[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1412 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1412
To provide the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, and the Department of the Treasury with authority to more
aggressively enforce customs and trade laws relating to textile and
apparel articles, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 31, 2013
Mrs. Hagan (for herself and Mr. Graham) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, and the Department of the Treasury with authority to more
aggressively enforce customs and trade laws relating to textile and
apparel articles, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Textile
Enforcement and Security Act of 2013''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Textile or apparel article defined.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Findings.
Sec. 5. Sense of Congress.
TITLE I--ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES FOR U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION
Sec. 101. Seizure and forfeiture of certain textile or apparel articles
and use of amounts from fines, penalties,
and forfeitures.
Sec. 102. Increase in certain TTA positions and import specialist
positions and biennial review of staff
levels.
TITLE II--AMENDMENTS TO THE TARIFF ACT OF 1930
Sec. 201. Special provisions regarding certain violations relating to
import documentation.
Sec. 202. Electronic preference verification system for origin of
textile or apparel articles under CAFTA-DR,
NAFTA, and other free trade agreements.
Sec. 203. Establishment of textile and apparel new importer program.
Sec. 204. Nonresident importer declaration program for textile or
apparel articles.
TITLE III--ESTABLISHMENT OF TEXTILE AND APPAREL MANUFACTURING AND
SUPPLIER REGISTRY
Sec. 301. Establishment of textile and apparel manufacturing and
supplier registry.
TITLE IV--IMPLEMENTATION REPORT
Sec. 401. Implementation report.
SEC. 2. TEXTILE OR APPAREL ARTICLE DEFINED.
(a) In General.--In this Act, the term ``textile or apparel
article'' means any of the following:
(1) Any good classifiable in chapters 50 through 63 of the
HTS.
(2) Any good classifiable under one of the following HTS
headings or subheadings:
(A) 3005.90.
(B) 3921.12.15.
(C) 3921.13.15.
(D) 3921.90.11.
(E) 3921.90.15.
(F) 3921.90.19.
(G) 3921.90.25.
(H) 3921.90.29.
(I) 3921.90.40.
(J) 6601.
(K) 7019.19.15.
(L) 7019.19.28.
(M) 7019.40 through 7019.59.
(N) 8708.21.00.
(O) 9404.30.
(P) 9404.90.
(b) HTS Defined.--In subsection (a), the term ``HTS'' means the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) CAFTA-DR country.--The term ``CAFTA-DR country'' has
the meaning given such term in section 3(2) of the Dominican
Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 4002(2)).
(2) CEE.--The term ``CEE'' means the Center of Excellence
and Expertise for Apparel, Footwear, and Textiles of U.S.
Customs and Border Protection.
(3) Commissioner.--The term ``Commissioner'' means the
Commissioner responsible for U.S. Customs and Border
Protection.
(4) Dedicated.--The term ``dedicated'' means, with respect
to an import specialist, that the import specialist focuses
solely on the import of textile or apparel articles.
(5) Enter; entry.--The terms ``enter'' and ``entry'' refer
to the entry, or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption, of
a textile or apparel article in the customs territory of the
United States.
(6) Importer.--The term ``importer'' means one of the
parties qualifying as an importer of record under section
484(a)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1484(a)(2)(B)).
(7) New importer.--The term ``new importer'' means an
importer with fewer than 3 years of history of importing
textile or apparel articles into the United States. For
purposes of this paragraph, a new importer that merges with or
is purchased by another importer, or is otherwise altered,
shall be considered to remain a new importer until such time as
such new importer presents proof to the Commissioner of such
merger, purchase, or other alteration for a determination
regarding whether such new importer may be treated as an
importer.
(8) Nonresident importer.--The term ``nonresident
importer'' means an importer who is--
(A) an individual who is not a citizen of the
United States or an alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence in the United States; or
(B) a partnership, corporation, or other commercial
entity that is not organized under the laws of a
jurisdiction within the customs territory of the United
States (as such term is defined in General Note 2 of
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States) or
in the Virgin Islands of the United States.
(9) Special operations.--The term ``special operations''
means an initiative that is--
(A) implemented to address specific instances of
transactions that do not comply with the customs and
trade laws of the United States with respect to textile
or apparel articles;
(B) used to address any import violations involving
textile or apparel articles, including fraud, quota
requirements, revenue collection, trade preferences or
requirements under free trade agreements, product
safety, antidumping and countervailing duties, or
intellectual property rights; or
(C) initiated to address a singular instance or a
pattern of high-risk behavior, involving a particular
commodity or other trade issue, including valuation,
origin fraud, or trade preference violation, on the
part of a country, importer, shipper, exporter, customs
broker, freight forwarder, or manufacturer.
(10) TTA.--The term ``TTA'' means the Textile and Trade
Agreements division of the Office of International Trade within
U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
(11) TPVTs.--The term ``TPVTs'' means Textile Product
Verification Teams.
(12) Trained.--The term ``trained'' means, with respect to
an import specialist, that such import specialist has received,
at least during the last 3 years, education or training related
to the import of textile or apparel articles.
SEC. 4. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The fraudulent or illegal imports of textile and
apparel articles into the United States results in significant
revenue loss to the Department of the Treasury.
(2) The Textile and Trade Agreements division of the Office
of International Trade within U.S. Customs and Border
Protection or any subsequent division has, with respect to
textile or apparel articles, the primary responsibility to
ensure the proper enforcement of all customs and trade laws,
rules, and regulations affecting textile and apparel articles.
(3) The TTA has the authority to direct the implementation
and enforcement of free trade agreements, multilateral
agreements, bilateral textile agreements, trade preference
programs, and all other customs and trade laws affecting
textiles and apparel articles.
(4) The primary focus of the TTA is to ensure the effective
implementation of all trade enforcement activities involving
textile or apparel articles with its principle focus to prevent
circumvention of the requirements to obtain preferential trade
treatment under free trade agreements and trade preference
programs in order to avoid quotas or duties.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the TTA should
be involved in supporting the negotiation of enforcement
provisions of trade preference programs and free trade
agreements affecting textiles and apparel articles;
(2) the TTA should conduct outreach to other Federal
departments and agencies involved in overall trade policy, such
as Department of Commerce and the Office of the United States
Trade Representative;
(3) the TTA should develop policies and procedures that
provide guidance to the CEE and to the ports of entry of the
textile and apparel articles, including training of officials
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection;
(4) officials of the TTA should coordinate and collaborate
with officials of the CEE to establish enforcement priorities,
based on risk assessments, and a national enforcement response;
(5) the TTA headquarters office is currently below its
optimal staffing levels and the TTA personnel efforts should be
targeted at retaining senior staff and hiring new qualified
personnel so that the division is brought up to optimal
staffing levels, and these positions should be designated as
not only policy positions, but enforcement positions as well;
(6) the TTA should implement special operations, Textile
Product Verification Teams, and other actions under U.S.
Customs and Border Protection authority to ensure enforcement
of customs and trade laws relating to imports of textile or
apparel articles in a timely manner as concerns arise,
particularly as such concerns relate to enforcement of the
North American Free Trade Agreement, the Dominican Republic-
Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, and all
other free trade agreements and trade preference programs, in
order to prevent transshipments and origin fraud;
(7) the TTA officials should coordinate and collaborate
with foreign government counterparts to ensure effective
enforcement of textile and apparel articles; and
(8) U.S. Customs and Border Protection should ensure that
seizures, detentions, special operations, and TPVTs remain the
primary focus of its enforcement efforts relating to textile
and apparel articles.
TITLE I--ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES FOR U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION
SEC. 101. SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE OF CERTAIN TEXTILE OR APPAREL ARTICLES
AND USE OF AMOUNTS FROM FINES, PENALTIES, AND
FORFEITURES.
