[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 119 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 119

 Expressing the sense of the Senate that there should be parity among 
    the countries that are parties to the North American Free Trade 
    Agreement with respect to the personal exemption allowance for 
  merchandise purchased abroad by returning residents, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 10, 2003

 Ms. Collins (for herself, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Domenici, and 
Mrs. Clinton) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                        the Committe on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate that there should be parity among 
    the countries that are parties to the North American Free Trade 
    Agreement with respect to the personal exemption allowance for 
  merchandise purchased abroad by returning residents, and for other 
                               purposes.

Whereas the personal exemption allowance is a vital component of trade and 
        tourism;
Whereas many border communities and retailers depend on customers from both 
        sides of the border;
Whereas a United States citizen traveling to Canada or Mexico for less than 48 
        hours is exempt from paying duties on the equivalent of $200 worth of 
        merchandise on return to the United States, and for trips over 48 hours 
        United States citizens have an exemption of up to $800 worth of 
        merchandise;
Whereas a Canadian traveling in the United States is given no exemption for 
        trips of less than 24 hours;
Whereas a Canadian traveling in the United States is allowed a duty-free 
        personal exemption allowance equivalent to, in Canadian currency--
            (1) $50 worth of merchandise, if the trip is over 24 hours but not 
        over 48 hours;
            (2) $200 worth of merchandise, if the trip is over 48 hours but not 
        more than 7 days; and
            (3) $750 worth of merchandise, if the trip is for over 7 days;
Whereas Mexico has a 2-tiered personal exemption allowance for its returning 
        residents, set at the equivalent of $50 worth of merchandise for 
        residents returning by car and the equivalent of $300 worth of 
        merchandise for residents returning by plane;
Whereas Canadian and Mexican retail businesses have an unfair competitive 
        advantage over many American businesses because of the disparity between 
        the personal exemption allowances among the 3 countries;
Whereas the State of Maine legislature passed a resolution urging action on this 
        matter;
Whereas the disparity in personal exemption allowances creates a trade barrier 
        by making it difficult for Canadians and Mexicans to shop in American-
        owned stores without facing high additional costs;
Whereas the United States entered into the North American Free Trade Agreement 
        with Canada and Mexico with the intent of phasing out tariff barriers 
        among the 3 countries; and
Whereas it violates the spirit of the North American Free Trade Agreement for 
        Canada and Mexico to maintain restrictive personal exemption allowance 
        policies that are not reciprocal: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the United States 
Trade Representative and the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Commerce, should continue discussions with 
officials of the Governments of Canada and Mexico to achieve parity by 
harmonizing the personal exemption allowance structure of the 3 NAFTA 
countries at or above United States exemption levels.
                                 <all>