1.This Act may be cited as the
Asia–South Pacific Trade Preferences
Act
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)It is in the
mutual interest of the United States and least-developed countries to promote
stable and sustainable economic growth and development.
(2)Trade and
investment are powerful economic tools and can be used to reduce poverty and
raise the standard of living in a country.
(3)A country that is
open to trade may increase its economic growth.
(4)Trade and
investment often lead to employment opportunities and often help alleviate
poverty.
(5)Least-developed
countries have a particular challenge in meeting the economic requirements of
and competitiveness necessary for globalization and international
markets.
(6)The United States
has recognized the benefits that international trade provides to
least-developed countries by enacting the Generalized System of Preferences and
trade benefits for developing countries in the Caribbean, Andean, and
sub-Saharan African regions of the world.
(7)Enhanced trade
with least-developed Muslim countries, including Yemen, Afghanistan, and
Bangladesh, is consistent with other United States objectives of encouraging a
strong private sector and individual economic empowerment in those
countries.
(8)Offering
least-developed countries enhanced trade preferences will encourage both higher
levels of trade and direct investment in support of positive economic and
political developments throughout the world.
(9)Encouraging the
reciprocal reduction of trade and investment barriers will enhance the benefits
of trade and investment as well as enhance commercial and political ties
between the United States and the countries designated for benefits under this
Act.
(10)Economic
opportunity and engagement in the global trading system together with support
for democratic institutions and a respect for human rights are mutually
reinforcing objectives and key elements of a policy to confront and defeat
global terrorism.
3.In this Act:
(1)Asia or South
Pacific countryThe term Asia or South Pacific
country means a country listed in section 4(b).
(2)Beneficiary
Asia or South Pacific countryThe term beneficiary Asia or
South Pacific country means an Asia or South Pacific country that the
President has determined is eligible for preferential treatment under this
Act.
(3)Former
beneficiary Asia or South Pacific countryThe term former
beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country means a country that, after
being designated as a beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country under this Act,
ceased to be designated as such a country by reason of its entering into a free
trade agreement with the United States.
4.Authority To
designate; eligibility requirements
(a)
(1)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President
is authorized to designate an Asia or South Pacific country as a beneficiary
Asia or South Pacific country eligible for preferential treatment under this
Act—
(A)if the President
determines that the country meets the requirements set forth in section 104 of
the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3703); and
(B)subject to the
authority granted to the President under subsections (a), (d), and (e) of
section 502 of the Trade Act of 1974
(19 U.S.C. 2462), if the country otherwise meets the eligibility criteria set
forth in such section 502.
(2)Application of
section 104Section 104 of the African Growth and Opportunity Act
shall be applied for purposes of paragraph (1) by substituting Asia or
South Pacific country
for sub-Saharan African country
each place it appears.
(b)Countries
eligible for designationFor purposes of this Act, the term
Asia or South Pacific country refers to the following or their
successor political entities:
(1)Afghanistan.
(2)Bangladesh.
(3)Bhutan.
(4)Cambodia.
(5)Kiribati.
(6)Lao People’s
Democratic Republic.
(7)Maldives.
(8)Nepal.
(9)Samoa.
(10)Solomon
Islands.
(11)Timor-Leste
(East Timor).
(12)Tuvalu.
(13)Vanuatu.
5.
(a)Unless otherwise excluded from eligibility (or otherwise
provided for in this Act), preferential treatment shall apply in accordance
with subsections (b), (c), and (d).
(b)
(1)The President may provide duty-free treatment to any
article described in subparagraphs (B) through (G) of section 503(b)(1) of the
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2463(b)(1)) if—
(A)the article is
the growth, product, or manufacture of a beneficiary Asia or South Pacific
country; and
(B)the President
determines, after receiving the advice of the International Trade Commission in
accordance with section 503(e) of the Trade Act
of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2463(e)), that the article is not
import-sensitive in the context of imports from beneficiary Asia or South
Pacific countries.
(2)The duty-free treatment provided under paragraph (1) shall
apply to any article described in that paragraph that meets the requirements of
section 503(a)(2) of the Trade Act of
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2463(a)(2)), except that for purposes of determining
if the article meets the 35-percent requirement under subparagraph (A)(ii) of
such section—
(A)if the cost or
value of materials produced in the customs territory of the United States is
included with respect to that article, an amount not to exceed 15 percent of
the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered that is attributed
to such United States cost or value may be applied toward meeting the
35-percent requirement; and
(B)the cost or value
of the materials included with respect to that article that are produced in one
or more beneficiary Asia or South Pacific countries or former beneficiary Asia
or South Pacific countries shall be applied toward meeting the 35-percent
requirement.
(c)Textile and
apparel articles
(1)The preferential treatment described in subsection (a) of
section 112 of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3721(a)) shall
apply with respect to textile and apparel articles described in paragraphs (1),
(2), (4), (5), (7), and (8) of subsection (b) of such section and paragraphs
(2) and (3) of this subsection that are imported directly into the customs
territory of the United States from a beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country
except that such section 112 shall be applied and administered with respect to
such articles—
(A)in subsection
(a), by substituting a beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country (as
defined in section 3 of the Asia–South
Pacific Trade Preferences Act)
for a beneficiary
sub-Saharan African country described in section 506A(c) of the Trade Act of
1974
; and
(B)in paragraphs
(1), (2), (4), (5), (7), and (8) of subsection (b), by substituting
beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country
and beneficiary
Asia or South Pacific countries
for beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country
and beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries
, respectively, each place such terms appear.
(2)Textile and
apparel articles assembled from regional and other fabric
(A)Textile and apparel articles described in this paragraph
are textile and apparel articles wholly assembled in one or more beneficiary
Asia or South Pacific countries or former beneficiary Asia or South Pacific
countries, or both, from fabric wholly formed in one or more beneficiary Asia
or South Pacific countries or former beneficiary Asia or South Pacific
countries, or both, from yarn originating either in the United States or one or
more beneficiary Asia or South Pacific countries or former beneficiary Asia or
South Pacific countries, or both (including fabrics not formed from yarns, if
such fabrics are classifiable under heading 5602 or 5603 of the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States and are wholly formed and cut in the
United States, in one or more beneficiary Asia or South Pacific countries or
former beneficiary Asia or South Pacific countries, or any combination
thereof), whether or not the textile and apparel articles are also made from
any of the fabrics, fabric components formed, or components knit-to-shape
described in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 112(b) of the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3721(b)) (unless the apparel articles are made
exclusively from any of the fabrics, fabric components formed, or components
knit-to-shape described in paragraph (1) or (2) of such section 112(b)).
(B)
(i)Preferential treatment under this subsection shall be
extended in the 1-year period beginning January 1, 2012, and in each of the
succeeding 10 1-year periods, to imports of textile and apparel articles
described in subparagraph (A) in an amount not to exceed the applicable
percentage of the aggregate square meter equivalents of all textile and apparel
articles imported into the United States in the most recent 12-month period for
which data are available.
(ii)For purposes of this subparagraph, the term
applicable percentage means 11 percent for the 1-year period
beginning January 1, 2012, increased in each of the 10 succeeding 1-year
periods by equal increments, so that for the period beginning January 1, 2022,
the applicable percentage does not exceed 14 percent.
(3)Handloomed, handmade, folklore articles and
ethnic printed fabrics
(A)A textile or apparel article described in this paragraph
is a handloomed, handmade, folklore article or an ethnic printed fabric of a
beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country or countries that is certified as
such by the competent authority of such beneficiary country or countries. For
purposes of this subsection, the President, after consultation with the
beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country or countries concerned, shall
determine which, if any, particular textile and apparel goods of the country or
countries shall be treated as being handloomed, handmade, or folklore articles
or an ethnic printed fabric.
(B)Requirements
for ethnic printed fabricEthnic printed fabrics qualified under
this paragraph are—
(i)fabrics
containing a selvedge on both edges, having a width of less than 50 inches,
classifiable under subheading 5208.52.30 or 5208.52.40 of the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States;
(ii)of
the type that contains designs, symbols, and other characteristics of Asian or
South Pacific prints—
(I)normally produced
for and sold on the indigenous Asian or South Pacific market; and
(II)normally sold in
Asia or South Pacific countries by the piece as opposed to being tailored into
garments before being sold in indigenous Asian or South Pacific markets;
(iii)printed,
including waxed, in one or more beneficiary Asia or South Pacific countries;
and
(iv)fabrics formed
in the United States, from yarns formed in the United States, or from fabric
formed in one or more beneficiary Asia or South Pacific countries from yarn
originating in either the United States or one or more beneficiary Asia or
South Pacific countries.
(4)
(A)Preferential treatment under this subsection shall be
extended through December 31, 2019, for textile and apparel articles that are
wholly assembled in one or more beneficiary Asia or South Pacific countries or
former beneficiary Asia or South Pacific countries, or both, regardless of the
country of origin of the yarn or fabric used to make such articles.
(B)
(i)If, during a calendar year, imports of textile and
apparel articles described in subparagraph (A) from a beneficiary Asia or South
Pacific country are less than 1 percent of the aggregate square meter
equivalents of all textile and apparel articles imported into the United States
during that calendar year, such imports may be increased to an amount that is
equal to not more than 1.5 percent of the aggregate square meter equivalents of
all textile and apparel articles imported into the United States during that
calendar year for the succeeding calendar year.
(ii)If, during a calendar year, imports of textile and
apparel articles described in subparagraph (A) from a beneficiary Asia or South
Pacific country are at least 1 percent of the aggregate square meter
equivalents of all textile and apparel articles imported into the United States
during that calendar year, such imports may be increased by an amount that is
equal to not more than 1/3 of 1 percent of the aggregate
square meter equivalents of all textile and apparel articles imported into the
United States during that calendar year for the succeeding calendar
year.
(iii)In no case may the aggregate quantity of textile
and apparel articles described in subparagraph (A) imported into the United
States during a calendar year under this subsection exceed the applicable
percentage set forth in paragraph (2)(B)(ii) for that calendar year.
(d)The provisions of subsections (b)(3)(B) and (e) of
section 112 and section 113 of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19
U.S.C. 3721 and 3722) shall apply with respect to the preferential treatment
extended under this section to a beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country by
substituting beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country
for
beneficiary sub-Saharan African country
and beneficiary
Asia or South Pacific countries
and former beneficiary Asia or
South Pacific countries
for beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries
and former sub-Saharan African countries
,
respectively, as appropriate.
(e)Section 6002(a)(2)(B) of the Africa Investment
Incentive Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–432) is amended by inserting before
by striking
the following: in paragraph
(3),
.
6.The President
shall monitor, review, and report to Congress, not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, on the
implementation of this Act and on the trade and investment policy of the United
States with respect to the Asia or South Pacific countries.
7.Termination of
preferential treatmentNo
duty-free treatment or other preferential treatment extended to a beneficiary
Asia or South Pacific country under this Act shall remain in effect after
December 31, 2022.
8.The provisions of this
Act shall take effect on January 1, 2012.