[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 59 (Friday, April 11, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H3332-H3334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CLEAN DIAMOND TRADE ACT

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 1584) to implement effective measures to 
stop trade in conflict diamonds, and for other purposes, with a Senate 
amendment thereto, and concur in the Senate amendment.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The Clerk read the Senate amendment, as follows:
       Senate Amendment:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Clean Diamond Trade Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Funds derived from the sale of rough diamonds are being 
     used by rebels and state actors to finance military 
     activities, overthrow legitimate governments, subvert 
     international efforts to promote peace and stability, and 
     commit horrifying atrocities against unarmed civilians. 
     During the past decade, more than 6,500,000 people from 
     Sierra Leone, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the 
     Congo have been driven from their homes by wars waged in 
     large part for control of diamond mining areas. A million of 
     these are refugees eking out a miserable existence in 
     neighboring countries, and tens of thousands have fled to the 
     United States. Approximately 3,700,000 people have died 
     during these wars.
       (2) The countries caught in this fighting are home to 
     nearly 70,000,000 people whose societies have been torn apart 
     not only by fighting but also by terrible human rights 
     violations.
       (3) Human rights and humanitarian advocates, the diamond 
     trade as represented by the World Diamond Council, and the 
     United States Government have been working to block the trade 
     in conflict diamonds. Their efforts have helped to build a 
     consensus that action is urgently needed to end the trade in 
     conflict diamonds.
       (4) The United Nations Security Council has acted at 
     various times under chapter VII of the Charter of the United 
     Nations to address threats to international peace and 
     security posed by conflicts linked to diamonds. Through these 
     actions, it has prohibited all states from exporting weapons 
     to certain countries affected by such conflicts. It has 
     further required all states to prohibit the direct and 
     indirect import of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone unless 
     the diamonds are controlled under specified certificate of 
     origin regimes and to prohibit absolutely the direct and 
     indirect import of rough diamonds from Liberia.
       (5) In response, the United States implemented sanctions 
     restricting the importation of rough diamonds from Sierra 
     Leone to those diamonds accompanied by specified certificates 
     of origin and fully prohibiting the importation of rough 
     diamonds from Liberia. The United States is now taking 
     further action against trade in conflict diamonds.
       (6) Without effective action to eliminate trade in conflict 
     diamonds, the trade in legitimate diamonds faces the threat 
     of a consumer backlash that could damage the economies of 
     countries not involved in the trade in conflict diamonds and 
     penalize members of the legitimate trade and the people they 
     employ. To prevent that, South Africa and more than 30 other 
     countries are involved in working, through the ``Kimberley 
     Process'', toward devising a solution to this problem. As the 
     consumer of a majority of the world's supply of diamonds, the 
     United States has an obligation to help sever the link 
     between diamonds and conflict and press for implementation of 
     an effective solution.
       (7) Failure to curtail the trade in conflict diamonds or to 
     differentiate between the trade in conflict diamonds and the 
     trade in legitimate diamonds could have a severe negative 
     impact on the legitimate diamond trade in countries such as 
     Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Tanzania.
       (8) Initiatives of the United States seek to resolve the 
     regional conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa which facilitate the 
     trade in conflict diamonds.
       (9) The Interlaken Declaration on the Kimberley Process 
     Certification Scheme for Rough Diamonds of November 5, 2002, 
     states that Participants will ensure that measures taken to 
     implement the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for 
     Rough Diamonds will be consistent with international trade 
     rules.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee 
     on Ways and Means and the Committee on International 
     Relations of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 
     on Finance and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
     Senate.
       (2) Controlled through the kimberley process certification 
     scheme.--An importation or exportation of rough diamonds is 
     ``controlled through the Kimberley Process Certification 
     Scheme'' if it is an importation from the territory of a 
     Participant or exportation to the territory of a Participant 
     of rough diamonds that is--
       (A) carried out in accordance with the Kimberley Process 
     Certification Scheme, as set forth in regulations promulgated 
     by the President; or
       (B) controlled under a system determined by the President 
     to meet substantially the standards, practices, and 
     procedures of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
       (3) Exporting authority.--The term ``exporting authority'' 
     means 1 or more entities designated by a Participant from 
     whose territory a shipment of rough diamonds is being 
     exported as having the authority to validate the Kimberley 
     Process Certificate.
       (4) Importing authority.--The term ``importing authority'' 
     means 1 or more entities designated by a Participant into 
     whose territory a shipment of rough diamonds is imported as 
     having the authority to enforce the laws and regulations of 
     the Participant regulating imports, including the 
     verification of the Kimberley Process Certificate 
     accompanying the shipment.
       (5) Kimberley process certificate.--The term ``Kimberley 
     Process Certificate'' means a forgery resistant document of a 
     Participant that demonstrates that an importation or 
     exportation of rough diamonds has been controlled through the 
     Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and contains the 
     minimum elements set forth in Annex I to the Kimberley 
     Process Certification Scheme.
       (6) Kimberley process certification scheme.--The term 
     ``Kimberley Process Certification Scheme' means those 
     standards, practices, and procedures of the international 
     certification scheme for rough diamonds presented in the 
     document entitled ``Kimberley Process Certification Scheme'' 
     referred to in the Interlaken Declaration on the Kimberley 
     Process Certification Scheme for Rough Diamonds of November 
     5, 2002.
       (7) Participant.--The term ``Participant'' means a state, 
     customs territory, or regional economic integration 
     organization identified by the Secretary of State.
       (8) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or 
     entity.
       (9) Rough diamond.--The term ``rough diamond'' means any 
     diamond that is unworked or simply sawn, cleaved, or bruted 
     and classifiable

