[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 115 (Thursday, September 3, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S9940]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. D'Amato, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
        Torricelli, and Mr. Dodd):
  S. 2436. A bill to require that jewelry imported from another country 
be indelibly marked with the country of origin; to the Committee on 
Finance.


           legislation requiring marking of imported jewelry

 Mr. REED. Mr. President, today, I am introducing legislation 
to require permanent country of origin markings on most imported 
fashion or ``costume'' jewelry products. I am joined in this effort by 
Senator D'Amato, who founded the Senate Jewelry Task Force with me, as 
well as Senators Inouye, Kerry, Torricelli, and Dodd, who I would like 
to thank for their strong support of the 16,200 Americans employed by 
our nation's fashion jewelry manufacturers.
  Like many sectors of our nation's economy, domestic fashion jewelry 
manufacturers are all too familiar with the pressures of the new global 
economy. And, for many years, little attention was paid to the industry 
by our trade negotiators and other officials. Today, that is changing: 
The Commerce Department is working with our fashion jewelry makers and 
has undertaken a competitiveness study of the industry, and our trade 
negotiators now recognize the needs of America's jewelry manufacturers 
when they sit down with our trading partners.
  Yet, the industry still faces an uphill battle against low-wage 
importers, who do not have to abide by appropriate environmental 
standards and other important U.S. laws. For that reason, we are 
introducing this legislation to require a permanent country of origin 
label on imported fashion jewelry products so American consumers know 
where it was made. This is the same labeling requirement we see on 
thousands of imported products from televisions to tennis shoes. 
Unfortunately, the current marking requirement for jewelry imports is a 
hanging tag or sticker, which can be removed, fall-off, or be obscured 
by price tags.
  Consumers deserve better, and this legislation allows them to make an 
informed choice, in light of the $524 million worth of fashion jewelry 
imported in 1995 alone. Our bill is modeled on the current permanent 
marking requirement for imported Native American style jewelry 
products, and it is endorsed by the nation's largest jewelry trade 
organizations such as the Manufacturing Jewelers and Silversmiths of 
America and the Jewelers of America.
  Mr. President, imported jewelry is a fact of our international 
economy, but consumers have a right to know where a product is made and 
hard working American jewelry makers have a right to a level playing 
field. I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
look forward to its consideration by the Senate.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full text of the 
legislation be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2436

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. MARKING OF IMPORTED JEWELRY.

       (a) Marking Requirement.--By no later than the date that is 
     1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
     of the Treasury shall prescribe and implement regulations 
     that require that all jewelry described in subsection (b) 
     that enters the customs territory of the United States have 
     the English name of the country of origin indelibly marked in 
     a conspicuous place on such jewelry by cutting, die-sinking, 
     engraving, stamping, or some other permanent method. The 
     exceptions from marking requirements provided in section 304 
     of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304) shall not apply to 
     jewelry described in this section.
       (b) Jewelry.--The jewelry described in this subsection 
     means any article described in heading 7117 of the Harmonized 
     Tariff Schedule of the United States.
       (c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term ``enters 
     the customs territory of the United States'' means enters, or 
     is withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, in the customs 
     territory of the United States.

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, today along with my colleague Mr. 
Reed of Rhode Island I introduce legislation that will require country 
of origin marking on imported costume jewelry in order to better inform 
American consumers about the country of origin of their costume jewelry 
purchases.
  The jewelry industry in the U.S. consisted of more than 3500 
companies and 55,000 American workers in 1994, with sales totaling in 
the billions of dollars annually. In 1977 imports of costume and fine 
jewelry were about 14% of the jewelry sales in the U.S. By 1994 the 
imported costume jewelry sales reached 26% of all costume jewelry 
sales, and 50% of all fine jewelry sales. This increase in imports led 
to a decline in employment in the U.S. jewelry manufacturing industry 
by 26%. Of course we all favor the advantages that come from foreign 
competition in the marketplace. And we also favor informed consumers.
  Currently, imported jewelry is one of the few products that does not 
require a country of origin stamp. This bill will require imported 
costume jewelry to be stamped in English with the country of origin. 
This eliminates the problem of removal or loss of adhesive labels or 
tags that state the country of origin prior to reaching the retail 
store. In this way we respect the integrity of our American workers by 
removing any question as to the origin of any costume jewelry 
purchases. This bill is a reasonable and low-cost response that extends 
the country of origin marking law to cover a product that should be 
included.
  With the increasing wealth of our country, the sales of jewelry are 
increasing and those who wish to know the country of manufacture of 
their jewelry will be easily satisfied by a simple stamp or imprint on 
these items. This jewelry should be subject to same rules as all other 
imports. The industry trade group, The Manufacturers, Jewelers, and 
Silversmiths of America, also support this bill. I urge my colleagues 
to support this bill as well.
                                 ______