[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5381 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5381

   To provide for a more restrictive tariff-rate quota on imports of 
                                tobacco.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 4, 2000

 Mr. Fletcher (for himself, Mr. Ewing, Mr. Boucher, Mr. Whitfield, Mr. 
  Lewis of Kentucky, and Mr. McIntyre) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for a more restrictive tariff-rate quota on imports of 
                                tobacco.

    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 ``Tobacco Farmers Trade Fairness 
Act''.

SEC. 2. TARIFF-RATE QUOTA ON TOBACCO.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) On September 12, 1995, the tariff-rate quota on imports 
        of tobacco was implemented by a Presidential proclamation to 
        limit the volume of such imports.
            (2) The tariff-rate quota permits imports for consumption 
        of up to 331,700,000 pounds declared weight of flue-cured, 
        burley, and other light air-cured tobaccos at levels of duty 
        agreed to in the World Trade Organization.
            (3) Under the national marketing quotas proclaimed by the 
        Secretary of Agriculture under part I of subtitle B of title 
        III of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1311 
        et seq.), the amount of burley tobacco that the United States 
        farmers are permitted to grow has been cut by 65 percent over 
        the past 3 years, and the quota amount for flue-curred farmers 
        was reduced by 28 percent in 1999.
            (4) Buying intentions of United States burley tobacco 
        purchasers have dropped from 473,400,000 pounds in 1997 to 
        291,000,000 pounds in 1999, and buying intentions of United 
        States flue-cured tobacco purchasers have dropped from 
        535,000,000 pounds to 327,000,000 pounds over the same period 
        of time.
            (5) By comparison, imports of burley tobacco have dropped 
        only 20,000,000 pounds between 1997 and 1998. Over the first 
        three quarters of the 1999 marketing year, imports exceeded 
        1998 imports by 5,000,000 pounds.
            (6) Therefore, companies in the United States are using an 
        increased percentage of foreign tobacco. The import share of 
        burley tobacco used increased from 27 percent when the tariff-
        rate quotas were implemented to 37 percent in 1999. The import 
        share of foreign flue-cured tobacco also increased over the 
        same period of time from 23 percent to 32 percent.
            (7) Yet, even though the import share of tobacco has 
        increased, only 48 percent of the tariff-rate quota was used in 
        1998.
            (8) The tariff-rate quota on tobacco has not been effective 
        in limiting the amount of foreign tobacco imported into the 
        United States and must be renegotiated in order to achieve the 
        purpose for which it was originally established.
    (b) Renegotiation of Tariff-Rate Quota.--The President shall, in 
the first negotiations held after the enactment of this Act under the 
auspices of the World Trade Organization, take the necessary steps to 
renegotiate the tariff-rate quota on imported tobacco so that--
            (1) the quantity of tobacco receiving preferential tariff 
        treatment is 50 percent of the quantity receiving preferential 
        tariff treatment under the tariff-rate quota in effect on the 
        date of the enactment of this Act; and
            (2) thereafter, the quantity of tobacco receiving 
        preferential tariff treatment under the tariff-rate quota is 
        reduced in each calendar year by the same percentage as any 
        reduction in the national marketing quota referred to in 
        subsection (a)(3) in the preceding calendar year.
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