[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7981 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 730
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7981
[Report No. 118-895]
To ensure that goods made using or containing cobalt extracted or
processed with the use of child or forced labor in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo do not enter the United States market.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 15, 2024
Mr. Smith of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
December 17, 2024
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April
15, 2024]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure that goods made using or containing cobalt extracted or
processed with the use of child or forced labor in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo do not enter the United States market.
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 ``Stop China's Exploitation of
Congolese Children and Adult Forced Labor through Cobalt Mining Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Cobalt is an essential component of most lithium-ion
batteries, which are key components in many smartphones,
laptops, and electric vehicles, among other electronic devices.
According to the International Energy Agency (IAE), worldwide
demand is expected to increase over 1,000 percent for lithium
and 600 percent for cobalt by 2040, as demands for alternative
energy systems and battery storage are expected to grow
significantly during this period.
(2) More than one-half of the world's cobalt resources are
in the DRC, which supplied approximately 70 percent of the
global cobalt mine production in 2021.
(3) Fifteen of the DRC's 19 cobalt mines are reportedly
owned wholly or in part by companies located in the People's
Republic of China.
(4) Numerous analysts report significant concerns with
forced labor, including forced or indentured child labor, in
the DRC mining industry.
(5) Approximately 15 to 30 percent of cobalt produced in
the DRC comes from artisanal and small-scale mining. An
estimated 255,000 miners work in artisanal and small-scale
mining in the DRC, of whom at least 40,000 are children.
(6) Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307)
states that it is illegal to import into the United States
``goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or
manufactured wholly or in part'' by forced labor, including
forced or indentured child labor. Such merchandise is subject
to exclusion or seizure and may lead to criminal investigation
of the importer.
SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force,
established under section 741 of the United States-Mexico-Canada
Agreement Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 4681), in consultation with the
heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall complete and submit to
the appropriate congressional committees the results of an
investigation into the alleged use of forced labor in the cobalt mining
industry of the DRC that--
(1) contains a strategy for the United States Government to
effectively enforce section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19
U.S.C. 1307) to prevent the importation into the United States
of cobalt mined by forced labor that includes measures that--
(A) can trace the origin of goods and offer greater
supply chain transparency relating to cobalt from the
DRC; and
(B) ensure that cobalt mined by forced labor does
not enter the United States;
(2) contains a strategy to ensure that cobalt mined by
forced labor does not enter the United States market as goods
imported from third countries; and
(3) contains a strategy to ensure that cobalt mined by
forced labor denied entry to the United States market does not
later enter the United States market.
(b) Matters to Be Included.--The investigation required by
subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1) A list of--
(A) entities in the DRC that potentially mine or
process cobalt using forced labor; and
(B) categories of downstream products that include
cobalt mined in the DRC and are, therefore, identified
as priority sectors for enforcement under section 307
of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307).
(2) Recommendations for efforts, initiatives, and tools and
technologies to be adopted to ensure that U.S. Customs and
Border Protection can accurately identify and trace cobalt
mined by forced labor in the DRC.
(3) A description of how the list of entities required by
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) shall be regularly updated
and reported to the appropriate congressional committees.
(4) A strategy to coordinate and collaborate with
appropriate nongovernmental organizations and private sector
entities to implement the enforcement strategy for cobalt mined
with forced labor and to create and update the list of entities
required in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(c) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) and any publicly
published updates described by subsection (d) shall be submitted in
unclassified form, but may include a classified annex, if necessary.
(d) Updates.--After the submission of the strategy required by
subsection (a), the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force shall provide
briefings to the appropriate congressional committees on a semiannual
basis and, as applicable, on--
(1) any updates to the strategy required by subsection (a);
(2) any additional actions taken to prevent the importation
of cobalt mined with forced labor, including actions described
in this Act; and
(3) any action U.S. Customs and Border Protection has taken
to enforce section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1307) with respect to cobalt mined in the DRC.
(e) Sunset.--This section shall cease to have effect on the earlier
of--
(1) the date that is 8 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act; or
(2) the date on which the President submits to the
appropriate congressional committees a determination that
forced labor in the DRC mining industry has ended.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Finance of the Senate.
(2) Artisanal and small-scale mining.--The term ``artisanal
and small-scale mining''--
(A) means mining with minimal to no mechanization;
and
(B) includes the use of intensive hand tools.
(3) DRC.--The term ``DRC'' means the Democratic Republic of
the Congo.
(4) Forced labor.--The term ``forced labor'' has the
meaning given that term in section 307 of the Tariff Act of
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307).
Union Calendar No. 730
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7981
[Report No. 118-895]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure that goods made using or containing cobalt extracted or
processed with the use of child or forced labor in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo do not enter the United States market.
_______________________________________________________________________
December 17, 2024
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed