[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1621 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1621

  To prohibit the use of the ``Made in USA'' label on products of the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and to deny such products 
                  duty-free and quota-free treatment.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 29, 1999

  Mr. Franks of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Dingell, Mr. McHugh, Mr. 
 George Miller of California, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Kildee, Mr. 
  LaTourette, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Deal of 
Georgia, Ms. Danner, Mr. Bachus, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Brady of 
   Pennsylvania, Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. 
 Lipinski, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Spratt, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Visclosky, 
  Mr. Goode, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Stark, Mrs. Thurman, and Mr. Pallone) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit the use of the ``Made in USA'' label on products of the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and to deny such products 
                  duty-free and quota-free treatment.

    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 ``Made in USA Label Defense Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) manufacturing facilities in the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands (hereafter in this Act referred to as 
        the ``CNMI'') are misleading consumers in the United States by 
        promoting their products as ``made in the USA'' when these 
        products are in fact made in the CNMI by foreign workers using 
        foreign materials under foreign supervision;
            (2) the misuse of United States-origin claims on these 
        products is a fraud and deception on patriotic consumers in the 
        United States, who rely on the truth of these claims and who 
        look for this label in order to support the United States and 
        jobs in this country;
            (3) these goods, which receive duty-free treatment and 
        which unfairly compete against products actually made in the 
        United States, thereby destroying the jobs of tens of thousands 
        of workers throughout the United States, are currently being 
        exported by the CNMI to the United States in amounts valued at 
        more than $1,000,000,000;
            (4) United States taxpayers are being forced to unfairly 
        subsidize these foreign-produced goods in the amount of at 
        least $200,000,000 annually as a result of the unfair duty-free 
        treatment they now enjoy, unlike other goods produced in Asia;
            (5) the CNMI has not only refused to control foreign 
        immigration into its territory, but has aggressively encouraged 
        the importation of low-wage foreign workers to the extent that 
        these workers now comprise a majority of CNMI's population and 
        over 90 percent of its private sector work force;
            (6) in the CNMI, many foreign workers have been required to 
        sign contracts with representatives of the People's Republic of 
        China which forbid participation in religious and political 
        activities and which prohibit workers from dating or marrying 
        while in United States territory; and
            (7) the CNMI has consistently ignored repeated warnings 
        from the United States Government regarding the importation and 
        exploitation of these workers.

SEC. 3. RESTRICTIONS ON GOODS IMPORTED FROM NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.

    The joint resolution entitled ``Joint Resolution to approve the 
`Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
in Political Union with the United States of America', and for other 
purposes'', approved March 24, 1976 (48 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sections:

``SEC. 7. HONESTY IN UNITED STATES-ORIGIN CLAIMS.

    ``Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no product that is 
made in the Northern Mariana Islands shall have a stamp, tag, label, or 
other means of identification or substitute therefor on or affixed to 
the product stating `Made in the USA' or otherwise stating or implying 
that the product was made or assembled in the United States.

``SEC. 8. DUTY-FREE TREATMENT OF PRODUCTS PRODUCED BY UNITED STATES 
              CITIZENS.

    ``Notwithstanding General Note 3(a)(iv) of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States, any provision of the covenant set forth 
in the first section of this joint resolution, or any other provision 
of law, no product that is made in the Northern Mariana Islands shall 
be admitted free of duty or quotas into the customs territory of the 
United States as the product of a United States insular possession.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall 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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