A) the quantity of short supply relief approved 
                within the applicable class or kind of merchandise; and
                    (B) the interchangeability between products subject 
                to short-supply determinations and other products 
                within the applicable class or kind of merchandise.
            ``(5) Short-supply allowance.--The term `short-supply 
        allowance' means an authorization by the administering 
        authority to permit importation into the United States, 
        including a foreign trade zone, of a quantity of product free 
        of duties imposed pursuant to an antidumping or countervailing 
        duty order issued under this title.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for title VII of the 
Tariff Act of 1930 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 751 the following new item:

``Sec. 752. Exceptions for short-supply situations.''.
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