(a) Seizure and Forfeiture.--
(1) In general.--The following textile or apparel articles
shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture in accordance with
the customs and trade laws of the United States and title 18,
United States Code:
(A) Any textile or apparel article imported into
the United States--
(i) for which a trade preference has been
claimed; and
(ii) that has been either misdescribed on
entry as to country of origin or for which the
importer does not verify actual country of
origin, for purposes of avoiding a duty or
other obligation to the United States
Government, including--
(I) any textile or apparel article
accompanied by documentation that
indicates a false or fraudulent country
of origin or source of textile or
apparel articles; and
(II) any textile or apparel article
accompanied by a counterfeit visa,
license, permit, bill of lading, or
similar documentation that is
subsequently used by the importer for
entry of textile or apparel articles.
(B) A textile or apparel article imported into the
United States by an importer who provides false
information with respect to the physical address of the
importer or who does not meet the requirements of
section 484(a)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19
U.S.C. 1484(a)(2)(B)).
(2) Exception.--A clerical error shall not be considered a
violation of paragraph (1) unless such error is part of a
pattern of negligent conduct.
(b) Use of Amounts From Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Commissioner, or
the Secretary of the Treasury--
(A) shall use amounts from fines, penalties, and
forfeitures of property for violations of any law
regarding the import of textile or apparel articles
enforced by the Secretary of Homeland Security or the
Secretary of the Treasury to pay for--
(i) expenses directly related to special
operations, TPVTs, and other enforcement
actions;
(ii) expenses related to training and
education for applicable revenue positions,
including import specialists, international
trade specialists, and auditors who participate
in the enforcement of the customs and trade
laws of the United States with respect to the
export or import of textile or apparel
articles; and
(iii) implementation of the provisions of
this Act; and
(B) may use amounts from fines, penalties, and
forfeitures of property for violations of any law
regarding the import of textile or apparel articles
enforced by the Secretary of Homeland Security, the
Commissioner, or the Secretary of the Treasury to pay
for a reward of not less than 20 percent of the amount
of the fine or penalty collected, or the value of the
property forfeited, or $20,000, whichever is the lesser
amount, to any person who furnishes information that
leads to an arrest, conviction, civil penalty
assessment, or forfeiture of property for any violation
of any law regarding the import of textile or apparel
articles enforced by the Secretary of Homeland
Security, the Commissioner, or the Secretary of the
Treasury.
(2) Rule of construction.--Amounts described in paragraph
(1) and used to pay for expenses described in subparagraph (A)
of that paragraph or a reward described in subparagraph (B) of
that paragraph are in addition to amounts otherwise available
for such purposes.
SEC. 102. INCREASE IN CERTAIN TTA POSITIONS AND IMPORT SPECIALIST
POSITIONS AND BIENNIAL REVIEW OF STAFF LEVELS.
(a) Increase in Certain TTA Positions.--Not later than 180 days of
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall ensure
that--
(1) the Textile Enforcement Branch (or any successor or
related branch) of the TTA shall consist of, at a minimum, one
branch chief and 6 operations staff, of whom 3 operations staff
shall be assigned to one of the CAFTA-DR countries for purposes
of assisting U.S. Customs and Border Protection with
verification of textile and apparel preferences claimed under
the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade
Agreement;
(2) the Textile Policy Branch (or any successor or related
division) of the TTA shall consist of, at a minimum, one
division chief and 3 operations staff, and 2 textile trade
analysts; and
(3) the Quota Branch (or any successor or related branch of
the Interagency Collaboration Division) of the TTA shall
consist of, at a minimum, one branch chief and 4 operations
staff.
