[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1584 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1584
To implement effective measures to stop trade in conflict diamonds, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 3, 2003
Mr. Houghton (for himself, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Rangel) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means,
and in addition to the Committee on International Relations, 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 implement effective measures to stop trade in conflict diamonds, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Clean Diamond Trade Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Funds derived from the sale of rough diamonds are being
used by rebels and state actors to finance military activities,
overthrow legitimate governments, subvert international efforts
to promote peace and stability, and commit horrifying
atrocities against unarmed civilians. During the past decade,
more than 6,500,000 people from Sierra Leone, Angola, and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo have been driven from their
homes by wars waged in large part for control of diamond mining
areas. A million of these are refugees eking out a miserable
existence in neighboring countries, and tens of thousands have
fled to the United States. Approximately 3,700,000 people have
died during these wars.
(2) The countries caught in this fighting are home to
nearly 70,000,000 people whose societies have been torn apart
not only by fighting but also by terrible human rights
violations.
(3) Human rights and humanitarian advocates, the diamond
trade as represented by the World Diamond Council, and the
United States Government have been working to block the trade
in conflict diamonds. Their efforts have helped to build a
consensus that action is urgently needed to end the trade in
conflict diamonds.
(4) The United Nations Security Council has acted at
various times under chapter VII of the Charter of the United
Nations to address threats to international peace and security
posed by conflicts linked to diamonds. Through these actions,
it has prohibited all states from exporting weapons to certain
countries affected by such conflicts. It has further required
all states to prohibit the direct and indirect import of rough
diamonds from Sierra Leone unless the diamonds are controlled
under specified certificate of origin regimes and to prohibit
absolutely the direct and indirect import of rough diamonds
from Liberia.
(5) In response, the United States implemented sanctions
restricting the importation of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone
to those diamonds accompanied by specified certificates of
origin and fully prohibiting the importation of rough diamonds
from Liberia. The United States is now taking further action
against trade in conflict diamonds.
(6) Without effective action to eliminate trade in conflict
diamonds, the trade in legitimate diamonds faces the threat of
a consumer backlash that could damage the economies of
countries not involved in the trade in conflict diamonds and
penalize members of the legitimate trade and the people they
employ. To prevent that, South Africa and more than 30 other
countries are involved in working, through the ``Kimberley
Process'', toward devising a solution to this problem. As the
consumer of a majority of the world's supply of diamonds, the
United States has an obligation to help sever the link between
diamonds and conflict and press for implementation of an
effective solution.
(7) Failure to curtail the trade in conflict diamonds or to
differentiate between the trade in conflict diamonds and the
trade in legitimate diamonds could have a severe negative
impact on the legitimate diamond trade in countries such as
Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Tanzania.
(8) Initiatives of the United States seek to resolve the
regional conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa which facilitate the
trade in conflict diamonds.
(9) The Interlaken Declaration on the Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme for Rough Diamonds of November 5, 2002,
states that Participants will ensure that measures taken to
implement the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for Rough
Diamonds will be consistent with international trade rules.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Controlled through the kimberley process certification
scheme.--An importation or exportation of rough diamonds is
``controlled through the Kimberley Process Certification
Scheme'' if it is an importation from the territory of a
Participant or exportation to the territory of a Participant of
rough diamonds that is--
(A) carried out in accordance with the Kimberley
Process Certification Scheme, as set forth in
regulations promulgated by the President; or
(B) controlled under a system determined by the
President to meet substantially the standards,
practices, and procedures of the Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme.
(2) Exporting authority.--The term ``exporting authority''
means one or more entities designated by a Participant from
whose territory a shipment of rough diamonds is being exported
as having the authority to validate the Kimberley Process
Certificate.
(3) Importing authority.--The term ``importing authority''
means one or more entities designated by a Participant into
whose territory a shipment of rough diamonds is imported as
having the authority to enforce the laws and regulations of the
Participant regulating imports, including the verification of
the Kimberley Process Certificate accompanying the shipment.
(4) Kimberley process certificate.--The term ``Kimberley
Process Certificate'' means a forgery resistant document of a
Participant that demonstrates that an importation or
exportation of rough diamonds has been controlled through the
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and contains the minimum
elements set forth in Annex I of the Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme.
(5) Kimberley process certification scheme.--The term
``Kimberley Process Certification Scheme'' means those
standards, practices, and procedures of the international
certification scheme for rough diamonds presented in the
document entitled ``Kimberley Process Certification Scheme''
referred to in the Interlaken Declaration on the Kimberley
Process Certification Scheme for Rough Diamonds of November 5,
2002.
(6) Participant.--The term ``Participant'' means a state,
customs territory, or regional economic integration
organization identified by the Secretary of State.
(7) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or
entity.
(8) Rough diamond.--The term ``rough diamond'' means any
diamond that is unworked or simply sawn, cleaved, or bruted and
classifiable under subheading 7102.10, 7102.21, or 7102.31 of
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
(9) United states.--The term ``United States'', when used
in the geographic sense, means the several States, the District
of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of
the United States.
(10) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) any United States citizen or any alien admitted
for permanent residence into the United States;
(B) any entity organized under the laws of the
United States or any jurisdiction within the United
States (including its foreign branches); and
(C) any person in the United States.
SEC. 4. MEASURES FOR THE IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION OF ROUGH DIAMONDS.
(a) Prohibition.--The President shall prohibit the importation
into, or exportation from, the United States of any rough diamond, from
whatever source, that has not been controlled through the Kimberley
Process Certification Scheme.
(b) Waiver.--The President may waive the requirements set forth in
subsection (a) with respect to a particular country for periods of not
more than 1 year each, if, with respect to each such waiver--
(1) the President determines and reports to the Congress
that such country is taking effective steps to implement the
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme; or
(2) the President determines that the waiver is in the
national interests of the United States, and reports such
determination to the Congress, together with the reasons
therefor.
SEC. 5. REGULATORY AND OTHER AUTHORITY.
(a) In General.--The President is authorized to and shall as
necessary issue such proclamations, regulations, licenses, and orders,
and conduct such investigations, as may be necessary to carry out this
Act.
(b) Recordkeeping.--Any United States person seeking to export from
or import into the United States any rough diamonds shall keep a full
record of, in the form of reports or otherwise, complete information
relating to any act or transaction to which any prohibition imposed
under section 4(a) applies. The President may require such person to
furnish such information under oath, including the production of books
of account, records, contracts, letters, memoranda, or other papers, in
the custody or control of such person.
(c) Oversight.--The President shall require the appropriate
Government agency to conduct annual reviews of the standards,
practices, and procedures of any entity in the United States that
issues Kimberley Process Certificates for the exportation from the
United States of rough diamonds to determine whether such standards,
practices, and procedures are in accordance with the Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme. The President shall transmit to the Congress a
report on each annual review under this subsection.
SEC. 6. IMPORTING AND EXPORTING AUTHORITIES.
(a) In the United States.--For purposes of this Act__
(1) the importing authority shall be the United States
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection or, in the case of a
territory or possession of the United States with its own
customs administration, analagous officials; and
(2) the exporting authority shall be the Bureau of the
Census.
(b) Of Other Countries.--The President shall publish in the Federal
Register a list of all Participants, and all exporting authorities and
importing authorities of Participants. The President shall update the
list as necessary.
SEC. 7. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
The Congress supports the trade policy that the United States Trade
Representative and other Government agencies exercising functions
relating to trade take appropriate steps to promote and facilitate the
adoption by the international community of the Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme implemented under this Act.
SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) In General.--In addition to the enforcement provisions set
forth in subsection (b)--
(1) a civil penalty of not to exceed $10,000 may be imposed
on any person who violates, or attempts to violate, any
license, order, or regulation issued under this Act; and
(2) whoever willfully violates, or willfully attempts to
violate, any license, order, or regulation issued under this
Act shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $50,000, or,
if a natural person, may be imprisoned for not more than 10
years, or both; and any officer, director, or agent of any
corporation who knowingly participates in such violation may be
punished by a like fine, imprisonment, or both.