[[Page H3333]]

     under subheading 7102.10, 7102.21, or 7102.31 of the 
     Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
       (10) United states.--The term ``United States'', when used 
     in the geographic sense, means the several States, the 
     District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or 
     possession of the United States.
       (11) United states person.--The term ``United States 
     person'' means--
       (A) any United States citizen or any alien admitted for 
     permanent residence into the United States;
       (B) any entity organized under the laws of the United 
     States or any jurisdiction within the United States 
     (including its foreign branches); and
       (C) any person in the United States.--

     SEC. 4. MEASURES FOR THE IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION OF ROUGH 
                   DIAMONDS.

       (a) Prohibition.--The President shall prohibit the 
     importation into, or exportation from, the United States of 
     any rough diamond, from whatever source, that has not been 
     controlled through the Kimberley Process Certification 
     Scheme.
       (b) Waiver.--The President may waive the requirements set 
     forth in subsection (a) with respect to a particular country 
     for periods of not more than 1 year each, if, with respect to 
     each such waiver--
       (1) the President determines and reports to the appropriate 
     congressional committees that such country is taking 
     effective steps to implement the Kimberley Process 
     Certification Scheme; or
       (2) the President determines that the waiver is in the 
     national interests of the United States, and reports such 
     determination to the appropriate congressional committees, 
     together with the reasons therefor.

     SEC. 5. REGULATORY AND OTHER AUTHORITY.

       (a) In General.--The President is authorized to and shall 
     as necessary issue such proclamations, regulations, licenses, 
     and orders, and conduct such investigations, as may be 
     necessary to carry out this Act.
       (b) Recordkeeping.--Any United States person seeking to 
     export from or import into the United States any rough 
     diamonds shall keep a full record of, in the form of reports 
     or otherwise, complete information relating to any act or 
     transaction to which any prohibition imposed under section 
     4(a) applies. The President may require such person to 
     furnish such information under oath, including the production 
     of books of account, records, contracts, letters, memoranda, 
     or other papers, in the custody or control of such person.
       (c) Oversight.--The President shall require the appropriate 
     Government agency to conduct annual reviews of the standards, 
     practices, and procedures of any entity in the United States 
     that issues Kimberley Process Certificates for the 
     exportation from the United States of rough diamonds to 
     determine whether such standards, practices, and procedures 
     are in accordance with the Kimberley Process Certification 
     Scheme. The President shall transmit to the appropriate 
     congressional committees a report on each annual review under 
     this subsection.

     SEC. 6. IMPORTING AND EXPORTING AUTHORITIES.

       (a) In the United States.--For purposes of this Act--
       (1) the importing authority shall be the United States 
     Bureau of Customs and Border Protection or, in the case of a 
     territory or possession of the United States with its own 
     customs administration, analogous officials; and
       (2) the exporting authority shall be the Bureau of the 
     Census.
       (b) Of Other Countries.--The President shall publish in the 
     Federal Register a list of all Participants, and all 
     exporting authorities and importing authorities of 
     Participants. The President shall update the list as 
     necessary.

     SEC. 7. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

       The Congress supports the policy that the President shall 
     take appropriate steps to promote and facilitate the adoption 
     by the international community of the Kimberley Process 
     Certification Scheme implemented under this Act.

     SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT.

       (a) In General.--In addition to the enforcement provisions 
     set forth in subsection (b)--
       (1) a civil penalty of not to exceed $10,000 may be imposed 
     on any person who violates, or attempts to violate, any 
     license, order, or regulation issued under this Act; and
       (2) whoever willfully violates, or willfully attempts to 
     violate, any license, order, or regulation issued under this 
     Act shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $50,000, 
     or, if a natural person, may be imprisoned for not more than 
     10 years, or both; and any officer, director, or agent of any 
     corporation who willfully participates in such violation may 
     be punished by a like fine, imprisonment, or both.
       (b) Import Violations.--Those customs laws of the United 
     States, both civil and criminal, including those laws 
     relating to seizure and forfeiture, that apply to articles 
     imported in violation of such laws shall apply with respect 
     to rough diamonds imported in violation of this Act.
       (c) Authority to Enforce.--The United States Bureau of 
     Customs and Border Protection and the United States Bureau of 
     Immigration and Customs Enforcement are authorized, as 
     appropriate, to enforce the provisions of subsection (a) and 
     to enforce the laws and regulations governing exports of 
     rough diamonds, including with respect to the validation of 
     the Kimberley Process Certificate by the exporting authority.

     SEC. 9. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

       The President may direct the appropriate agencies of the 
     United States Government to make available technical 
     assistance to countries seeking to implement the Kimberley 
     Process Certification Scheme.

     SEC. 10. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       (a) Ongoing Process.--It is the sense of the Congress that 
     the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, officially 
     launched on January 1, 2003, is an ongoing process. The 
     President should work with Participants to strengthen the 
     Kimberley Process Certification Scheme through the adoption 
     of measures for the sharing of statistics on the production 
     of and trade in rough diamonds, and for monitoring the 
     effectiveness of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme 
     in stemming trade in diamonds the importation or exportation 
     of which is not controlled through the Kimberley Process 
     Certification Scheme.
       (b) Statistics and Reporting.--It is the sense of the 
     Congress that under Annex III to the Kimberley Process 
     Certification Scheme, Participants recognized that reliable 
     and comparable data on the international trade in rough 
     diamonds are an essential tool for the effective 
     implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. 
     Therefore, the executive branch should continue to--
       (1) keep and publish statistics on imports and exports of 
     rough diamonds under subheadings 7102.10.00, 7102.21, and 
     7102.31.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
     States;
       (2) make these statistics available for analysis by 
     interested parties and by Participants; and
       (3) take a leadership role in negotiating a standardized 
     methodology among Participants for reporting statistics on 
     imports and exports of rough diamonds.

     SEC. 11. KIMBERLEY PROCESS IMPLEMENTATION COORDINATING 
                   COMMITTEE.

       The President shall establish a Kimberley Process 
     Implementation Coordinating Committee to coordinate the 
     implementation of this Act. The Committee shall be composed 
     of the following individuals or their designees:
       (1) The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of 
     State, who shall be co-chairpersons.
       (2) The Secretary of Commerce.
       (3) The United States Trade Representative.
       (4) The Secretary of Homeland Security.
       (5) A representative of any other agency the President 
     deems appropriate.

     SEC. 12. REPORTS.

       (a) Annual Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act and every 12 months thereafter 
     for such period as this Act is in effect, the President shall 
     transmit to the Congress a report--
       (1) describing actions taken by countries that have 
     exported rough diamonds to the United States during the 
     preceding 12-month period to control the exportation of the 
     diamonds through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme;
       (2) describing whether there is statistical information or 
     other evidence that would indicate efforts to circumvent the 
     Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, including cutting 
     rough diamonds for the purpose of circumventing the Kimberley 
     Process Certification Scheme;
       (3) identifying each country that, during the preceding 12-
     month period, exported rough diamonds to the United States 
     and was exporting rough diamonds not controlled through the 
     Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, if the failure to do 
     so has significantly increased the likelihood that those 
     diamonds not so controlled are being imported into the United 
     States; and
       (4) identifying any problems or obstacles encountered in 
     the implementation of this Act or the Kimberly Process 
     Certification Scheme.
       (b) Semiannual Reports.--For each country identified in 
     subsection (a)(3), the President, during such period as this 
     Act is in effect, shall, every 6 months after the initial 
     report in which the country was identified, transmit to the 
     Congress a report that explains what actions have been taken 
     by the United States or such country since the previous 
     report to ensure that diamonds the exportation of which was 
     not controlled through the Kimberley Process Certification 
     Scheme are not being imported from that country into the 
     United States. The requirement to issue a semiannual report 
     with respect to a country under this subsection shall remain 
     in effect until such time as the country is controlling the 
     importation and exportation of rough diamonds through the 
     Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

     SEC. 13. GAO REPORT.

       Not later than 24 months after the effective date of this 
     Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
     transmit a report to the Congress on the effectiveness of the 
     provisions of this Act in preventing the importation or 
     exportation of rough diamonds that is prohibited under 
     section 4. The Comptroller General shall include in the 
     report any recommendations on any modifications to this Act 
     that may be necessary.

     SEC. 14. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITIES.

       The President may delegate the duties and authorities under 
     this Act to such officers, officials, departments, or 
     agencies of the United States Government as the President 
     deems appropriate.

     SEC. 15. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This Act shall take effect on the date on which the 
     President certifies to the Congress that--
       (1) an applicable waiver that has been granted by the World 
     Trade Organization is in effect; or
       (2) an applicable decision in a resolution adopted by the 
     United Nations Security Council pursuant to Chapter VII of 
     the Charter of the United Nations is in effect.
     This Act shall thereafter remain in effect during those 
     periods in which, as certified by the President to the 
     Congress, an applicable waiver or decision referred to in 
     paragraph (1) or (2) is in effect.

  Mr. THOMAS (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent

[[Page H3334]]

that the Senate amendment be considered as read and printed in the 
Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the original request 
of the gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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