[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3188 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3188

To provide for the disclosure of the source of gem-quality diamonds and 
   gem-quality diamond products imported into and sold in the United 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 1, 1999

 Mr. Hall of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                       the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the disclosure of the source of gem-quality diamonds and 
   gem-quality diamond products imported into and sold in the United 
                                States.

    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 ``Consumer Access to a Responsible 
Accounting of Trade Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) more than half of the world's gem-quality diamonds are 
        imported by the United States; and
            (2) consumers increasingly want to know the country in 
        which gem-quality diamonds are mined in order to avoid 
        purchases from countries in which war or human rights abuses 
        are funded through the sales of these diamonds and other 
        resources.

SEC. 3. CERTIFICATES AND STATEMENTS INDICATING COUNTRY OF MINING.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation 
        with appropriate organizations, Federal agencies, and members 
        of the public, shall issue regulations requiring--
                    (A) gem-quality diamonds; and
                    (B) products made in whole or in part from gem-
                quality diamonds,
        and which are sold in the United States to be accompanied by a 
        certificate stating the English name (or unmistakable 
        abbreviation) of the country in which the diamonds were mined. 
        Such certificate shall be legible and reasonably conspicuous on 
        the outermost container in which the diamonds or diamond 
        products ordinarily are sold to the ultimate purchaser.
            (2) The importer of record of a gem-quality diamond or gem-
        quality diamond product shall be responsible for the 
        certificate required by paragraph (1).
    (b) Sales Through Catalogs or Communications Media.--If a gem-
quality diamond or gem-quality diamond product that is imported into 
the United States and is sold in the United States through a catalog or 
communications media, the entity which prepares the diamond or diamond 
product for retail sale shall provide in the description of such 
diamond or diamond product a conspicuous statement indicating the 
country in which the diamond was mined.

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) In General.--Whenever the Secretary of the Treasury determines 
that a person has violated section 3 or regulations issued thereunder, 
the Secretary may issue an order assessing a civil penalty of not more 
than $5,000 for each violation or requiring compliance with such 
section, or the Secretary may commence in the United States district 
court for the district in which the violation occurred a civil action 
for appropriate relief, including a preliminary or permanent 
injunction.
    (b) Criminal Penalties.--Any person who willfully or with the 
intent to defraud violates subsection (a) or (b) of section 3, or any 
regulation issued thereunder, shall--
            (1) upon conviction for the first violation under this 
        subsection, be fined not more than $100,000, or imprisoned for 
        not more than 1 year, or both; and
            (2) upon conviction for the second or any subsequent 
        violation under this subsection, be fined not more than 
        $250,000, or imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both.
    (c) Exemption.--If a gem-quality diamond or gem-quality diamond 
product does not comply with any requirement of subsection (a) or (b) 
of section 3 or any regulation issued thereunder, and the Secretary 
determines that no fraud or willful neglect was involved in the failure 
to so comply, the Secretary shall afford the person responsible for 
complying with such requirement a reasonable opportunity to provide the 
certificate required by section 3(a) or the statement required by 
section 3(b), as the case may be.

SEC. 5. REPORT BY SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.

    The Secretary of the Treasury shall, not later than 6 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, submit to the Congress a report 
on the feasibility of marking gem-quality diamonds with the country in 
which they were mined.

SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORTS BY SECRETARY OF STATE.

    The Secretary of State shall submit to the Congress, not later than 
June 1 of each year, a report on efforts by the United States, other 
countries, and international organizations, to prevent revenues derived 
from the sale of diamonds mined in war-torn regions from funding 
continued conflict in those regions.

SEC. 7. DEFINITION.

    For purposes of this Act, the term ``gem-quality diamond'' means 
any diamond whose retail sale is valued at 100 United States dollars or 
such other value as is determined by the Secretary of the Treasury on 
the basis of changes in the Consumer Price Index or other factors 
affecting pricing of diamonds.
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