(b) Import Violations.--Those customs laws of the United States,
both civil and criminal, including those laws relating to seizure and
forfeiture, that apply to goods imported into the United States shall
apply with respect to rough diamonds imported in violation of this Act.
SEC. 9. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
The President may direct the appropriate agencies of the United
States Government, including the United States Bureau of Customs and
Border Protection, to make available technical assistance, relating to
compliance with the trade laws of the United States, to countries
seeking to export rough diamonds to the United States consistent with
the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
SEC. 10. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Ongoing Process.--It is the sense of the Congress that the
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, officially launched on January
1, 2003, is an ongoing process. The President should work with
Participants to strengthen the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
through the adoption of measures for the sharing of statistics on the
production of and trade in rough diamonds, and for monitoring the
effectiveness of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in stemming
trade in diamonds the importation or exportation of which is not
controlled through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
(b) Statistics and Reporting.--It is the sense of the Congress that
under Annex III to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme,
Participants recognized that reliable and comparable data on the
international trade in rough diamonds are an essential tool for the
effective implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
Therefore, the executive branch should continue to--
(1) keep and publish statistics on imports and exports of
rough diamonds under subheadings 7102.10.00, 7102.21, and
7102.31.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States;
(2) make these statistics available for analysis by
interested parties and by Participants; and
(3) take a leadership role in negotiating a standardized
methodology among Participants for reporting statistics on
imports and exports of rough diamonds.
(c) Kimberley Process Implementation Coordinating Committee.--It is
the sense of the Congress that the President should establish a
Kimberley Process Implementation Coordinating Committee to coordinate
the implementation of this Act. The Committee should be composed of the
following individuals or their designees:
(1) The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of
State, who shall be co-chairpersons.
(2) The Secretary of Commerce.
(3) The United States Trade Representative.
(4) The Secretary of Homeland Security.
(5) A representative of any other agency the President
deems appropriate.
SEC. 11. REPORTS.
(a) Annual Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act and every 12 months thereafter for such period as
this Act is in effect, the President shall transmit to the Congress a
report--
(1) describing actions taken by countries that have
exported rough diamonds to the United States during the
preceding 12-month period to control the exportation of the
diamonds through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme;
(2) describing whether there is statistical information or
other evidence that would indicate efforts to circumvent the
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, including cutting rough
diamonds for the purpose of circumventing the Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme; and
(3) identifying each country that, during the preceding 12-
month period, exported rough diamonds to the United States and
was exporting rough diamonds not controlled through the
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, if the failure to do so
has significantly increased the likelihood that those diamonds
not so controlled are being imported into the United States.
(b) Semiannual Reports.--For each country identified in subsection
(a)(3), the President, during such period as this Act is in effect,
shall, every 6 months after the initial report in which the country was
identified, transmit to the Congress a report that explains what
actions have been taken by the United States or such country since the
previous report to ensure that diamonds the exportation of which was
not controlled through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme are
not being imported from that country into the United States. The
requirement to issue a semiannual report with respect to a country
under this subsection shall remain in effect until such time as the
country is controlling the importation and exportation of rough
diamonds through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
SEC. 12. GAO REPORT.
Not later than 24 months after the effective date of this Act, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall transmit a report to the
Congress on the effectiveness of the provisions of this Act in
preventing the importation or exportation of rough diamonds that is
prohibited under section 4. The Comptroller General shall include in
the report any recommendations on any modifications to this Act that
may be necessary.
SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect on the date on which the President
certifies to the Congress that--
(1) an applicable waiver that has been granted by the World
Trade Organization is in effect; or
(2) an applicable decision in a resolution adopted by the
United Nations Security Council pursuant to Chapter VII of the
Charter of the United Nations is in effect.
This Act shall thereafter remain in effect during those periods in
which, as certified by the President to the Congress, an applicable
waiver or decision referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) is in effect.
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