[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 151 (Tuesday, October 11, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H6730-H6745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 2020
UNITED STATES-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT
Mr. BRADY of Texas. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 425,
I call up the bill (H.R. 3078) to implement the United States-Colombia
Trade Promotion Agreement, and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 425, the bill
is considered read.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3078
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 ``United
States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation
Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I--APPROVAL OF, AND GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO, THE AGREEMENT
Sec. 101. Approval and entry into force of the Agreement.
Sec. 102. Relationship of the Agreement to United States and State law.
Sec. 103. Implementing actions in anticipation of entry into force and
initial regulations.
Sec. 104. Consultation and layover provisions for, and effective date
of, proclaimed actions.
Sec. 105. Administration of dispute settlement proceedings.
Sec. 106. Arbitration of claims.
Sec. 107. Effective dates; effect of termination.
TITLE II--CUSTOMS PROVISIONS
Sec. 201. Tariff modifications.
Sec. 202. Additional duties on certain agricultural goods.
Sec. 203. Rules of origin.
Sec. 204. Customs user fees.
Sec. 205. Disclosure of incorrect information; false certifications of
origin; denial of preferential tariff treatment.
Sec. 206. Reliquidation of entries.
Sec. 207. Recordkeeping requirements.
Sec. 208. Enforcement relating to trade in textile or apparel goods.
Sec. 209. Regulations.
TITLE III--RELIEF FROM IMPORTS
Sec. 301. Definitions.
Subtitle A--Relief From Imports Benefitting From the Agreement
Sec. 311. Commencing of action for relief.
Sec. 312. Commission action on petition.
Sec. 313. Provision of relief.
Sec. 314. Termination of relief authority.
Sec. 315. Compensation authority.
Sec. 316. Confidential business information.
Subtitle B--Textile and Apparel Safeguard Measures
Sec. 321. Commencement of action for relief.
Sec. 322. Determination and provision of relief.
Sec. 323. Period of relief.
Sec. 324. Articles exempt from relief.
Sec. 325. Rate after termination of import relief.
Sec. 326. Termination of relief authority.
Sec. 327. Compensation authority.
Sec. 328. Confidential business information.
Subtitle C--Cases Under Title II of the Trade Act of 1974
Sec. 331. Findings and action on Colombian articles.
TITLE IV--PROCUREMENT
Sec. 401. Eligible products.
TITLE V--EXTENSION OF ANDEAN TRADE PREFERENCE ACT
Sec. 501. Extension of Andean Trade Preference Act.
TITLE VI--OFFSETS
Sec. 601. Elimination of certain NAFTA customs fees exemption.
Sec. 602. Extension of customs user fees.
Sec. 603. Time for payment of corporate estimated taxes.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to approve and implement the free trade agreement
between the United States and
[[Page H6731]]
Colombia entered into under the authority of section 2103(b)
of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002 (19
U.S.C. 3803(b));
(2) to strengthen and develop economic relations between
the United States and Colombia for their mutual benefit;
(3) to establish free trade between the United States and
Colombia through the reduction and elimination of barriers to
trade in goods and services and to investment; and
(4) to lay the foundation for further cooperation to expand
and enhance the benefits of the Agreement.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agreement.--The term ``Agreement'' means the United
States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement approved by
Congress under section 101(a)(1).
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the United
States International Trade Commission.
(3) HTS.--The term ``HTS'' means the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States.
(4) Textile or apparel good.--The term ``textile or apparel
good'' means a good listed in the Annex to the Agreement on
Textiles and Clothing referred to in section 101(d)(4) of the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(4)), other
than a good listed in Annex 3-C of the Agreement.
TITLE I--APPROVAL OF, AND GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO, THE AGREEMENT
SEC. 101. APPROVAL AND ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE AGREEMENT.
(a) Approval of Agreement and Statement of Administrative
Action.--Pursuant to section 2105 of the Bipartisan Trade
Promotion Authority Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 3805) and section
151 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2191), Congress
approves--
(1) the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement
entered into on November 22, 2006, with the Government of
Colombia, as amended on June 28, 2007, by the United States
and Colombia, and submitted to Congress on October 3, 2011;
and
(2) the statement of administrative action proposed to
implement the Agreement that was submitted to Congress on
October 3, 2011.
(b) Conditions for Entry Into Force of the Agreement.--At
such time as the President determines that Colombia has taken
measures necessary to comply with those provisions of the
Agreement that are to take effect on the date on which the
Agreement enters into force, the President is authorized to
exchange notes with the Government of Colombia providing for
the entry into force, on or after January 1, 2012, of the
Agreement with respect to the United States.
SEC. 102. RELATIONSHIP OF THE AGREEMENT TO UNITED STATES AND
STATE LAW.
(a) Relationship of Agreement to United States Law.--
(1) United states law to prevail in conflict.--No provision
of the Agreement, nor the application of any such provision
to any person or circumstance, which is inconsistent with any
law of the United States shall have effect.
(2) Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed--
(A) to amend or modify any law of the United States, or
(B) to limit any authority conferred under any law of the
United States,
unless specifically provided for in this Act.
(b) Relationship of Agreement to State Law.--
(1) Legal challenge.--No State law, or the application
thereof, may be declared invalid as to any person or
circumstance on the ground that the provision or application
is inconsistent with the Agreement, except in an action
brought by the United States for the purpose of declaring
such law or application invalid.
(2) Definition of state law.--For purposes of this
subsection, the term ``State law'' includes--
(A) any law of a political subdivision of a State; and
(B) any State law regulating or taxing the business of
insurance.
(c) Effect of Agreement With Respect to Private Remedies.--
No person other than the United States--
(1) shall have any cause of action or defense under the
Agreement or by virtue of congressional approval thereof; or
(2) may challenge, in any action brought under any
provision of law, any action or inaction by any department,
agency, or other instrumentality of the United States, any
State, or any political subdivision of a State, on the ground
that such action or inaction is inconsistent with the
Agreement.
SEC. 103. IMPLEMENTING ACTIONS IN ANTICIPATION OF ENTRY INTO
FORCE AND INITIAL REGULATIONS.
(a) Implementing Actions.--
(1) Proclamation authority.--After the date of the
enactment of this Act--
(A) the President may proclaim such actions, and
(B) other appropriate officers of the United States
Government may issue such regulations,
as may be necessary to ensure that any provision of this Act,
or amendment made by this Act, that takes effect on the date
on which the Agreement enters into force is appropriately
implemented on such date, but no such proclamation or
regulation may have an effective date earlier than the date
on which the Agreement enters into force.
(2) Effective date of certain proclaimed actions.--Any
action proclaimed by the President under the authority of
this Act that is not subject to the consultation and layover
provisions under section 104 may not take effect before the
15th day after the date on which the text of the proclamation
is published in the Federal Register.
(3) Waiver of 15-day restriction.--The 15-day restriction
contained in paragraph (2) on the taking effect of proclaimed
actions is waived to the extent that the application of such
restriction would prevent the taking effect on the date on
which the Agreement enters into force of any action
proclaimed under this section.
(b) Initial Regulations.--Initial regulations necessary or
appropriate to carry out the actions required by or
authorized under this Act or proposed in the statement of
administrative action submitted under section 101(a)(2) to
implement the Agreement shall, to the maximum extent
feasible, be issued within 1 year after the date on which the
Agreement enters into force. In the case of any implementing
action that takes effect on a date after the date on which
the Agreement enters into force, initial regulations to carry
out that action shall, to the maximum extent feasible, be
issued within 1 year after such effective date.
SEC. 104. CONSULTATION AND LAYOVER PROVISIONS FOR, AND
EFFECTIVE DATE OF, PROCLAIMED ACTIONS.
If a provision of this Act provides that the implementation
of an action by the President by proclamation is subject to
the consultation and layover requirements of this section,
such action may be proclaimed only if--
(1) the President has obtained advice regarding the
proposed action from--
(A) the appropriate advisory committees established under
section 135 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155); and
(B) the Commission;
(2) the President has submitted to the Committee on Finance
of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the
House of Representatives a report that sets forth--
(A) the action proposed to be proclaimed and the reasons
therefor; and
(B) the advice obtained under paragraph (1);
(3) a period of 60 calendar days, beginning on the first
day on which the requirements set forth in paragraphs (1) and
(2) have been met, has expired; and
(4) the President has consulted with the committees
referred to in paragraph (2) regarding the proposed action
during the period referred to in paragraph (3).
SEC. 105. ADMINISTRATION OF DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEEDINGS.
(a) Establishment or Designation of Office.--The President
is authorized to establish or designate within the Department
of Commerce an office that shall be responsible for providing
administrative assistance to panels established under chapter
21 of the Agreement. The office shall not be considered to be
an agency for purposes of section 552 of title 5, United
States Code.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated for each fiscal year after fiscal year
2011 to the Department of Commerce up to $262,500 for the
establishment and operations of the office established or
designated under subsection (a) and for the payment of the
United States share of the expenses of panels established
under chapter 21 of the Agreement.
SEC. 106. ARBITRATION OF CLAIMS.
The United States is authorized to resolve any claim
against the United States covered by article 10.16.1(a)(i)(C)
or article 10.16.1(b)(i)(C) of the Agreement, pursuant to the
Investor-State Dispute Settlement procedures set forth in
section B of chapter 10 of the Agreement.
SEC. 107. EFFECTIVE DATES; EFFECT OF TERMINATION.
(a) Effective Dates.--Except as provided in subsection (b)
and title V, this Act and the amendments made by this Act
take effect on the date on which the Agreement enters into
force.
(b) Exceptions.--
(1) In general.--Sections 1 through 3, this title, and
title VI take effect on the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(2) Certain amendatory provisions.--The amendments made by
sections 204, 205, 207, and 401 of this Act take effect on
the date of the enactment of this Act and apply with respect
to Colombia on the date on which the Agreement enters into
force.
(c) Termination of the Agreement.--On the date on which the
Agreement terminates, this Act (other than this subsection
and titles V and VI) and the amendments made by this Act
(other than the amendments made by titles V and VI) shall
cease to have effect.
TITLE II--CUSTOMS PROVISIONS
SEC. 201. TARIFF MODIFICATIONS.
(a) Tariff Modifications Provided for in the Agreement.--
(1) Proclamation authority.--The President may proclaim--
(A) such modifications or continuation of any duty,
(B) such continuation of duty-free or excise treatment, or
(C) such additional duties,
as the President determines to be necessary or appropriate to
carry out or apply articles 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, and 3.3.13, and
Annex 2.3, of the Agreement.
(2) Effect on gsp status.--Notwithstanding section
502(a)(1) of the Trade Act of
[[Page H6732]]
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2462(a)(1)), the President shall, on the date
on which the Agreement enters into force, terminate the
designation of Colombia as a beneficiary developing country
for purposes of title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2461 et seq.).
(3) Effect on atpa status.--Notwithstanding section
203(a)(1) of the Andean Trade Preference Act (19 U.S.C.
3202(a)(1)), the President shall, on the date on which the
Agreement enters into force, terminate the designation of
Colombia as a beneficiary country for purposes of that Act.
(b) Other Tariff Modifications.--Subject to the
consultation and layover provisions of section 104, the
President may proclaim--
(1) such modifications or continuation of any duty,
(2) such modifications as the United States may agree to
with Colombia regarding the staging of any duty treatment set
forth in Annex 2.3 of the Agreement,
(3) such continuation of duty-free or excise treatment, or
(4) such additional duties,
as the President determines to be necessary or appropriate to
maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually
advantageous concessions with respect to Colombia provided
for by the Agreement.
(c) Conversion to Ad Valorem Rates.--For purposes of
subsections (a) and (b), with respect to any good for which
the base rate in the Schedule of the United States to Annex
2.3 of the Agreement is a specific or compound rate of duty,
the President may substitute for the base rate an ad valorem
rate that the President determines to be equivalent to the
base rate.
(d) Tariff Rate Quotas.--In implementing the tariff rate
quotas set forth in Appendix I to the General Notes to the
Schedule of the United States to Annex 2.3 of the Agreement,
the President shall take such action as may be necessary to
ensure that imports of agricultural goods do not disrupt the
orderly marketing of commodities in the United States.
SEC. 202. ADDITIONAL DUTIES ON CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL GOODS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Applicable ntr (mfn) rate of duty.--The term
``applicable NTR (MFN) rate of duty'' means, with respect to
a safeguard good, a rate of duty equal to the lowest of--
(A) the base rate in the Schedule of the United States to
Annex 2.3 of the Agreement;
(B) the column 1 general rate of duty that would, on the
day before the date on which the Agreement enters into force,
apply to a good classifiable in the same 8-digit subheading
of the HTS as the safeguard good; or
(C) the column 1 general rate of duty that would, at the
time the additional duty is imposed under subsection (b),
apply to a good classifiable in the same 8-digit subheading
of the HTS as the safeguard good.
(2) Schedule rate of duty.--The term ``schedule rate of
duty'' means, with respect to a safeguard good, the rate of
duty for that good that is set forth in the Schedule of the
United States to Annex 2.3 of the Agreement.
(3) Safeguard good.--The term ``safeguard good'' means a
good--
(A) that is included in the Schedule of the United States
to Annex 2.18 of the Agreement;
(B) that qualifies as an originating good under section
203, except that operations performed in or material obtained
from the United States shall be considered as if the
operations were performed in, or the material was obtained
from, a country that is not a party to the Agreement; and
(C) for which a claim for preferential tariff treatment
under the Agreement has been made.
(4) Year 1 of the agreement.--The term ``year 1 of the
Agreement'' means the period beginning on the date, in a
calendar year, on which the Agreement enters into force and
ending on December 31 of that calendar year.
(5) Years other than year 1 of the agreement.--Any
reference to a year of the Agreement subsequent to year 1 of
the Agreement shall be deemed to be a reference to the
corresponding calendar year in which the Agreement is in
force.
(b) Additional Duties on Safeguard Goods.--
(1) In general.--In addition to any duty proclaimed under
subsection (a) or (b) of section 201, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall assess a duty, in the amount determined under
paragraph (2), on a safeguard good imported into the United
States in a calendar year if the Secretary determines that,
prior to such importation, the total volume of that safeguard
good that is imported into the United States in that calendar
year exceeds 140 percent of the volume that is provided for
that safeguard good in the corresponding year in the
applicable table contained in Appendix I of the General Notes
to the Schedule of the United States to Annex 2.3 of the
Agreement. For purposes of this subsection, year 1 in the
table means year 1 of the Agreement.
(2) Calculation of additional duty.--The additional duty on
a safeguard good under this subsection shall be--
(A) in year 1 of the Agreement through year 4 of the
Agreement, an amount equal to 100 percent of the excess of
the applicable NTR (MFN) rate of duty over the schedule rate
of duty;
(B) in year 5 of the Agreement through year 7 of the
Agreement, an amount equal to 75 percent of the excess of the
applicable NTR (MFN) rate of duty over the schedule rate of
duty; and
(C) in year 8 of the Agreement through year 9 of the
Agreement, an amount equal to 50 percent of the excess of the
applicable NTR (MFN) rate of duty over the schedule rate of
duty.
(3) Notice.--Not later than 60 days after the date on which
the Secretary of the Treasury first assesses an additional
duty in a calendar year on a good under this subsection, the
Secretary shall notify the Government of Colombia in writing
of such action and shall provide to that Government data
supporting the assessment of the additional duty.
(c) Exceptions.--No additional duty shall be assessed on a
good under subsection (b) if, at the time of entry, the good
is subject to import relief under--
(1) subtitle A of title III of this Act; or
(2) chapter 1 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19
U.S.C. 2251 et seq.).
(d) Termination.--The assessment of an additional duty on a
good under subsection (b) shall cease to apply to that good
on the date on which duty-free treatment must be provided to
that good under the Schedule of the United States to Annex
2.3 of the Agreement.
SEC. 203. RULES OF ORIGIN.
(a) Application and Interpretation.--In this section:
(1) Tariff classification.--The basis for any tariff
classification is the HTS.
(2) Reference to hts.--Whenever in this section there is a
reference to a chapter, heading, or subheading, such
reference shall be a reference to a chapter, heading, or
subheading of the HTS.
(3) Cost or value.--Any cost or value referred to in this
section shall be recorded and maintained in accordance with
the generally accepted accounting principles applicable in
the territory of the country in which the good is produced
(whether Colombia or the United States).
(b) Originating Goods.--For purposes of this Act and for
purposes of implementing the preferential tariff treatment
provided for under the Agreement, except as otherwise
provided in this section, a good is an originating good if--
(1) the good is a good wholly obtained or produced entirely
in the territory of Colombia, the United States, or both;
(2) the good--
(A) is produced entirely in the territory of Colombia, the
United States, or both, and--
(i) each of the nonoriginating materials used in the
production of the good undergoes an applicable change in
tariff classification specified in Annex 3-A or Annex 4.1 of
the Agreement; or
(ii) the good otherwise satisfies any applicable regional
value-content or other requirements specified in Annex 3-A or
Annex 4.1 of the Agreement; and
(B) satisfies all other applicable requirements of this
section; or
(3) the good is produced entirely in the territory of
Colombia, the United States, or both, exclusively from
materials described in paragraph (1) or (2).
(c) Regional Value-content.--
(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (b)(2), the
regional value-content of a good referred to in Annex 4.1 of
the Agreement, except for goods to which paragraph (4)
applies, shall be calculated by the importer, exporter, or
producer of the good, on the basis of the build-down method
described in paragraph (2) or the build-up method described
in paragraph (3).
(2) Build-down method.--
(A) In general.--The regional value-content of a good may
be calculated on the basis of the following build-down
method:
AV-VNM
RVC = -------------- 100
AV
(B) Definitions.--In subparagraph (A):
(i) RVC.--The term ``RVC'' means the regional value-content
of the good, expressed as a percentage.
(ii) AV.--The term ``AV'' means the adjusted value of the
good.
(iii) VNM.--The term ``VNM'' means the value of
nonoriginating materials that are acquired and used by the
producer in the production of the good, but does not include
the value of a material that is self-produced.
(3) Build-up method.--
(A) In general.--The regional value-content of a good may
be calculated on the basis of the following build-up method:
VOM
RVC = -------------- 100
AV
(B) Definitions.--In subparagraph (A):
(i) RVC.--The term ``RVC'' means the regional value-content
of the good, expressed as a percentage.
(ii) AV.--The term ``AV'' means the adjusted value of the
good.
(iii) VOM.--The term ``VOM'' means the value of originating
materials that are acquired or self-produced, and used by the
producer in the production of the good.
(4) Special rule for certain automotive goods.--
(A) In general.--For purposes of subsection (b)(2), the
regional value-content of an automotive good referred to in
Annex 4.1 of the Agreement shall be calculated by the
importer, exporter, or producer of the good, on the basis of
the following net cost method:
NC-VNM
RVC = -------------- 100
NC
[[Page H6733]]
(B) Definitions.--In subparagraph (A):
(i) Automotive good.--The term ``automotive good'' means a
good provided for in any of subheadings 8407.31 through
8407.34, subheading 8408.20, heading 8409, or any of headings
8701 through 8708.
(ii) RVC.--The term ``RVC'' means the regional value-
content of the automotive good, expressed as a percentage.
(iii) NC.--The term ``NC'' means the net cost of the
automotive good.
(iv) VNM.--The term ``VNM'' means the value of
nonoriginating materials that are acquired and used by the
producer in the production of the automotive good, but does
not include the value of a material that is self-produced.
(C) Motor vehicles.--
(i) Basis of calculation.--For purposes of determining the
regional value-content under subparagraph (A) for an
automotive good that is a motor vehicle provided for in any
of headings 8701 through 8705, an importer, exporter, or
producer may average the amounts calculated under the net
cost formula contained in subparagraph (A), over the
producer's fiscal year--
(I) with respect to all motor vehicles in any one of the
categories described in clause (ii); or
(II) with respect to all motor vehicles in any such
category that are exported to the territory of the United
States or Colombia.
(ii) Categories.--A category is described in this clause if
it--
(I) is the same model line of motor vehicles, is in the
same class of motor vehicles, and is produced in the same
plant in the territory of Colombia or the United States, as
the good described in clause (i) for which regional value-
content is being calculated;
(II) is the same class of motor vehicles, and is produced
in the same plant in the territory of Colombia or the United
States, as the good described in clause (i) for which
regional value-content is being calculated; or
(III) is the same model line of motor vehicles produced in
the territory of Colombia or the United States as the good
described in clause (i) for which regional value-content is
being calculated.
(D) Other automotive goods.--For purposes of determining
the regional value-content under subparagraph (A) for
automotive materials provided for in any of subheadings
8407.31 through 8407.34, in subheading 8408.20, or in heading
8409, 8706, 8707, or 8708, that are produced in the same
plant, an importer, exporter, or producer may--
(i) average the amounts calculated under the net cost
formula contained in subparagraph (A) over--
(I) the fiscal year of the motor vehicle producer to whom
the automotive goods are sold,
(II) any quarter or month, or
(III) the fiscal year of the producer of such goods,
if the goods were produced during the fiscal year, quarter,
or month that is the basis for the calculation;
(ii) determine the average referred to in clause (i)
separately for such goods sold to 1 or more motor vehicle
producers; or
(iii) make a separate determination under clause (i) or
(ii) for such goods that are exported to the territory of
Colombia or the United States.
(E) Calculating net cost.--The importer, exporter, or
producer of an automotive good shall, consistent with the
provisions regarding allocation of costs provided for in
generally accepted accounting principles, determine the net
cost of the automotive good under subparagraph (B) by--
(i) calculating the total cost incurred with respect to all
goods produced by the producer of the automotive good,
subtracting any sales promotion, marketing, and after-sales
service costs, royalties, shipping and packing costs, and
nonallowable interest costs that are included in the total
cost of all such goods, and then reasonably allocating the
resulting net cost of those goods to the automotive good;
(ii) calculating the total cost incurred with respect to
all goods produced by that producer, reasonably allocating
the total cost to the automotive good, and then subtracting
any sales promotion, marketing, and after-sales service
costs, royalties, shipping and packing costs, and
nonallowable interest costs that are included in the portion
of the total cost allocated to the automotive good; or
(iii) reasonably allocating each cost that forms part of
the total cost incurred with respect to the automotive good
so that the aggregate of these costs does not include any
sales promotion, marketing, and after-sales service costs,
royalties, shipping and packing costs, or nonallowable
interest costs.
(d) Value of Materials.--
(1) In general.--For the purpose of calculating the
regional value-content of a good under subsection (c), and
for purposes of applying the de minimis rules under
subsection (f), the value of a material is--
(A) in the case of a material that is imported by the
producer of the good, the adjusted value of the material;
(B) in the case of a material acquired in the territory in
which the good is produced, the value, determined in
accordance with Articles 1 through 8, Article 15, and the
corresponding interpretive notes, of the Agreement on
Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade 1994 referred to in section 101(d)(8) of
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(8)), as
set forth in regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the
Treasury providing for the application of such Articles in
the absence of an importation by the producer; or
(C) in the case of a material that is self-produced, the
sum of--
(i) all expenses incurred in the production of the
material, including general expenses; and
(ii) an amount for profit equivalent to the profit added in
the normal course of trade.
(2) Further adjustments to the value of materials.--
(A) Originating material.--The following expenses, if not
included in the value of an originating material calculated
under paragraph (1), may be added to the value of the
originating material:
(i) The costs of freight, insurance, packing, and all other
costs incurred in transporting the material within or between
the territory of Colombia, the United States, or both, to the
location of the producer.
(ii) Duties, taxes, and customs brokerage fees on the
material paid in the territory of Colombia, the United
States, or both, other than duties or taxes that are waived,
refunded, refundable, or otherwise recoverable, including
credit against duty or tax paid or payable.
(iii) The cost of waste and spoilage resulting from the use
of the material in the production of the good, less the value
of renewable scrap or byproducts.
(B) Nonoriginating material.--The following expenses, if
included in the value of a nonoriginating material calculated
under paragraph (1), may be deducted from the value of the
nonoriginating material:
(i) The costs of freight, insurance, packing, and all other
costs incurred in transporting the material within or between
the territory of Colombia, the United States, or both, to the
location of the producer.
(ii) Duties, taxes, and customs brokerage fees on the
material paid in the territory of Colombia, the United
States, or both, other than duties or taxes that are waived,
refunded, refundable, or otherwise recoverable, including
credit against duty or tax paid or payable.
(iii) The cost of waste and spoilage resulting from the use
of the material in the production of the good, less the value
of renewable scrap or byproducts.
(iv) The cost of originating materials used in the
production of the nonoriginating material in the territory of
Colombia, the United States, or both.
(e) Accumulation.--
(1) Originating materials used in production of goods of
the other country.--Originating materials from the territory
of Colombia or the United States that are used in the
production of a good in the territory of the other country
shall be considered to originate in the territory of such
other country.
(2) Multiple producers.--A good that is produced in the
territory of Colombia, the United States, or both, by 1 or
more producers, is an originating good if the good satisfies
the requirements of subsection (b) and all other applicable
requirements of this section.
(f) De Minimis Amounts of Nonoriginating Materials.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and
(3), a good that does not undergo a change in tariff
classification pursuant to Annex 4.1 of the Agreement is an
originating good if--
(A)(i) the value of all nonoriginating materials that--
(I) are used in the production of the good, and
(II) do not undergo the applicable change in tariff
classification (set forth in Annex 4.1 of the Agreement),
does not exceed 10 percent of the adjusted value of the good;
(ii) the good meets all other applicable requirements of
this section; and
(iii) the value of such nonoriginating materials is
included in the value of nonoriginating materials for any
applicable regional value-content requirement for the good;
or
(B) the good meets the requirements set forth in paragraph
2 of Annex 4.6 of the Agreement.
(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) does not apply to the
following:
(A) A nonoriginating material provided for in chapter 4, or
a nonoriginating dairy preparation containing over 10 percent
by weight of milk solids provided for in subheading 1901.90
or 2106.90, that is used in the production of a good provided
for in chapter 4.
(B) A nonoriginating material provided for in chapter 4, or
a nonoriginating dairy preparation containing over 10 percent
by weight of milk solids provided for in subheading 1901.90,
that is used in the production of any of the following goods:
(i) Infant preparations containing over 10 percent by
weight of milk solids provided for in subheading 1901.10.
(ii) Mixes and doughs, containing over 25 percent by weight
of butterfat, not put up for retail sale, provided for in
subheading 1901.20.
(iii) Dairy preparations containing over 10 percent by
weight of milk solids provided for in subheading 1901.90 or
2106.90.
(iv) Goods provided for in heading 2105.
(v) Beverages containing milk provided for in subheading
2202.90.
(vi) Animal feeds containing over 10 percent by weight of
milk solids provided for in subheading 2309.90.
(C) A nonoriginating material provided for in heading 0805,
or any of subheadings 2009.11
[[Page H6734]]
through 2009.39, that is used in the production of a good
provided for in any of subheadings 2009.11 through 2009.39,
or in fruit or vegetable juice of any single fruit or
vegetable, fortified with minerals or vitamins, concentrated
or unconcentrated, provided for in subheading 2106.90 or
2202.90.
(D) A nonoriginating material provided for in heading 0901
or 2101 that is used in the production of a good provided for
in heading 0901 or 2101.
(E) A nonoriginating material provided for in chapter 15
that is used in the production of a good provided for in any
of headings 1501 through 1508, or any of headings 1511
through 1515.
(F) A nonoriginating material provided for in heading 1701
that is used in the production of a good provided for in any
of headings 1701 through 1703.
(G) A nonoriginating material provided for in chapter 17
that is used in the production of a good provided for in
subheading 1806.10.
(H) Except as provided in subparagraphs (A) through (G) and
Annex 4.1 of the Agreement, a nonoriginating material used in
the production of a good provided for in any of chapters 1
through 24, unless the nonoriginating material is provided
for in a different subheading than the good for which origin
is being determined under this section.
(I) A nonoriginating material that is a textile or apparel
good.
(3) Textile or apparel goods.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a
textile or apparel good that is not an originating good
because certain fibers or yarns used in the production of the
component of the good that determines the tariff
classification of the good do not undergo an applicable
change in tariff classification, set forth in Annex 3-A of
the Agreement, shall be considered to be an originating good
if--
(i) the total weight of all such fibers or yarns in that
component is not more than 10 percent of the total weight of
that component; or
(ii) the yarns are those described in section
204(b)(3)(B)(vi)(IV) of the Andean Trade Preference Act (19
U.S.C. 3203(b)(3)(B)(vi)(IV)) (as in effect on February 12,
2011).
(B) Certain textile or apparel goods.--A textile or apparel
good containing elastomeric yarns in the component of the
good that determines the tariff classification of the good
shall be considered to be an originating good only if such
yarns are wholly formed in the territory of Colombia, the
United States, or both.
(C) Yarn, fabric, or fiber.--For purposes of this
paragraph, in the case of a good that is a yarn, fabric, or
fiber, the term ``component of the good that determines the
tariff classification of the good'' means all of the fibers
in the good.
(g) Fungible Goods and Materials.--
(1) In general.--
(A) Claim for preferential tariff treatment.--A person
claiming that a fungible good or fungible material is an
originating good may base the claim either on the physical
segregation of the fungible good or fungible material or by
using an inventory management method with respect to the
fungible good or fungible material.
(B) Inventory management method.--In this subsection, the
term ``inventory management method'' means--
(i) averaging;
(ii) ``last-in, first-out'';
(iii) ``first-in, first-out''; or
(iv) any other method--
(I) recognized in the generally accepted accounting
principles of the country in which the production is
performed (whether Colombia or the United States); or
(II) otherwise accepted by that country.
(2) Election of inventory method.--A person selecting an
inventory management method under paragraph (1) for a
particular fungible good or fungible material shall continue
to use that method for that fungible good or fungible
material throughout the fiscal year of such person.
(h) Accessories, Spare Parts, or Tools.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3),
accessories, spare parts, or tools delivered with a good that
form part of the good's standard accessories, spare parts, or
tools shall--
(A) be treated as originating goods if the good is an
originating good; and
(B) be disregarded in determining whether all the
nonoriginating materials used in the production of the good
undergo the applicable change in tariff classification set
forth in Annex 4.1 of the Agreement.
(2) Conditions.--Paragraph (1) shall apply only if--
(A) the accessories, spare parts, or tools are classified
with and not invoiced separately from the good, regardless of
whether such accessories, spare parts, or tools are specified
or are separately identified in the invoice for the good; and
(B) the quantities and value of the accessories, spare
parts, or tools are customary for the good.
(3) Regional value content.--If the good is subject to a
regional value-content requirement, the value of the
accessories, spare parts, or tools shall be taken into
account as originating or nonoriginating materials, as the
case may be, in calculating the regional value-content of the
good.
(i) Packaging Materials and Containers for Retail Sale.--
Packaging materials and containers in which a good is
packaged for retail sale, if classified with the good, shall
be disregarded in determining whether all the nonoriginating
materials used in the production of the good undergo the
applicable change in tariff classification set forth in Annex
3-A or Annex 4.1 of the Agreement, and, if the good is
subject to a regional value-content requirement, the value of
such packaging materials and containers shall be taken into
account as originating or nonoriginating materials, as the
case may be, in calculating the regional value-content of the
good.
(j) Packing Materials and Containers for Shipment.--Packing
materials and containers for shipment shall be disregarded in
determining whether a good is an originating good.
(k) Indirect Materials.--An indirect material shall be
treated as an originating material without regard to where it
is produced.
(l) Transit and Transhipment.--A good that has undergone
production necessary to qualify as an originating good under
subsection (b) shall not be considered to be an originating
good if, subsequent to that production, the good--
(1) undergoes further production or any other operation
outside the territory of Colombia or the United States, other
than unloading, reloading, or any other operation necessary
to preserve the good in good condition or to transport the
good to the territory of Colombia or the United States; or
(2) does not remain under the control of customs
authorities in the territory of a country other than Colombia
or the United States.
(m) Goods Classifiable as Goods Put up in Sets.--
Notwithstanding the rules set forth in Annex 3-A and Annex
4.1 of the Agreement, goods classifiable as goods put up in
sets for retail sale as provided for in General Rule of
Interpretation 3 of the HTS shall not be considered to be
originating goods unless--
(1) each of the goods in the set is an originating good; or
(2) the total value of the nonoriginating goods in the set
does not exceed--
(A) in the case of textile or apparel goods, 10 percent of
the adjusted value of the set; or
(B) in the case of goods, other than textile or apparel
goods, 15 percent of the adjusted value of the set.
(n) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Adjusted value.--The term ``adjusted value'' means the
value determined in accordance with Articles 1 through 8,
Article 15, and the corresponding interpretive notes, of the
Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 referred to in section
101(d)(8) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C.
3511(d)(8)), adjusted, if necessary, to exclude any costs,
charges, or expenses incurred for transportation, insurance,
and related services incident to the international shipment
of the merchandise from the country of exportation to the
place of importation.
(2) Class of motor vehicles.--The term ``class of motor
vehicles'' means any one of the following categories of motor
vehicles:
(A) Motor vehicles provided for in subheading 8701.20,
8704.10, 8704.22, 8704.23, 8704.32, or 8704.90, or heading
8705 or 8706, or motor vehicles for the transport of 16 or
more persons provided for in subheading 8702.10 or 8702.90.
(B) Motor vehicles provided for in subheading 8701.10 or
any of subheadings 8701.30 through 8701.90.
(C) Motor vehicles for the transport of 15 or fewer persons
provided for in subheading 8702.10 or 8702.90, or motor
vehicles provided for in subheading 8704.21 or 8704.31.
(D) Motor vehicles provided for in any of subheadings
8703.21 through 8703.90.
(3) Fungible good or fungible material.--The term
``fungible good'' or ``fungible material'' means a good or
material, as the case may be, that is interchangeable with
another good or material for commercial purposes and the
properties of which are essentially identical to such other
good or material.
(4) Generally accepted accounting principles.--The term
``generally accepted accounting principles''--
(A) means the recognized consensus or substantial
authoritative support given in the territory of Colombia or
the United States, as the case may be, with respect to the
recording of revenues, expenses, costs, assets, and
liabilities, the disclosure of information, and the
preparation of financial statements; and
(B) may encompass broad guidelines for general application
as well as detailed standards, practices, and procedures.
(5) Good wholly obtained or produced entirely in the
territory of colombia, the united states, or both.--The term
``good wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory
of Colombia, the United States, or both'' means any of the
following:
(A) Plants and plant products harvested or gathered in the
territory of Colombia, the United States, or both.
(B) Live animals born and raised in the territory of
Colombia, the United States, or both.
(C) Goods obtained in the territory of Colombia, the United
States, or both from live animals.
(D) Goods obtained from hunting, trapping, fishing, or
aquaculture conducted in the territory of Colombia, the
United States, or both.
(E) Minerals and other natural resources not included in
subparagraphs (A) through (D) that are extracted or taken
from the territory of Colombia, the United States, or both.
[[Page H6735]]
(F) Fish, shellfish, and other marine life taken from the
sea, seabed, or subsoil outside the territory of Colombia or
the United States by--
(i) a vessel that is registered or recorded with Colombia
and flying the flag of Colombia; or
(ii) a vessel that is documented under the laws of the
United States.
(G) Goods produced on board a factory ship from goods
referred to in subparagraph (F), if such factory ship--
(i) is registered or recorded with Colombia and flies the
flag of Colombia; or
(ii) is a vessel that is documented under the laws of the
United States.
(H)(i) Goods taken by Colombia or a person of Colombia from
the seabed or subsoil outside the territorial waters of
Colombia, if Colombia has rights to exploit such seabed or
subsoil.
(ii) Goods taken by the United States or a person of the
United States from the seabed or subsoil outside the
territorial waters of the United States, if the United States
has rights to exploit such seabed or subsoil.
(I) Goods taken from outer space, if the goods are obtained
by Colombia or the United States or a person of Colombia or
the United States and not processed in the territory of a
country other than Colombia or the United States.
(J) Waste and scrap derived from--
(i) manufacturing or processing operations in the territory
of Colombia, the United States, or both; or
(ii) used goods collected in the territory of Colombia, the
United States, or both, if such goods are fit only for the
recovery of raw materials.
(K) Recovered goods derived in the territory of Colombia,
the United States, or both, from used goods, and used in the
territory of Colombia, the United States, or both, in the
production of remanufactured goods.
(L) Goods, at any stage of production, produced in the
territory of Colombia, the United States, or both,
exclusively from--
(i) goods referred to in any of subparagraphs (A) through
(J); or
(ii) the derivatives of goods referred to in clause (i).
(6) Identical goods.--The term ``identical goods'' means
goods that are the same in all respects relevant to the rule
of origin that qualifies the goods as originating goods.
(7) Indirect material.--The term ``indirect material''
means a good used in the production, testing, or inspection
of another good but not physically incorporated into that
other good, or a good used in the maintenance of buildings or
the operation of equipment associated with the production of
another good, including--
(A) fuel and energy;
(B) tools, dies, and molds;
(C) spare parts and materials used in the maintenance of
equipment or buildings;
(D) lubricants, greases, compounding materials, and other
materials used in production or used to operate equipment or
buildings;
(E) gloves, glasses, footwear, clothing, safety equipment,
and supplies;
(F) equipment, devices, and supplies used for testing or
inspecting the good;
(G) catalysts and solvents; and
(H) any other good that is not incorporated into the other
good but the use of which in the production of the other good
can reasonably be demonstrated to be a part of that
production.
(8) Material.--The term ``material'' means a good that is
used in the production of another good, including a part or
an ingredient.
(9) Material that is self-produced.--The term ``material
that is self-produced'' means an originating material that is
produced by a producer of a good and used in the production
of that good.
(10) Model line of motor vehicles.--The term ``model line
of motor vehicles'' means a group of motor vehicles having
the same platform or model name.
(11) Net cost.--The term ``net cost'' means total cost
minus sales promotion, marketing, and after-sales service
costs, royalties, shipping and packing costs, and
nonallowable interest costs that are included in the total
cost.
(12) Nonallowable interest costs.--The term ``nonallowable
interest costs'' means interest costs incurred by a producer
that exceed 700 basis points above the applicable official
interest rate for comparable maturities of the country in
which the producer is located.
(13) Nonoriginating good or nonoriginating material.--The
term ``nonoriginating good'' or ``nonoriginating material''
means a good or material, as the case may be, that does not
qualify as originating under this section.
(14) Packing materials and containers for shipment.--The
term ``packing materials and containers for shipment'' means
goods used to protect another good during its transportation
and does not include the packaging materials and containers
in which the other good is packaged for retail sale.
(15) Preferential tariff treatment.--The term
``preferential tariff treatment'' means the customs duty
rate, and the treatment under article 2.10.4 of the
Agreement, that are applicable to an originating good
pursuant to the Agreement.
(16) Producer.--The term ``producer'' means a person who
engages in the production of a good in the territory of
Colombia or the United States.
(17) Production.--The term ``production'' means growing,
mining, harvesting, fishing, raising, trapping, hunting,
manufacturing, processing, assembling, or disassembling a
good.
(18) Reasonably allocate.--The term ``reasonably allocate''
means to apportion in a manner that would be appropriate
under generally accepted accounting principles.
(19) Recovered goods.--The term ``recovered goods'' means
materials in the form of individual parts that are the result
of--
(A) the disassembly of used goods into individual parts;
and
(B) the cleaning, inspecting, testing, or other processing
that is necessary for improvement to sound working condition
of such individual parts.
(20) Remanufactured good.--The term ``remanufactured good''
means an industrial good assembled in the territory of
Colombia or the United States, or both, that is classified
under chapter 84, 85, 87, or 90 or heading 9402, other than a
good classified under heading 8418 or 8516, and that--
(A) is entirely or partially comprised of recovered goods;
and
(B) has a similar life expectancy and enjoys a factory
warranty similar to such a good that is new.
(21) Total cost.--
(A) In general.--The term ``total cost''--
(i) means all product costs, period costs, and other costs
for a good incurred in the territory of Colombia, the United
States, or both; and
(ii) does not include profits that are earned by the
producer, regardless of whether they are retained by the
producer or paid out to other persons as dividends, or taxes
paid on those profits, including capital gains taxes.
(B) Other definitions.--In this paragraph:
(i) Product costs.--The term ``product costs'' means costs
that are associated with the production of a good and include
the value of materials, direct labor costs, and direct
overhead.
(ii) Period costs.--The term ``period costs'' means costs,
other than product costs, that are expensed in the period in
which they are incurred, such as selling expenses and general
and administrative expenses.
(iii) Other costs.--The term ``other costs'' means all
costs recorded on the books of the producer that are not
product costs or period costs, such as interest.
(22) Used.--The term ``used'' means utilized or consumed in
the production of goods.
(o) Presidential Proclamation Authority.--
(1) In general.--The President is authorized to proclaim,
as part of the HTS--
(A) the provisions set forth in Annex 3-A and Annex 4.1 of
the Agreement; and
(B) any additional subordinate category that is necessary
to carry out this title consistent with the Agreement.
(2) Fabrics and yarns not available in commercial
quantities in the united states.--The President is authorized
to proclaim that a fabric or yarn is added to the list in
Annex 3-B of the Agreement in an unrestricted quantity, as
provided in article 3.3.5(e) of the Agreement.
(3) Modifications.--
(A) In general.--Subject to the consultation and layover
provisions of section 104, the President may proclaim
modifications to the provisions proclaimed under the
authority of paragraph (1)(A), other than provisions of
chapters 50 through 63 (as included in Annex 3-A of the
Agreement).
(B) Additional proclamations.--Notwithstanding subparagraph
(A), and subject to the consultation and layover provisions
of section 104, the President may proclaim before the end of
the 1-year period beginning on the date on which the
Agreement enters into force, modifications to correct any
typographical, clerical, or other nonsubstantive technical
error regarding the provisions of chapters 50 through 63 (as
included in Annex 3-A of the Agreement).
(4) Fabrics, yarns, or fibers not available in commercial
quantities in colombia and the united states.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (3)(A), the list
of fabrics, yarns, and fibers set forth in Annex 3-B of the
Agreement may be modified as provided for in this paragraph.
(B) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
(i) Interested entity.--The term ``interested entity''
means the Government of Colombia, a potential or actual
purchaser of a textile or apparel good, or a potential or
actual supplier of a textile or apparel good.
(ii) Day; days.--All references to ``day'' and ``days''
exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays observed by
the Government of the United States.
(C) Requests to add fabrics, yarns, or fibers.--
(i) In general.--An interested entity may request the
President to determine that a fabric, yarn, or fiber is not
available in commercial quantities in a timely manner in
Colombia and the United States and to add that fabric, yarn,
or fiber to the list in Annex 3-B of the Agreement in a
restricted or unrestricted quantity.
(ii) Determination.--After receiving a request under clause
(i), the President may determine whether--
(I) the fabric, yarn, or fiber is available in commercial
quantities in a timely manner in Colombia or the United
States; or
(II) any interested entity objects to the request.
(iii) Proclamation authority.--The President may, within
the time periods specified in clause (iv), proclaim that the
fabric, yarn,
[[Page H6736]]
or fiber that is the subject of the request is added to the
list in Annex 3-B of the Agreement in an unrestricted
quantity, or in any restricted quantity that the President
may establish, if the President has determined under clause
(ii) that--
(I) the fabric, yarn, or fiber is not available in
commercial quantities in a timely manner in Colombia and the
United States; or
(II) no interested entity has objected to the request.
(iv) Time periods.--The time periods within which the
President may issue a proclamation under clause (iii) are--
(I) not later than 30 days after the date on which a
request is submitted under clause (i); or
(II) not later than 44 days after the request is submitted,
if the President determines, within 30 days after the date on
which the request is submitted, that the President does not
have sufficient information to make a determination under
clause (ii).
(v) Effective date.--Notwithstanding section 103(a)(2), a
proclamation made under clause (iii) shall take effect on the
date on which the text of the proclamation is published in
the Federal Register.
(vi) Subsequent action.--Not later than 6 months after
proclaiming under clause (iii) that a fabric, yarn, or fiber
is added to the list in Annex 3-B of the Agreement in a
restricted quantity, the President may eliminate the
restriction if the President determines that the fabric,
yarn, or fiber is not available in commercial quantities in a
timely manner in Colombia and the United States.
(D) Deemed approval of request.--If, after an interested
entity submits a request under subparagraph (C)(i), the
President does not, within the applicable time period
specified in subparagraph (C)(iv), make a determination under
subparagraph (C)(ii) regarding the request, the fabric, yarn,
or fiber that is the subject of the request shall be
considered to be added, in an unrestricted quantity, to the
list in Annex 3-B of the Agreement beginning--
(i) 45 days after the date on which the request is
submitted; or
(ii) 60 days after the date on which the request is
submitted, if the President made a determination under
subparagraph (C)(iv)(II).
(E) Requests to restrict or remove fabrics, yarns, or
fibers.--
(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), an interested
entity may request the President to restrict the quantity of,
or remove from the list in Annex 3-B of the Agreement, any
fabric, yarn, or fiber--
(I) that has been added to that list in an unrestricted
quantity pursuant to paragraph (2) or subparagraph (C)(iii)
or (D) of this paragraph; or
(II) with respect to which the President has eliminated a
restriction under subparagraph (C)(vi).
(ii) Time period for submission.--An interested entity may
submit a request under clause (i) at any time beginning on
the date that is 6 months after the date of the action
described in subclause (I) or (II) of that clause.
(iii) Proclamation authority.--Not later than 30 days after
the date on which a request under clause (i) is submitted,
the President may proclaim an action provided for under
clause (i) if the President determines that the fabric, yarn,
or fiber that is the subject of the request is available in
commercial quantities in a timely manner in Colombia or the
United States.
(iv) Effective date.--A proclamation issued under clause
(iii) may not take effect earlier than the date that is 6
months after the date on which the text of the proclamation
is published in the Federal Register.
(F) Procedures.--The President shall establish procedures--
(i) governing the submission of a request under
subparagraphs (C) and (E); and
(ii) providing an opportunity for interested entities to
submit comments and supporting evidence before the President
makes a determination under subparagraph (C) (ii) or (vi) or
(E)(iii).
SEC. 204. CUSTOMS USER FEES.
Section 13031(b) of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(b)) is amended by
adding after paragraph (19), the following:
``(20) No fee may be charged under subsection (a) (9) or
(10) with respect to goods that qualify as originating goods
under section 203 of the United States-Colombia Trade
Promotion Agreement Implementation Act. Any service for which
an exemption from such fee is provided by reason of this
paragraph may not be funded with money contained in the
Customs User Fee Account.''.
SEC. 205. DISCLOSURE OF INCORRECT INFORMATION; FALSE
CERTIFICATIONS OF ORIGIN; DENIAL OF
PREFERENTIAL TARIFF TREATMENT.
(a) Disclosure of Incorrect Information.--Section 592 of
the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592) is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)--
(A) by redesignating paragraph (12) as paragraph (13); and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (11) the following new
paragraph:
``(12) Prior disclosure regarding claims under the united
states-colombia trade promotion agreement.--An importer shall
not be subject to penalties under subsection (a) for making
an incorrect claim that a good qualifies as an originating
good under section 203 of the United States-Colombia Trade
Promotion Agreement Implementation Act if the importer, in
accordance with regulations issued by the Secretary of the
Treasury, promptly and voluntarily makes a corrected
declaration and pays any duties owing with respect to that
good.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(k) False Certifications of Origin Under the United
States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), it is unlawful
for any person to certify falsely, by fraud, gross
negligence, or negligence, in a CTPA certification of origin
(as defined in section 508 of this Act) that a good exported
from the United States qualifies as an originating good under
the rules of origin provided for in section 203 of the United
States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act.
The procedures and penalties of this section that apply to a
violation of subsection (a) also apply to a violation of this
subsection.
``(2) Prompt and voluntary disclosure of incorrect
information.--No penalty shall be imposed under this
subsection if, promptly after an exporter or producer that
issued a CTPA certification of origin has reason to believe
that such certification contains or is based on incorrect
information, the exporter or producer voluntarily provides
written notice of such incorrect information to every person
to whom the certification was issued.
``(3) Exception.--A person shall not be considered to have
violated paragraph (1) if--
``(A) the information was correct at the time it was
provided in a CTPA certification of origin but was later
rendered incorrect due to a change in circumstances; and
``(B) the person promptly and voluntarily provides written
notice of the change in circumstances to all persons to whom
the person provided the certification.''.
(b) Denial of Preferential Tariff Treatment.--Section 514
of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1514) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(k) Denial of Preferential Tariff Treatment Under the
United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.--If U.S.
Customs and Border Protection or U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security finds
indications of a pattern of conduct by an importer, exporter,
or producer of false or unsupported representations that
goods qualify under the rules of origin provided for in
section 203 of the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion
Agreement Implementation Act, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, in accordance with regulations issued by the
Secretary of the Treasury, may suspend preferential tariff
treatment under the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion
Agreement to entries of identical goods covered by subsequent
representations by that importer, exporter, or producer until
U.S. Customs and Border Protection determines that
representations of that person are in conformity with such
section 203.''.
SEC. 206. RELIQUIDATION OF ENTRIES.
Section 520(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1520(d)) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(1) by striking ``or''; and
(2) by striking ``for which'' and inserting ``, or section
203 of the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement
Implementation Act for which''.
SEC. 207. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.
Section 508 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1508) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (k);
(2) by inserting after subsection (i) the following new
subsection:
``(j) Certifications of Origin for Goods Exported Under the
United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Records and supporting documents.--The term `records
and supporting documents' means, with respect to an exported
good under paragraph (2), records and documents related to
the origin of the good, including--
``(i) the purchase, cost, and value of, and payment for,
the good;
``(ii) the purchase, cost, and value of, and payment for,
all materials, including indirect materials, used in the
production of the good; and
``(iii) the production of the good in the form in which it
was exported.
``(B) CTPA certification of origin.--The term `CTPA
certification of origin' means the certification established
under article 4.15 of the United States-Colombia Trade
Promotion Agreement that a good qualifies as an originating
good under such Agreement.
``(2) Exports to colombia.--Any person who completes and
issues a CTPA certification of origin for a good exported
from the United States shall make, keep, and, pursuant to
rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the
Treasury, render for examination and inspection all records
and supporting documents related to the origin of the good
(including the certification or copies thereof).
``(3) Retention period.--The person who issues a CTPA
certification of origin shall keep the records and supporting
documents relating to that certification of origin for a
period of at least 5 years after the date on which the
certification is issued.''; and
(3) in subsection (k), as so redesignated by striking
``(h), or (i)'' and inserting ``(h), (i), or (j)''.
[[Page H6737]]
SEC. 208. ENFORCEMENT RELATING TO TRADE IN TEXTILE OR APPAREL
GOODS.
(a) Action During Verification.--
(1) In general.--If the Secretary of the Treasury requests
the Government of Colombia to conduct a verification pursuant
to article 3.2 of the Agreement for purposes of making a
determination under paragraph (2), the President may direct
the Secretary to take appropriate action described in
subsection (b) while the verification is being conducted.
(2) Determination.--A determination under this paragraph is
a determination of the Secretary that--
(A) an exporter or producer in Colombia is complying with
applicable customs laws, regulations, and procedures
regarding trade in textile or apparel goods, or
(B) a claim that a textile or apparel good exported or
produced by such exporter or producer--
(i) qualifies as an originating good under section 203, or
(ii) is a good of Colombia,
is accurate.
(b) Appropriate Action Described.--Appropriate action under
subsection (a)(1) includes--
(1) suspension of preferential tariff treatment under the
Agreement with respect to--
(A) any textile or apparel good exported or produced by the
person that is the subject of a verification under subsection
(a)(1) regarding compliance described in subsection
(a)(2)(A), if the Secretary of the Treasury determines that
there is insufficient information to support any claim for
preferential tariff treatment that has been made with respect
to any such good; or
(B) the textile or apparel good for which a claim of
preferential tariff treatment has been made that is the
subject of a verification under subsection (a)(1) regarding a
claim described in subsection (a)(2)(B), if the Secretary
determines that there is insufficient information to support
that claim;
(2) denial of preferential tariff treatment under the
Agreement with respect to--
(A) any textile or apparel good exported or produced by the
person that is the subject of a verification under subsection
(a)(1) regarding compliance described in subsection
(a)(2)(A), if the Secretary determines that the person has
provided incorrect information to support any claim for
preferential tariff treatment that has been made with respect
to any such good; or
(B) the textile or apparel good for which a claim of
preferential tariff treatment has been made that is the
subject of a verification under subsection (a)(1) regarding a
claim described in subsection (a)(2)(B), if the Secretary
determines that a person has provided incorrect information
to support that claim;
(3) detention of any textile or apparel good exported or
produced by the person that is the subject of a verification
under subsection (a)(1) regarding compliance described in
subsection (a)(2)(A) or a claim described in subsection
(a)(2)(B), if the Secretary determines that there is
insufficient information to determine the country of origin
of any such good; and
(4) denial of entry into the United States of any textile
or apparel good exported or produced by the person that is
the subject of a verification under subsection (a)(1)
regarding compliance described in subsection (a)(2)(A) or a
claim described in subsection (a)(2)(B), if the Secretary
determines that the person has provided incorrect information
as to the country of origin of any such good.
(c) Action on Completion of a Verification.--On completion
of a verification under subsection (a)(1), the President may
direct the Secretary of the Treasury to take appropriate
action described in subsection (d) until such time as the
Secretary receives information sufficient to make the
determination under subsection (a)(2) or until such earlier
date as the President may direct.
(d) Appropriate Action Described.--Appropriate action under
subsection (c) includes--
(1) denial of preferential tariff treatment under the
Agreement with respect to--
(A) any textile or apparel good exported or produced by the
person that is the subject of a verification under subsection
(a)(1) regarding compliance described in subsection
(a)(2)(A), if the Secretary of the Treasury determines that
there is insufficient information to support, or that the
person has provided incorrect information to support, any
claim for preferential tariff treatment that has been made
with respect to any such good; or
(B) the textile or apparel good for which a claim of
preferential tariff treatment has been made that is the
subject of a verification under subsection (a)(1) regarding a
claim described in subsection (a)(2)(B), if the Secretary
determines that there is insufficient information to support,
or that a person has provided incorrect information to
support, that claim; and
(2) denial of entry into the United States of any textile
or apparel good exported or produced by the person that is
the subject of a verification under subsection (a)(1)
regarding compliance described in subsection (a)(2)(A) or a
claim described in subsection (a)(2)(B), if the Secretary
determines that there is insufficient information to
determine, or that the person has provided incorrect
information as to, the country of origin of any such good.
(e) Publication of Name of Person.--In accordance with
article 3.2.6 of the Agreement, the Secretary of the Treasury
may publish the name of any person that the Secretary has
determined--
(1) is engaged in circumvention of applicable laws,
regulations, or procedures affecting trade in textile or
apparel goods; or
(2) has failed to demonstrate that it produces, or is
capable of producing, textile or apparel goods.
SEC. 209. REGULATIONS.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe such
regulations as may be necessary to carry out--
(1) subsections (a) through (n) of section 203;
(2) the amendment made by section 204; and
(3) any proclamation issued under section 203(o).
TITLE III--RELIEF FROM IMPORTS
SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Colombian article.--The term ``Colombian article''
means an article that qualifies as an originating good under
section 203(b).
(2) Colombian textile or apparel article.--The term
``Colombian textile or apparel article'' means a textile or
apparel good (as defined in section 3(4)) that is a Colombian
article.
Subtitle A--Relief From Imports Benefitting From the Agreement
SEC. 311. COMMENCING OF ACTION FOR RELIEF.
(a) Filing of Petition.--A petition requesting action under
this subtitle for the purpose of adjusting to the obligations
of the United States under the Agreement may be filed with
the Commission by an entity, including a trade association,
firm, certified or recognized union, or group of workers,
that is representative of an industry. The Commission shall
transmit a copy of any petition filed under this subsection
to the United States Trade Representative.
(b) Investigation and Determination.--Upon the filing of a
petition under subsection (a), the Commission, unless
subsection (d) applies, shall promptly initiate an
investigation to determine whether, as a result of the
reduction or elimination of a duty provided for under the
Agreement, a Colombian article is being imported into the
United States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms
or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions
that imports of the Colombian article constitute a
substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof to the
domestic industry producing an article that is like, or
directly competitive with, the imported article.
(c) Applicable Provisions.--The following provisions of
section 202 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2252) apply
with respect to any investigation initiated under subsection
(b):
(1) Paragraphs (1)(B) and (3) of subsection (b).
(2) Subsection (c).
(3) Subsection (i).
(d) Articles Exempt From Investigation.--No investigation
may be initiated under this section with respect to any
Colombian article if, after the date on which the Agreement
enters into force, import relief has been provided with
respect to that Colombian article under this subtitle.
SEC. 312. COMMISSION ACTION ON PETITION.
(a) Determination.--Not later than 120 days after the date
on which an investigation is initiated under section 311(b)
with respect to a petition, the Commission shall make the
determination required under that section.
(b) Applicable Provisions.--For purposes of this subtitle,
the provisions of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section
330(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1330(d) (1), (2),
and (3)) shall be applied with respect to determinations and
findings made under this section as if such determinations
and findings were made under section 202 of the Trade Act of
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2252).
(c) Additional Finding and Recommendation if Determination
Affirmative.--
(1) In general.--If the determination made by the
Commission under subsection (a) with respect to imports of an
article is affirmative, or if the President may consider a
determination of the Commission to be an affirmative
determination as provided for under paragraph (1) of section
330(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1330(d)(1)), the
Commission shall find, and recommend to the President in the
report required under subsection (d), the amount of import
relief that is necessary to remedy or prevent the injury
found by the Commission in the determination and to
facilitate the efforts of the domestic industry to make a
positive adjustment to import competition.
(2) Limitation on relief.--The import relief recommended by
the Commission under this subsection shall be limited to the
relief described in section 313(c).
(3) Voting; separate views.--Only those members of the
Commission who voted in the affirmative under subsection (a)
are eligible to vote on the proposed action to remedy or
prevent the injury found by the Commission. Members of the
Commission who did not vote in the affirmative may submit, in
the report required under subsection (d), separate views
regarding what action, if any, should be taken to remedy or
prevent the injury.
(d) Report to President.--Not later than the date that is
30 days after the date on which a determination is made under
subsection (a) with respect to an investigation, the
Commission shall submit to the President a report that
includes--
(1) the determination made under subsection (a) and an
explanation of the basis for the determination;
[[Page H6738]]
(2) if the determination under subsection (a) is
affirmative, any findings and recommendations for import
relief made under subsection (c) and an explanation of the
basis for each recommendation; and
(3) any dissenting or separate views by members of the
Commission regarding the determination referred to in
paragraph (1) and any finding or recommendation referred to
in paragraph (2).
(e) Public Notice.--Upon submitting a report to the
President under subsection (d), the Commission shall promptly
make public the report (with the exception of information
which the Commission determines to be confidential) and shall
publish a summary of the report in the Federal Register.
SEC. 313. PROVISION OF RELIEF.
(a) In General.--Not later than the date that is 30 days
after the date on which the President receives a report of
the Commission in which the Commission's determination under
section 312(a) is affirmative, or which contains a
determination under section 312(a) that the President
considers to be affirmative under paragraph (1) of section
330(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1330(d)(1)), the
President, subject to subsection (b), shall provide relief
from imports of the article that is the subject of such
determination to the extent that the President determines
necessary to remedy or prevent the injury found by the
Commission and to facilitate the efforts of the domestic
industry to make a positive adjustment to import competition.
(b) Exception.--The President is not required to provide
import relief under this section if the President determines
that the provision of the import relief will not provide
greater economic and social benefits than costs.
(c) Nature of Relief.--
(1) In general.--The import relief that the President is
authorized to provide under this section with respect to
imports of an article is as follows:
(A) The suspension of any further reduction provided for
under Annex 2.3 of the Agreement in the duty imposed on the
article.
(B) An increase in the rate of duty imposed on the article
to a level that does not exceed the lesser of--
(i) the column 1 general rate of duty imposed under the HTS
on like articles at the time the import relief is provided;
or
(ii) the column 1 general rate of duty imposed under the
HTS on like articles on the day before the date on which the
Agreement enters into force.
(2) Progressive liberalization.--If the period for which
import relief is provided under this section is greater than
1 year, the President shall provide for the progressive
liberalization (described in article 8.2.2 of the Agreement)
of such relief at regular intervals during the period of its
application.
(d) Period of Relief.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), any import
relief that the President provides under this section may not
be in effect for more than 2 years.
(2) Extension.--
(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (C), the
President, after receiving a determination from the
Commission under subparagraph (B) that is affirmative, or
which the President considers to be affirmative under
paragraph (1) of section 330(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19
U.S.C. 1330(d)(1)), may extend the effective period of any
import relief provided under this section by up to 2 years,
if the President determines that--
(i) the import relief continues to be necessary to remedy
or prevent serious injury and to facilitate adjustment by the
domestic industry to import competition; and
(ii) there is evidence that the industry is making a
positive adjustment to import competition.
(B) Action by commission.--
(i) Investigation.--Upon a petition on behalf of the
industry concerned that is filed with the Commission not
earlier than the date that is 9 months, and not later than
the date that is 6 months, before the date on which any
action taken under subsection (a) is to terminate, the
Commission shall conduct an investigation to determine
whether action under this section continues to be necessary
to remedy or prevent serious injury and whether there is
evidence that the industry is making a positive adjustment to
import competition.
(ii) Notice and hearing.--The Commission shall publish
notice of the commencement of any proceeding under this
subparagraph in the Federal Register and shall, within a
reasonable time thereafter, hold a public hearing at which
the Commission shall afford interested parties and consumers
an opportunity to be present, to present evidence, and to
respond to the presentations of other parties and consumers,
and otherwise to be heard.
(iii) Report.--The Commission shall submit to the President
a report on its investigation and determination under this
subparagraph not later than 60 days before the action under
subsection (a) is to terminate, unless the President
specifies a different date.
(C) Period of import relief.--Any import relief provided
under this section, including any extensions thereof, may
not, in the aggregate, be in effect for more than 4 years.
(e) Rate After Termination of Import Relief.--When import
relief under this section is terminated with respect to an
article--
(1) the rate of duty on that article after such termination
and on or before December 31 of the year in which such
termination occurs shall be the rate that, according to the
Schedule of the United States to Annex 2.3 of the Agreement,
would have been in effect 1 year after the provision of
relief under subsection (a); and
(2) the rate of duty for that article after December 31 of
the year in which such termination occurs shall be, at the
discretion of the President, either--
(A) the applicable rate of duty for that article set forth
in the Schedule of the United States to Annex 2.3 of the
Agreement; or
(B) the rate of duty resulting from the elimination of the
tariff in equal annual stages ending on the date set forth in
the Schedule of the United States to Annex 2.3 of the
Agreement for the elimination of the tariff.
(f) Articles Exempt From Relief.--No import relief may be
provided under this section on--
(1) any article that is subject to import relief under--
(A) subtitle B; or
(B) chapter 1 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19
U.S.C. 2251 et seq.); or
(2) any article on which an additional duty assessed under
section 202(b) is in effect.
SEC. 314. TERMINATION OF RELIEF AUTHORITY.
(a) General Rule.--Subject to subsection (b), no import
relief may be provided under this subtitle after the date
that is 10 years after the date on which the Agreement enters
into force.
(b) Exception.--If an article for which relief is provided
under this subtitle is an article for which the period for
tariff elimination, set forth in the Schedule of the United
States to Annex 2.3 of the Agreement, is greater than 10
years, no relief under this subtitle may be provided for that
article after the date on which that period ends.
SEC. 315. COMPENSATION AUTHORITY.
For purposes of section 123 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19
U.S.C. 2133), any import relief provided by the President
under section 313 shall be treated as action taken under
chapter 1 of title II of such Act (19 U.S.C. 2251 et seq.).
SEC. 316. CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION.
Section 202(a)(8) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2252(a)(8)) is amended in the first sentence--
(1) by striking ``and''; and
(2) by inserting before the period at the end ``, and title
III of the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement
Implementation Act''.
Subtitle B--Textile and Apparel Safeguard Measures
SEC. 321. COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION FOR RELIEF.
(a) In General.--A request for action under this subtitle
for the purpose of adjusting to the obligations of the United
States under the Agreement may be filed with the President by
an interested party. Upon the filing of a request, the
President shall review the request to determine, from
information presented in the request, whether to commence
consideration of the request.
(b) Publication of Request.--If the President determines
that the request under subsection (a) provides the
information necessary for the request to be considered, the
President shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of
commencement of consideration of the request, and notice
seeking public comments regarding the request. The notice
shall include a summary of the request and the dates by which
comments and rebuttals must be received.
SEC. 322. DETERMINATION AND PROVISION OF RELIEF.
(a) Determination.--
(1) In general.--If a positive determination is made under
section 321(b), the President shall determine whether, as a
result of the elimination of a duty under the Agreement, a
Colombian textile or apparel article is being imported into
the United States in such increased quantities, in absolute
terms or relative to the domestic market for that article,
and under such conditions as to cause serious damage, or
actual threat thereof, to a domestic industry producing an
article that is like, or directly competitive with, the
imported article.
(2) Serious damage.--In making a determination under
paragraph (1), the President--
(A) shall examine the effect of increased imports on the
domestic industry, as reflected in changes in such relevant
economic factors as output, productivity, utilization of
capacity, inventories, market share, exports, wages,
employment, domestic prices, profits and losses, and
investment, no one of which is necessarily decisive; and
(B) shall not consider changes in consumer preference or
changes in technology in the United States as factors
supporting a determination of serious damage or actual threat
thereof.
(b) Provision of Relief.--
(1) In general.--If a determination under subsection (a) is
affirmative, the President may provide relief from imports of
the article that is the subject of such determination, as
provided in paragraph (2), to the extent that the President
determines necessary to remedy or prevent the serious damage
and to facilitate adjustment by the domestic industry.
(2) Nature of relief.--The relief that the President is
authorized to provide under this
[[Page H6739]]
subsection with respect to imports of an article is an
increase in the rate of duty imposed on the article to a
level that does not exceed the lesser of--
(A) the column 1 general rate of duty imposed under the HTS
on like articles at the time the import relief is provided;
or
(B) the column 1 general rate of duty imposed under the HTS
on like articles on the day before the date on which the
Agreement enters into force.
SEC. 323. PERIOD OF RELIEF.
(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the import
relief that the President provides under section 322(b) may
not be in effect for more than 2 years.
(b) Extension.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the President
may extend the effective period of any import relief provided
under this subtitle for a period of not more than 1 year, if
the President determines that--
(A) the import relief continues to be necessary to remedy
or prevent serious damage and to facilitate adjustment by the
domestic industry to import competition; and
(B) there is evidence that the industry is making a
positive adjustment to import competition.
(2) Limitation.--Any relief provided under this subtitle,
including any extensions thereof, may not, in the aggregate,
be in effect for more than 3 years.
SEC. 324. ARTICLES EXEMPT FROM RELIEF.
The President may not provide import relief under this
subtitle with respect to an article if--
(1) import relief previously has been provided under this
subtitle with respect to that article; or
(2) the article is subject to import relief under--
(A) subtitle A; or
(B) chapter 1 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19
U.S.C. 2251 et seq.).
SEC. 325. RATE AFTER TERMINATION OF IMPORT RELIEF.
On the date on which import relief under this subtitle is
terminated with respect to an article, the rate of duty on
that article shall be the rate that would have been in effect
but for the provision of such relief.
SEC. 326. TERMINATION OF RELIEF AUTHORITY.
No import relief may be provided under this subtitle with
respect to any article after the date that is 5 years after
the date on which the Agreement enters into force.
SEC. 327. COMPENSATION AUTHORITY.
For purposes of section 123 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19
U.S.C. 2133), any import relief provided by the President
under this subtitle shall be treated as action taken under
chapter 1 of title II of such Act (19 U.S.C. 2251 et seq.).
SEC. 328. CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION.
The President may not release information received in
connection with an investigation or determination under this
subtitle which the President considers to be confidential
business information unless the party submitting the
confidential business information had notice, at the time of
submission, that such information would be released by the
President, or such party subsequently consents to the release
of the information. To the extent a party submits
confidential business information, the party shall also
provide a nonconfidential version of the information in which
the confidential business information is summarized or, if
necessary, deleted.
Subtitle C--Cases Under Title II of the Trade Act of 1974
SEC. 331. FINDINGS AND ACTION ON COLOMBIAN ARTICLES.
(a) Effect of Imports.--If, in any investigation initiated
under chapter 1 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19
U.S.C. 2251 et seq.), the Commission makes an affirmative
determination (or a determination which the President may
treat as an affirmative determination under such chapter by
reason of section 330(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1330(d)), the Commission shall also find (and report to the
President at the time such injury determination is submitted
to the President) whether imports of the Colombian article
are a substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof.
(b) Presidential Determination Regarding Colombian
Articles.--In determining the nature and extent of action to
be taken under chapter 1 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974
(19 U.S.C. 2251 et seq.), the President may exclude from the
action Colombian articles with respect to which the
Commission has made a negative finding under subsection (a).
TITLE IV--PROCUREMENT
SEC. 401. ELIGIBLE PRODUCTS.
Section 308(4)(A) of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (19
U.S.C. 2518(4)(A)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``or'' at the end of clause (vii);
(2) by striking the period at the end of clause (viii) and
inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new clause:
``(ix) a party to the United States-Colombia Trade
Promotion Agreement, a product or service of that country or
instrumentality which is covered under that agreement for
procurement by the United States.''.
TITLE V--EXTENSION OF ANDEAN TRADE PREFERENCE ACT
SEC. 501. EXTENSION OF ANDEAN TRADE PREFERENCE ACT.
(a) Extension.--Section 208(a) of the Andean Trade
Preference Act (19 U.S.C. 3206(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``February 12, 2011''
and inserting ``July 31, 2013''; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``February 12, 2011'' and
inserting ``July 31, 2013''.
(b) Treatment of Certain Apparel Articles.--Section
204(b)(3) of the Andean Trade Preference Act (19 U.S.C.
3203(b)(3)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B)--
(A) in clause (iii)--
(i) in subclause (II), by striking ``8 succeeding 1-year
periods'' and inserting ``10 succeeding 1-year periods''; and
(ii) in subclause (III)(bb), by striking ``and for the
succeeding 3-year period'' and inserting ``and for the
succeeding 5-year period''; and
(B) in clause (v)(II), by striking ``7 succeeding 1-year
periods'' and inserting ``9 succeeding 1-year periods''; and
(2) in subparagraph (E)(ii)(II), by striking ``February 12,
2011'' and inserting ``July 31, 2013''.
(c) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to articles entered on or after the 15th day after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) Retroactive application for certain liquidations and
reliquidations.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding section 514 of the Tariff
Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1514) or any other provision of law
and subject to subparagraph (B), any entry of an article to
which duty-free treatment or other preferential treatment
under the Andean Trade Preference Act would have applied if
the entry had been made on February 12, 2011, that was made--
(i) after February 12, 2011, and
(ii) before the 15th day after the date of the enactment of
this Act,
shall be liquidated or reliquidated as though such entry
occurred on the date that is 15 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(B) Requests.--A liquidation or reliquidation may be made
under subparagraph (A) with respect to an entry only if a
request therefor is filed with U.S. Customs and Border
Protection not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act that contains sufficient information to
enable U.S. Customs and Border Protection--
(i) to locate the entry; or
(ii) to reconstruct the entry if it cannot be located.
(C) Payment of amounts owed.--Any amounts owed by the
United States pursuant to the liquidation or reliquidation of
an entry of an article under subparagraph (A) shall be paid,
without interest, not later than 90 days after the date of
the liquidation or reliquidation (as the case may be).
(3) Definition.--As used in this subsection, the term
``entry'' includes a withdrawal from warehouse for
consumption.
TITLE VI--OFFSETS
SEC. 601. ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN NAFTA CUSTOMS FEES
EXEMPTION.
(a) In General.--Section 13031(b)(1)(A)(i) of the
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (19
U.S.C. 58c(b)(1)(A)(i)) is amended to read as follows:
``(i) the arrival of any passenger whose journey--
``(I) originated in a territory or possession of the United
States; or
``(II) originated in the United States and was limited to
territories and possessions of the United States;''.
(b) Use of Fees.--The fees collected as a result of the
amendment made by this section shall be deposited in the
Customs User Fee Account, shall be available for
reimbursement of customs services and inspections costs, and
shall be available only to the extent provided in
appropriations Acts.
(c) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made
by this section shall apply to passengers arriving from
Canada, Mexico, or an adjacent island on or after the date
that is 15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 602. EXTENSION OF CUSTOMS USER FEES.
Section 13031(j)(3) of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(j)(3)) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
``(C)(i) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), fees may be
charged under paragraphs (9) and (10) of subsection (a)
during the period beginning on August 3, 2021, and ending on
September 30, 2021.
``(ii) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B)(i), fees may be
charged under paragraphs (1) through (8) of subsection (a)
during the period beginning on December 9, 2020, and ending
on August 31, 2021.''.
SEC. 603. TIME FOR PAYMENT OF CORPORATE ESTIMATED TAXES.
Notwithstanding section 6655 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, in the case of a corporation with assets of not less
than $1,000,000,000 (determined as of the end of the
preceding taxable year)--
(1) the amount of any required installment of corporate
estimated tax which is otherwise due in July, August, or
September of 2016 shall be increased by 0.50 percent of such
amount (determined without regard to any increase in such
amount not contained in such Code); and
(2) the amount of the next required installment after an
installment referred to in paragraph (1) shall be
appropriately reduced to reflect the amount of the increase
by reason of such paragraph.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady) and
[[Page H6740]]
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin) each will control 45 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
General Leave
Mr. BRADY of Texas. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. BRADY of Texas. Madam Speaker, at this time I reserve the balance
of my time.
Mr. LEVIN. It is now my privilege to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman
from Washington (Mr. McDermott), the ranking member on Trade.
Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, tonight the fat is in the fire. We're
starting with the tough one up front, and I rise in opposition to the
Colombia free trade agreement.
I believe that trade can have transformative effects on a society and
its economy. I've seen it firsthand in Seattle, where one out of three
or one out of four people make their living directly from trade. I've
seen it in southern Africa. I helped write the AGOA Act, and I've seen
the effects that it has had there. When trade is done right, it creates
opportunities, it generates jobs, and it lifts people up the economic
ladder--if it is done right.
Now, I don't come to this with any kind of ideological knee jerk. I
am one who believes that you need to go and look. And I've been to
Colombia on several different occasions, once with Commerce Secretary
Gutierrez. We went out to community meetings. We sat down and listened
to people talk. President Uribe had a community meeting, and we saw
what was going on. I've been to Medellin, which was one of the most
dangerous cities in Central America--in fact, in the world. And one day
when one of the drug lords was taken out, the people of Medellin said,
No mas, no more. We don't want anymore.
Colombia has come a long way from the image that people have of that
country, but there still are problems--too many remaining--and the
efforts to address them have not been really activated. Now, the labor
problems are really grave. Last year, more union leaders were killed in
Colombia than the rest of the world combined. Nearly every murder has
been gotten away with. No one has been arrested, no prosecution,
nothing.
Now, effective organizing would save lives in Colombia just like it
has in the rest of the world, but Colombian laws compound this culture
of impunity by making it easy to deny workers their basic rights.
Imagine what it does to a worker thinking about joining a union to
improve his lot or her lot. No wonder only 4.4 percent of Colombia's
labor force dares to unionize.
Democrats have been clear from the very start that this situation
needs to be addressed--for the sake of the working people in Colombia,
for the safety of Colombian workers and their families, and for the
working people here in the United States, because the working community
around the world is all one, really. What happens to workers in one
area has an effect in other areas. And if we allow people to take jobs
where the cheapest labor is or where there are no rules or no anything,
we then damage our own workers. And that's part of the problem in this
whole issue as we discuss it here tonight.
Now, to be sure, we've made some important victories in trying to
renegotiate this agreement. After the Bush administration had written
these agreements, we said no. And then we took over in the House, and
Mr. Rangel and Mr. Levin negotiated the ``May 10'' agreement with the
President of the United States. That included minimum internationally
recognized labor standards, and it was a crucial step.
The renegotiation of the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement has also
a produced a Labor Action Plan, which was another part of the
development of what was going on with Colombia.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. McDERMOTT. I will save a little of this for tomorrow because
we're going to debate on this again tomorrow.
Mr. BRADY of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to
the chairman of the committee, Mr. Camp, and I ask unanimous consent
that he may control the time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from
Michigan will control the time.
There was no objection.
Mr. CAMP. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, today is a good day. Many of us have been working for
years for the opportunity to approve our pending trade agreements with
Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. We have called on the President
throughout his term to submit all three agreements to Congress, but
opposition among some Democrats led many to believe that we would have
to settle for just one or two of the agreements. Today, we have all
three pending agreements before us. Approving them will resuscitate the
U.S. trade agenda, create U.S. jobs, and help get our economy moving
again.
The U.S. International Trade Commission has estimated that the three
agreements will increase U.S. exports by at least $13 billion. By the
President's own estimation, that could generate 250,000 new jobs. The
ITC has also determined that these agreements will increase U.S. gross
domestic product by at least $10 billion, a stimulus that doesn't cost
a single dime in government spending.
This agreement disproportionately benefits the U.S. because it
rectifies the current imbalance in U.S.-Colombian trade. Last year,
Colombian exporters paid virtually no tariffs when they shipped goods
here, but our exporters paid an average of over 11 percent. The
agreement removes that imbalance by eliminating Colombian duties. The
need is urgent: Our exporters have paid nearly $4 billion in
unnecessary duties since this agreement was signed.
We know from experience that these agreements will yield benefits.
Between 2000 and 2010, total U.S. exports increased by just over 60
percent, but our exports to countries with which we have trade
agreements increased by over 90 percent. Our exports to Peru, for
example, more than doubled since passage of the U.S.-Peru trade
agreement, from $2.7 billion in 2006 to $6.1 billion in 2010. That's
$2.4 billion more than the ITC had forecast.
In the face of this major economic opportunity, delay has been
costly. Major economies whose workers and exporters compete directly
with ours have moved aggressively to sign and implement trade
agreements with Colombia, undermining our competitive edge. Our workers
and job-creating exporters are falling behind, losing export market
share that took years to build. For example, the U.S. share of
Colombia's corn, wheat, and soybean imports fell from 71 percent in
2008 to 27 percent in 2010 after Argentina's exporters gained
preferential access to the Colombian market. And after Canada's trade
agreement with Colombia went into effect on August 15, Colombia's
largest wheat importer dropped U.S. suppliers in favor of Canadian
wheat. Adding insult to injury, Canada signed its trade agreement with
Colombia 2 years after we signed our agreement with Colombia.
In short, we owe it to U.S. workers and exporters to approve this
agreement now and to press the President for prompt implementation.
{time} 2030
It's not only considerable economic benefits that are at stake. The
delay in implementing these agreements has left strong allies out in
the cold. Colombia, for example, currently sits with the United States
on the U.N. Security Council and chairs its Iran sanctions committee.
Colombian troops have served alongside U.S. troops at war, and
Colombia has been training militaries and police around the world in
counter-narcotics and counter-insurgency. As five former commanders of
U.S. Southern Command have said: ``This agreement will meet our duty to
stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Colombians as they have stood by the
United States as friends and allies.''
I urge my colleagues to join me in approving this important
agreement, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LEVIN. I am now privileged to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), a very distinguished member
of our committee.
[[Page H6741]]
Mr. PASCRELL. Madam Speaker, I want to challenge just about
everything that my very good friend Mr. Camp laid before this House.
First, let's talk about the numbers. The updated report that Mr. Camp
referred to in terms of the number of jobs that would be created by
this Colombian deal contains a very specific disclaimer that it is not
an official estimate.
Additionally, both--any reports estimate that the overall trade
deficit will increase. An increasing trade deficit cannot lead to job
creation. It's never happened. It will not happen.
And you throw numbers in front of people and you know what? You
better know what you're talking about. In fact, given the projected
changes, the growth of the United States trade deficit with Colombia
will displace 83,000 jobs in the United States of America by 2015, for
a net loss of an additional 55,000 jobs. Those are the numbers. I
didn't make them up.
So when you think that anytime you're going to parade a trade deal in
front of us--and I voted for Peru because I thought it was a great step
forward--and think that we're just going to have to believe, anybody's
going to have to believe on either side of the aisle that what you're
saying is really what the truth is, you're done, you're over. The
American people don't accept it. Four to one they don't accept these
trade deals that have diminished us.
But the worst part of the Colombia deal is this: since the new
President, Mr. Santos, we've had 38 union people killed, family men,
teachers, lawyers, shot in the back of the head, wired up on a tree.
And one indictment.
You want to bring the Colombian trade deal here--here we go--and make
us believe that you're not only going to create jobs, but that these
victims are going to be no more. Well, you had an opportunity.
Here's the numbers, Madam Speaker. Here are the numbers, very clear,
very succinct. From 2007 to 2010, 51 murders last year, no convictions.
Of the 94 percent of the cases, 130 human rights defenders were
detained in 2010.
This is an aberration, this is wrong, and the American people aren't
going to take it anymore.
Mr. CAMP. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my distinguished
colleague on the Ways and Means Committee, the chairman of the Trade
Subcommittee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady).
Mr. BRADY of Texas. Thank you, Chairman Camp, for your leadership on
trade and, really, your critical role of working across the aisle and
with this administration to finally bring this free trade agreement and
others to the floor.
The world's changed. It's not enough to simply sell American or to
buy American anymore. We have to sell American. We have to go out in
every corner of this world and sell American products and services and
agricultural products. But when we do, we find too much of the world
was tilted against us. Too many countries have an America need not
apply sign. But these trade agreements change that. They tear that sign
down; and with our best trading allies, they level the playing field
and create two-way trade, where it's not just sales into America, we
get the chance to sell our products and compete for new customers in
their country, and that's critical because so much of the world's
consumers live outside of America.
This Colombia agreement is critical because, one, Colombia is such a
critical ally of ours. As a country, they've made remarkable progress
on human rights, labor rights, democracy and rule of law. They fought
terrorism to a halt. They've created a much safer country than a decade
ago. And, in fact, if they were a company, we would call them the turn-
around of the decade.
Colombia is a trusted ally. More important, they're a dynamic economy
that wants to trade first with the United States, and that's what this
agreement does. It opens the door for over $1 billion of new sales from
America into Colombia. It increases our economy by $2.5 billion. It
creates new standards that allow, not just our agricultural community,
not just our manufacturing community to sell two-way, but creates the
standard so that our financial and telecommunications and energy
management and accounting, and a whole list of other services, can sell
on a standard equal to equal, plug in together so that we can both
compete and buy and sell as equal trading partners.
It's critical, too, that we not allow America to fall farther behind.
It has been, as Chairman Camp said, nearly 5 years since this agreement
has been signed. President Bush signed, I think, a very strong
agreement. President Obama, to his credit, continued to work with both
sides of the aisle, I think, to put on some preconditions that have
been very important to our Democrat Members and to labor.
This agreement has strong bipartisan support, has strong economic
support, and is critical for a national security ally like Colombia
that we wait no longer; that Congress stand up, Republicans and
Democrats together, to pass a bipartisan jobs bill that creates two-way
trade, creates real jobs, and strengthens our security relationship
with a remarkable ally in our hemisphere.
I strongly support this agreement, and I urge its passage.
Madam Speaker, I am very pleased that we have finally reached this
important moment. Next month we will mark five years since the United
States and Colombia signed the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion
Agreement. U.S. workers and job-creating exporters have had to wait for
far too long for the President to submit this promising agreement to
Congress, but it has now reached the floor--and I look forward to a
bipartisan vote to approve the agreement.
This agreement, like our other trade agreements, will create well-
paid American jobs without any government spending. I like to call our
trade agreements ``Sell American'' agreements because they lower other
countries' barriers to American goods and services. More U.S. exports
translate into more U.S. jobs. With over 90 percent of consumers living
outside our borders, we must look to other markets in order to sell
more of our goods and services.
The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that the Colombia
trade agreement alone will increase U.S. goods exports by $1.1 billion
and expand U.S. gross domestic product by $2.5 billion. This agreement
is all upside for us. Last year, Colombian exporters to the United
States paid an average tariff of less than one percent because, under
the Andean Trade Preference Act, most Colombian goods entered duty-
free. In contrast, U.S. exporters to Colombia paid an average tariff of
over eleven percent last year--and now this agreement will eliminate
Colombian tariffs on most U.S. exports.
As co-chairman of the Congressional Services Caucus, I should also
note that this trade agreement with Colombia will reduce non-tariff and
regulatory barriers and provide expanded market access and increased
protections for U.S. services exporters. For example, Colombia
estimates that its public infrastructure spending will exceed $55
billion this decade--and our world-class construction, energy,
engineering, and other services firms will now have a leg-up in
pursuing that work, which will generate substantial economic growth and
jobs back home.
The United States has been sitting on the sidelines for far too long.
Now we finally have the opportunity to get back in the game, so I ask
my colleagues to join me in voting to approve the United States-
Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, as well as our other two pending
agreements.
Mr. LEVIN. It is now my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the
distinguished Representative from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).
Ms. KAPTUR. I thank my dear friend Mr. Levin for yielding.
It's time for America to negotiate fair trade agreements that create
jobs in America and are based on a rule of law, respect for life and
liberty before profits for the few.
I rise in opposition to this Colombia deal. It's just another NAFTA-
like trade accord that too often are job-killers, people-killers and
democracy-killers. This administration promised an agreement with
Colombia would not be moved forward until the violence and targeted
killings of union leaders and religious leaders stopped.
This is a picture of Father Jose Restrepo, who was found murdered
along a roadside in rural Colombia, gunned down as he traveled through
the countryside. The week before his murder, Father Restrepo had
traveled to Bogota, the capital city there, to raise concerns of his
community about the impact of a giant open pit gold mine. Father is one
of six Catholic priests killed this year alone in Colombia, in addition
to 22 union leaders that have been killed there just since January.
[[Page H6742]]
What kind of a deal is this with a nation that has had dozens and
dozens and dozens since 2010, 51 people murdered for their trade union
activities in Colombia alone?
What is wrong with our country that we cannot stand up for democracy,
for human rights, and for job creation in this country?
Mr. CAMP. Madam Speaker, how much time is remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) has
38 minutes, and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin) has 37\1/2\
minutes remaining.
Mr. CAMP. At this time I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Herger), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means
Committee.
{time} 2040
Mr. HERGER. Madam Speaker, the trade agreements before us represent a
major opportunity for American small businesses and workers. By
leveling the playing field for U.S. goods and services entering
Colombia, Panama, and South Korea, these agreements will provide a
significant boost to our economy and create an estimated 250,000 new
jobs. They are commonsense, win-win agreements for the American people.
Here's why. Removing tariffs and other barriers to U.S. exports means
that our U.S. products become more competitive in foreign markets,
which in turn generates more sales and more business for our farmers,
ranchers, manufacturers, and service providers.
Passing these agreements will mean more jobs, more economic growth,
and more opportunities both on and off the farm for the men and women
in my northern California congressional district and the rest of our
Nation. Perhaps best of all, these trade agreements will provide real,
permanent economic stimulus at no cost to the American taxpayers. They
represent fundamentally sound economics--getting government-imposed
barriers out of the way and letting American business and workers do
what they do best.
As the former ranking Republican on the Ways and Means Subcommittee
on Trade, I have joined many others in urging support for these
agreements. While I believe this week should have come a lot sooner,
these are real job bills, and I urge my colleagues to support all
three.
Mr. LEVIN. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Pallone).
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the three free
trade pacts up for consideration this week. It's essential that we work
to keep jobs here in the United States, and I believe the trade
agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama will cost U.S. jobs.
We should be doing everything we can to create jobs and advance
economic opportunity here at home.
These trade pacts are modeled on the NAFTA agreement, and the results
will be the same. In the last decade alone, we've lost 55,000
manufacturing plants and 6 million jobs with NAFTA in place. We don't
want to repeat the ill effects of NAFTA. The essential issue at hand,
Madam Speaker, is that trade deals between a large economy and a
smaller economy naturally benefit the smaller economy, in this case
South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. The economies of these countries are
a fraction of the size of the U.S. economy, and they will stand to
benefit greatly by exporting their goods here while, I fear, U.S.
exports will not have the same advantage.
Madam Speaker, we should be focusing on passing the American Jobs
Act, which provides incentives to businesses to hire new workers in the
United States, and not passing free trade pacts that will further
encourage U.S. companies to move jobs overseas.
Mr. CAMP. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to a distinguished member
of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from Louisiana, Dr.
Boustany.
Mr. BOUSTANY. Madam Speaker, Colombia is a key ally of the United
States and the third-largest export market in Latin America for U.S.
goods and services, and that's despite having tariff barriers in place.
This agreement was negotiated in good faith years ago. Basically,
American credibility is on the line--our credibility as to whether or
not we will follow through with our commitments. After years of delay,
U.S. businesses, farmers, and ranchers have been losing market share
because of the inability to move forward on this agreement. In 2008,
U.S. agricultural producers had 71 percent of that market. By 2010, we
were down to 27 percent, and we're still dropping. And that's because
other countries who have fulfilled agreements with Colombia, after we
have already negotiated this, have gained that market share. They have
picked up the market share we have lost.
Passing this agreement is a very important step in reversing this
onerous trend for our farmers, our ranchers, and our businesses in this
country. Colombia is currently the tenth-largest export market in my
home State of Louisiana, and it stands to grow as a result.
Pass this agreement.
Mr. LEVIN. I yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from California (Ms.
Woolsey).
Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, today with unemployment in the United
States at over 9 percent and the middle class under siege, we're
considering a Colombian trade bill that would cost, according to the
Economic Policy Institute, 55,000 jobs. That makes absolutely no sense.
It's bad enough to ship U.S. jobs overseas, but particularly to a
country that leads the world in deadly violence against union members.
In Colombia, to band together in solidarity with your fellow workers is
to take your life into your own hands. Twenty-three trade unionists
have been murdered so far this year, including one teacher--a teacher--
who was hanged with barbed wire. Last year, 51 such murders. As the
AFL-CIO put it, ``if 51 CEOs had been murdered in Colombia, this deal
would be on a very slow track indeed.''
Let's reject these trade agreements, and let's put America back to
work with a big, bold jobs plan for the American people.
Mr. CAMP. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gerlach), a member of the Ways and
Means Committee.
Mr. GERLACH. I thank the gentleman.
Madam Speaker, I rise this evening in support of the Colombia free
trade agreement, and, indeed, all three free trade agreements, the most
significant trade package for our country in more than a decade. These
trade pacts with Colombia, South Korea, and Panama are significant.
They will unlock new opportunities and markets for Pennsylvania
companies to sell their products overseas, and that means more jobs.
By leveling the playing field and eliminating burdensome tariffs,
these agreements will improve our ability to sell American-made
products overseas. Specifically, in Pennsylvania, these agreements will
be a boon for the Commonwealth's farmers and provide new opportunities
in other key export sectors of Pennsylvania, including primary metal
producers. Tariffs on more than 90 percent of primary metals, such as
steel, titanium, aluminum, and zinc will be eliminated immediately.
Once the free trade agreement with South Korea is fully implemented,
more than 70 percent of all Pennsylvania exports will be duty-free. And
similar trade opportunities exist in the Colombia and Panama free trade
agreements as well.
As we continue to lose market share in these regions, Pennsylvanians,
and indeed all Americans, simply cannot afford another delay in these
agreements. Pass them now.
Mr. LEVIN. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to a very active Member on these
issues, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, the Colombia FTA is bad for American
workers, bad for jobs, and bad for Colombian workers, small farmers,
and human rights defenders. Colombia is still a country in conflict
that affects thousands every year. We know Colombia is the deadliest
place in the world to be a trade unionist, but it also suffers from
over 4 million internally displaced, second only to Sudan. Over 1
million Colombians are refugees in neighboring countries. They are
fleeing terrifying, crippling violence from paramilitaries, guerrillas,
and even Colombia's own army. And after these people leave, drug
traffickers, criminals, and wealthy interests come in and they take
over.
[[Page H6743]]
This FTA will only increase that vicious cycle. Nearly every study
done asserts that the FTA will push even more small farmers off their
land. They will either be forced to join the ranks of the displaced,
grow coca or join the guerrillas or paramilitaries just to feed their
families. They won't be buying American goods, Madam Speaker.
And when Colombian workers have no rights, then there's no level
playing field for American workers, and that costs jobs. This FTA is
set up to help the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It's the
last thing Colombia's workers, farmers, and human rights defenders
need.
Finally, Madam Speaker, let me ask my colleagues in this Chamber, do
human rights matter anymore? If so, we should not be debating this FTA
today. We should be waiting until we see real, honest-to-goodness
results on the ground in terms of improvements of human rights. When it
comes to human rights, Madam Speaker, the United States of America
should not be a cheap date. We should stand firm, and we should be
unabashed in our support for human rights.
Madam Speaker, that is why I urge all my colleagues to vote ``no'' on
this FTA agreement.
[From Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Oct. 10, 2011]
Free Trade: The Big Lie--We Should Stop Making Trade Agreements That
Hurt Workers
(By Daniel Kovalik)
On March 10, 2010, former President Bill Clinton made this
stunning confession to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
regarding his free trade policies in Haiti:
``It may have been good for some of my farmers in Arkansas,
but it has not worked. It was a mistake. I had to live every
day with the consequences of the loss of capacity to produce
a rice crop in Haiti to feed those people because of what I
did; nobody else.''
Even more surprisingly, Mr. Clinton, one of the founding
fathers of the modern free trade agreement, admitted that
this type of trade policy ``failed everywhere it's been
tried. . . .'' Truer words have never been spoken. And yet,
even in the face of such a confession, and in the face of
incontrovertible facts, the U.S. Congress is poised to pass
not just one, but three new free trade agreements--with
Colombia, South Korea and Panama--of the very type that Mr.
Clinton now loses sleep over.
So, what are the facts?
Let's start with the mother of all free trade agreements--
the North American Free Trade Agreement--the one which Mr.
Clinton had promised would create jobs in the United States
but which presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack
Obama ran from in 2008, claiming that it needed fixing. And
fixing it surely needs. According to the Economic Policy
Institute, nearly 900,000 (mostly high-paying) U.S. jobs were
lost to NAFTA between 1993 and 2002 alone.
Meanwhile, Mexico has fared even worse. Indeed, the same
devastation Mr. Clinton's policies wrought in Haiti have been
experienced in Mexico. Thus, the agricultural provisions of
NAFTA--almost identical to those contained in the Colombia
Free Trade Agreement now being considered--cost the
livelihood and land of 1.3 million small farmers in Mexico.
Where did these small farmers go? Many are being forced to
emigrate to the United States. Indeed, while small farmers
make up a relatively small percentage of the Mexican
population, they make up around 40 percent of Mexicans
immigrating into the United States. Still others have been
pushed into the illicit drug trade--the very drug trade the
United States purports to fight there.
Meanwhile, the good industrial jobs lost in the United
States under NAFTA never translated into good jobs in Mexico.
Rather, NAFTA created low-paying, dangerous and
environmentally damaging industries on the other side of the
border which have devastated Mexican workers and their
communities. One only need look at Juarez, Mexico--the city
that was to be a model of development under NAFTA and which
instead is experiencing violence at wartime levels, with
4,300 civilians murdered in the last two years out of a
population of 2 million.
Again, it was NAFTA and the ``free trade'' principles it
embodied which have done this, which have transformed Mexico
into the near failed state it is today.
This now brings us to the Colombia FTA--the one I know most
about and which represents the biggest concern for labor and
human rights advocates.
When running for office, President Obama took a principled
stance against the Colombia FTA, echoing the concerns of
labor that we shouldn't enter into a free trade agreement
with Colombia in light of its abysmal labor and human rights
situation. As Mr. Obama explained, ``We have to stand for
human rights and we have to make sure that violence isn't
being perpetrated against workers who are just trying to
organize for their rights.''
The rationale behind this stance continues to this day,
with 51 unionists killed in Colombia in 2010 and 23 killed so
far this year, allowing Colombia to retain its dubious
distinction as the most dangerous country in the world in
which to be a trade unionist. In addition to unionists, human
rights defenders, indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders, and
Catholic priests defending the poor are also targeted in
Colombia. This year alone, six Catholic priests have been
murdered in Colombia.
Meanwhile, according to Colombia's own prosecutor general,
right-wing paramilitaries aligned with the Colombian state
have murdered more than 170,000 civilians over the past 15
years. Of these, around 50,000 have ``disappeared.'' Yet this
is a country to which the United States may give special
trade preferences.
The Colombia FTA, while costing the United States an
estimated 55,000 net jobs, according to the Economic Policy
Institute, would wreak further havoc in Colombia. The
agricultural policies that devastated Haiti and Mexico--those
allowing the United States to dump cheap, subsidized food
into those countries--would be applied to Colombia. This
would lead to the impoverishment and dislocation of hundreds
of thousands of small farmers in Colombia, many of whom would
join the ranks of the 5 million internally displaced persons
in Colombia--the largest internally displaced population in
the world.
In short, free trade has never worked as promised and it
will not work now. But sadly, like the false prophets of a
bad religion, those holding the reins of power in the United
States continue to push ``free trade'' policies despite all
the evidence that they have failed. These false prophets
exhort us to believe in the magical force of the ``invisible
hand'' of the ``free market'' to save us, all the while
giving real and visible aid to corporations and Wall Street
banks even as they tell working people to keep tightening
their belts. It is time that these lies and these bad
economic and trade policies be rejected.
{time} 2050
Mr. CAMP. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to a distinguished member
of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr.
Smith).
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. I stand in strong support of this trade
agreement that will open up U.S. production to over 40 million
consumers close to our shores.
While the national economic and strategic impact of the Colombia
agreement is very important, obviously the increased marketing
opportunity for Nebraska is tremendous as well. Specifically for
agriculture, the agreement with Colombia will lead to gains for
Nebraska's major commodities, such as soybeans and wheat.
Currently, all U.S. ag exports to Colombia face tariffs. Upon
implementation of the agreement, three-quarters of Colombia's tariff
lines will become duty free for U.S. exports. Specifically, Colombia
places an 80 percent tariff on U.S. beef imports today, making it one
of the highest tariffs on U.S. beef in the world. This agreement
changes that.
Colombia has also lifted unscientific restrictions. Colombia will
recognize the equivalence of the U.S. food safety system for meat,
poultry, and processed foods--a significant victory for U.S. livestock
producers. I want to make sure Nebraska products and producers make the
most of the opportunities provided by international sales to increased
exports.
Mr. LEVIN. I yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from California (Ms.
Lee).
Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the
Colombia free trade agreement.
I support trade that is fair: trade that protects labor rights, trade
that protects the environment, and trade that creates American jobs.
Unfortunately, these trade agreements before us this week fail at all
three. Labor leaders continue to be murdered in Colombia simply for
standing up for basic rights, and the Colombian Government has failed
to act.
How in the world can those who support these deals turn a blind eye
to the thousands of Colombians killed by right-wing death squads? Are
we really rewarding these death squads with this agreement?
Also, free trade agreements are supposed to open up foreign markets
and create more good-paying American jobs. Instead, these agreements
will only increase our trade deficits and cost over 190,000 American
jobs. We cannot create American jobs by doing more of the same. We have
to put American workers first and stop shipping jobs overseas.
In addition to being fair, these trade agreements must be free; and
until they are, I cannot support the Colombia free trade agreement.
Mr. CAMP. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished chair
of the Foreign Relations Committee, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms.
Ros-Lehtinen).
[[Page H6744]]
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I thank my good friend, the chairman of the
committee, for yielding.
I am just astounded, but I am very pleased to hear my good friends
from the other side speak so eloquently about support for human rights
and support for labor leaders and workers' rights. Yet some of these
folks are the very same ones who want to lift those sanctions against
Communist, totalitarian Cuba, where labor unions are outlawed, where
workers have no rights, and where human rights are not respected at
all. I don't think the Castro brothers can even spell ``human rights''
in either language.
But on to the point of human rights and free trade and dignity for
workers in Colombia, I am so pleased that, finally, we are going to
pass this agreement.
In south Florida, Colombia is already south Florida's second largest
trading partner. Our two largest economic engines are the Port of Miami
and the Miami International Airport, both of which will benefit
tremendously from the increase in trade with a free, democratic
Colombia.
So I welcome this, and I hope that this newfound love for human
rights and trade and labor unions will extend to my native homeland of
Cuba one day.
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the U.S.-Colombia Free
Trade Agreement.
After having waited for years since this agreement was first signed
the time has finally come for Congress to vote to approve it.
This agreement is, good for Colombia but is even better for the
United States.
According to the International Trade Commission, the U.S.-Colombia
Free Trade Agreement will expand exports of U.S. goods by more than $1
billion dollars every year which will allow businesses to create
thousands of new jobs for those Americans who are struggling to find
one.
In South Florida, Colombia is already our second largest trading
partner.
Our two largest economic engines are the Port of Miami and Miami
International Airport, both of which will benefit tremendously from the
increase in trade with Colombia.
In 2010, Colombia was the 10th largest trading partner with the Port
of Miami, with bilateral trade worth $6.8 billion.
And 96 percent of the flowers that are sent to the U.S. from Colombia
come through Miami International Airport, which helps support tens of
thousands of jobs related to the airport and several aviation
industries.
These figures will grow rapidly once this agreement has been
approved.
But there is more at stake here than increased trade.
Colombia has been a strong democracy and a steadfast ally in a region
where U.S. interests are under assault.
We have jointly battled narco-terrorists, leftist guerrillas, and the
aggressive actions of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez.
This agreement will strengthen that vital partnership between our two
nations and demonstrate to our friends and enemies alike that the U.S.
intends to remain a strong presence in the region.
Madam Speaker, it is time to put American interests first instead of
the partisan political considerations that have delayed this agreement
for years.
I strongly encourage my colleagues to vote yes on the U.S.-Colombia
Free Trade Agreement and allow our businesses to finally begin creating
the jobs that so many Americans are searching for.
Mr. LEVIN. It is now my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the very
distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch).
Mr. LYNCH. I thank the gentleman from Michigan for yielding.
The only thing I have agreed with so far in tonight's debate from the
other side is that America's credibility is on the line. I really do
believe that. We've had 2,697 trade unionists killed over the past two
decades in Colombia, and 94 percent of these murders go unprosecuted.
I was an ironworker at the General Motors plant when we signed NAFTA.
Mexico, of course, was 4 percent of the U.S. economy, and not long
after that they closed the plant that I was working at and moved it
over the border to Mexico. Colombia is 3 percent of the U.S. economy,
not even 3 percent. This is all about shifting American jobs down to
Colombia. That's what this is all about. Give me a break. The reason we
have 9 percent unemployment in this country is that we keep shipping
jobs overseas. When you find yourself in a ditch, it's time to stop
digging, okay? This is a bad deal. We should be ashamed of ourselves.
Mr. CAMP. I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Manzullo).
Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of all three market-
opening agreements.
Over the past 3 years, the United States posted a surplus of over $70
billion in manufactured goods with our free trade agreement partners.
These three free trade agreements that we're discussing have the
potential to generate more exports to create or sustain 250,000 jobs.
Last year, the Brookings Institute released a study that the
Rockford, Illinois, metropolitan area, with a population of 350,000,
exported a whopping $3.3 billion in 2008, making Rockford the most
export-intensive city in all of Illinois. Over 16,000 jobs in the
Rockford area are directly related to these exports.
With the passage of these three free trade agreements, we can have
even more exports coming from northern Illinois to the rest of the
world.
Mr. LEVIN. This is a somewhat unusual structure here. Each of us is
going to take 15 minutes of our total allotment. I want to talk to Mr.
Camp.
I think we have used all but 2 of our minutes. I want to use those 2
minutes to close the 15 minutes, but I'm not quite sure where you are
on your 15 minutes.
Mr. CAMP. I have two more speakers at 1 minute each; so my plan is to
have those be the conclusion of my time.
Mr. LEVIN. So why don't you call on one. Then I'll take mine, and
then you'll have one more person.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) has
31 minutes remaining.
Mr. CAMP. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rivera).
Mr. RIVERA. The Colombia free trade agreement represents a critical
juncture in our trade relations. It does so because it's about economic
security, but it's also about national security.
It's about economic security because the Colombia free trade
agreement means jobs--thousands of jobs for America. In my community
and for our national economy in particular, international commerce is
important to creating those jobs. It's also about national security
because the Colombia free trade agreement will send a message to our
allies, and just as importantly, it will send a message to our enemies.
All of Latin America and, indeed, the world will be watching to see if
we are going to stand up with our allies--those who are fighting for
democracy and who are fighting against narcoterror.
Vote ``yes'' on this trade agreement, and stand up for our best ally
in Latin America, