[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1739 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1739

            To provide duty-free treatment for certain tuna.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 16, 2003

Mr. Kerry (for himself and Mr. Kennedy) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
            To provide duty-free treatment for certain tuna.

    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 ``Fair Trade in Pouch Tuna Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) a strong relationship between the United States and the 
        member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 
        (ASEAN) is a force for stability and development in the 
        Southeast Asian region and international trade is a critical 
        element of this relationship;
            (2) many of the ASEAN nations are important friends and 
        allies in the ongoing fight against world terrorism;
            (3) ASEAN nations provide a large portion of the processed 
        tuna imported into the United States;
            (4) such imports are subject to tariffs whereas tuna in 
        airtight pouches imported from the beneficiary countries of the 
        Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (Andean) are 
        not;
            (5) as a result, tuna in airtight pouches imported from 
        ASEAN member nations is placed at a competitive disadvantage 
        that has harmed the economies of these nations and that will 
        ultimately harm consumers in the United States; and
            (6) eliminating tariffs on pouch tuna imported from the 
        ASEAN countries in a quantity equal to the quantity imported 
        from Andean countries will restore fair trade in the pouch tuna 
        market and will benefit United States consumers and the 
        economies of the ASEAN nations.

SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DUTY TREATMENT FOR CERTAIN TUNA.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 99 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States is amended by inserting in 
numerical sequence the following new heading:

      

``       9902.16.04       Tuna in foil or      No change   Free, if the    No change       On or before 12/
                           other flexible                   product of a                    31/2006           ''
                           containers                       country                                            .
                           weighing with                    listed in
                           their contents not               U.S. Note 17
                           more than 6.8 kg                 to this
                           each (provided for               subchapter
                           in subheading                    and in the
                           1604.30.91).......               quantity
                                                            provided for
                                                            in such Note

    (b) ASEAN Countries.--The U.S. Notes to subchapter II of chapter 99 
of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States are amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``17. For purposes of heading 9902.16.04:
            ``(a) Products of the following countries are eligible to 
        enter at the special rate of duty set forth in such subheading: 
        Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, 
        Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The term does not include the 
        Union of Myanmar.
            ``(b) The aggregate quantity of tuna entered under 
        subheading 9902.16.04 during any calendar year shall be limited 
        to the quantity of tuna entered free of duty from an ATPDEA 
        beneficiary country (as defined in section 204(b)(6)) of the 
        Andean Trade Preference Act (19 U.S.C. 3202(b)(6)) and 
        designated in Note 11(d) of this Schedule) during the preceding 
        calendar year pursuant to section 204(b)(4) of the Andean Trade 
        Preference Act (19 U.S.C. 3202(b)(4)).''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section apply to 
goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
the 15th day after the date of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>