[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 997 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 997

To amend General Note 3(a)(iv) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
    United States to deny special tariff treatment to goods of the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands unless certain conditions 
   are met, to require the Secretary of Labor to assign a full-time 
resident compliance officer to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                    Islands, and for other purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 18, 1993

Mr. Payne of Virginia introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend General Note 3(a)(iv) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
    United States to deny special tariff treatment to goods of the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands unless certain conditions 
   are met, to require the Secretary of Labor to assign a full-time 
resident compliance officer to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                    Islands, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. CONDITIONS ON SPECIAL TARIFF TREATMENT FOR GOODS OF GUAM AND 
              THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.

    General Note 3(a)(iv) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``Except'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to subparagraph (E) and except'';
            (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``and subject to 
        subparagraph (E)'' after ``1974'';
            (3) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ``and subject to 
        subparagraph (E)'' after ``Act''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(E)(I) Notwithstanding any other provision of 
                this paragraph except as provided in clause (II), goods 
                which are imported from the Commonwealth of the 
                Northern Mariana Islands (in this subparagraph referred 
                to as the `Commonwealth') shall be subject to the rates 
                of duty set forth in column 1 of the tariff schedule, 
                and may not be labeled as having been produced or 
                manufactured in the United States, unless the 
                Commonwealth establishes that the labor rate paid to 
                the workers producing such goods is greater than or 
                equal to the prevailing United States minimum wage rate 
                and that not less than 50 percent of the direct labor 
                cost of producing such goods is paid to residents of 
                the Commonwealth.
                    ``(II) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 
                `direct labor' includes all work required for 
                preparation, processing, packing, and shipping of a 
                commodity, but not supervision, management, 
                administration, or inspection; and the term `resident' 
                includes United States citizens and nationals, citizens 
                of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, citizens 
                of states in free association with the United States 
                entitled to enter the United States and its territories 
                pursuant to law, and permanent residents (as such term 
                is used in the Immigration and Nationality Act.''.

SEC. 2. RESIDENT LABOR COMPLIANCE OFFICER.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Labor shall assign a full-time, 
resident compliance officer to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands for purposes of monitoring the Commonwealth's compliance with 
General Note 3(a)(iv)(E) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States and monitoring the Commonwealth's compliance with 
applicable Federal labor laws and regulations issued thereunder.
    (b) Annual Report.--The Secretary of Labor shall submit a report 
annually to the Congress describing the extent to which the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is in compliance with 
applicable Federal labor laws and regulations issued thereunder.

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