(b) Increase in Textile and Apparel Trained Import Specialists.--As
soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Commissioner shall certify, with respect to the 15 largest (by value of
entries) United States ports of entry for textile or apparel articles,
that import specialists who are assigned to such ports of entry are
trained in fraud, trade preference verification, classification,
undervaluation, or other issues relating to imports of textile or
apparel articles so that the number of such trained import specialist
positions is not less than 150 percent of the number of trained import
specialist positions as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Increase in Dedicated Textile and Apparel Import Specialists.--
As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Commissioner shall increase dedicated textile and import specialists by
25 percent at the 15 largest (by value of entries) United States ports
of entry for textile or apparel articles over the number of such
specialists as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) Biennial Review of Staff Levels.--Not later than one year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter,
the Commissioner shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means and
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Finance and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the co-chairs of the
Congressional Textile Caucus a report on the staffing levels specified
in this section, including a determination of whether or not there is
need for additional staff to carry out the duties of the TTA.
TITLE II--AMENDMENTS TO THE TARIFF ACT OF 1930
SEC. 201. SPECIAL PROVISIONS REGARDING CERTAIN VIOLATIONS RELATING TO
IMPORT DOCUMENTATION.
(a) Publication of Names of Certain Violators.--Section 592A(a)(1)
of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592a(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``is authorized to'' and inserting ``shall''; and
(2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting before the comma at
the end the following: ``, including for violations of quotas,
duties, or trade preference programs''.
(b) List of High-Risk Countries.--Section 592A(b)(1) of the Tariff
Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592a(b)(1)) is amended, in the first sentence--
(1) by striking ``is authorized to'' and inserting
``shall''; and
(2) by inserting ``or duties or violate trade preference
programs'' after ``quotas''.
SEC. 202. ELECTRONIC PREFERENCE VERIFICATION SYSTEM FOR ORIGIN OF
TEXTILE OR APPAREL ARTICLES UNDER CAFTA-DR, NAFTA, AND
OTHER FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the Commissioner
and in coordination with the head of the Office of Textiles and Apparel
of the Department of Commerce, shall establish an electronic
verification system for tracking textile or apparel articles imported
or exported under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States
Free Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement, or any
other free trade agreement to which the United States is a party, to
ensure compliance with the respective requirements of such agreements.
(b) Implementation.--The President shall seek to enter into
consultations and agreements, as appropriate, with the government of
each foreign country that is a party to an agreement referred to in
subsection (a) for purposes of implementing the electronic verification
system established under that subsection.
(c) Confidentiality.--The electronic verification system
established under subsection (a) shall ensure that proprietary
information, such as information about supply chain participants, is
coded so that only U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Office of
Textiles and Apparel personnel can access the information.
(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the
President should seek to make the integration of the electronic
verification system established under subsection (a) in future free
trade agreements a priority in negotiations for such agreements.
SEC. 203. ESTABLISHMENT OF TEXTILE AND APPAREL NEW IMPORTER PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall establish a new importer
program that directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to adjust bond
amounts for new importers of textile and apparel articles based on the
level of risk with respect to protection of the revenue of the Federal
Government presented by each new importer.
(b) Requirements.--The Commissioner shall ensure that, as part of
the new importer program established under subsection (a), U.S. Customs
and Border Protection--
(1) develops risk assessment guidelines for new importers
of textile and apparel articles;
(2) adjusts bond amounts for new importers in accordance
with the risk assessment guidelines developed under paragraph
(1);
(3) maintains a centralized database of new importers; and
(4) ensures accuracy of required information provided to
U.S. Customs and Border Protection by new importers.
(c) Bonding Authority.--Section 623(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930
(19 U.S.C. 1623(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(5) In the case of importation of textile or apparel
articles, by regulation or specific instruction require, or
authorize U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to
require, the amount of the bond to include amounts equal to any
duties, fees, or penalties estimated to be payable on such
articles. For purposes of this paragraph, amounts equal to any
penalties estimated to be payable on such articles shall be
based on a risk assessment of the new importer carried out in
accordance with section 203 of the Textile Security and
Enforcement Act of 2013. Any person who violates a requirement
imposed pursuant to this paragraph shall be liable for a civil
penalty of $50,000 for each such violation.''.
(d) Other Penalties.--In addition to the penalties specified in
paragraph (5) of section 623(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1623(b)), as added by subsection (c) of this section, for a violation
of such paragraph, any person who violates any other customs or trade
law of the United States with respect to the importation of textile or
apparel articles shall be subject to any applicable civil or criminal
penalty, including seizure and forfeiture that may be imposed under
such customs or trade law, including section 592 of the Tariff Act of
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592).
SEC. 204. NONRESIDENT IMPORTER DECLARATION PROGRAM FOR TEXTILE OR
APPAREL ARTICLES.
(a) Establishment of Program.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall establish and
maintain a nonresident importer declaration program with respect to the
importation of textile or apparel articles. The program shall require
nonresident importers of textile or apparel articles to provide the
information required under subsection (b) and declare the information
required under subsection (c), and require that such information
accompany the entry summary documentation for such textile or apparel
articles.
(b) Information Required.--The Commissioner shall require the
following information to be submitted by any nonresident importer
seeking to import textile or apparel articles:
(1) An identification of a resident agent in the State in
which the port of entry is located who is authorized to accept
service of process against the nonresident importer in
connection with the importation of the textile or apparel
articles.
(2) A certification that the resident agent described in
paragraph (1) has assets in the United States in sufficient
amounts for the purpose of ensuring the payment of any
additional loss of revenue not covered by any surety bond or
for any civil penalties levied by the Federal Government in
connection with the importation of the textile or apparel
articles.
(3) A copy of the commercial invoice accompanying the
shipment of the textile or apparel articles, including the
name, address, and contact information for each person in the
transaction, such as the trading house, the freight forwarder,
and the ultimate purchaser of the goods.
(c) Declarations Required.--Pursuant to procedures prescribed by
the Commissioner, any nonresident importer seeking to import textile or
apparel articles shall declare the following:
(1) The nonresident importer has secured a bond in
connection with the importation of the textile or apparel
articles as required by paragraph (5) of section 623(b) of the
Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1623(b)) (as added by section
203(c) of this Act).
(2) The nonresident importer has established a power of
attorney in connection with the importation of the textile or
apparel articles.
(d) Authority.--A resident agent under this section shall accept
service of process on behalf of the nonresident importer of such agent
for the purpose of duties, penalties, or other fines issued by the
Secretary of Homeland Security or the Commissioner if the Secretary or
the Commissioner is unable to collect duties, penalties, or other fines
from such nonresident importer.
(e) Penalties.--
(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for any person to
import into the United States any textile or apparel article in
violation of this section.
(2) Civil penalties.--Any person who violates paragraph (1)
shall be liable for a civil penalty of $50,000 for each such
violation.
(3) Other penalties.--In addition to the penalties
specified in paragraph (2), any violation of this section that
violates any other customs or trade law of the United States
shall be subject to any applicable civil and criminal penalty,
including seizure and forfeiture, that may be imposed under
such customs or trade law or title 18, United States Code, with
respect to the importation of textile or apparel articles.
TITLE III--ESTABLISHMENT OF TEXTILE AND APPAREL MANUFACTURING AND
SUPPLIER REGISTRY
SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF TEXTILE AND APPAREL MANUFACTURING AND
SUPPLIER REGISTRY.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the President, acting through the Commissioner and in coordination
with the head of the Office of Textiles and Apparel of the Department
of Commerce, shall establish an electronic Textile and Apparel
Manufacturing Supplier Registry pilot program to serve as a centralized
database of United States producers and manufacturers of thread, yarn,
fabric, and apparel that supply products to companies in the United
States, countries that are parties to the North American Free Trade
Agreement, the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free
Trade Agreement, and other free trade agreements or eligible for
preference programs for countries in the Western Hemisphere.
TITLE IV--IMPLEMENTATION REPORT
SEC. 401. IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Commissioner shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means
and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives,
the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the co-chairs of the
Congressional Textile Caucus a report on the implementation of this
Act.
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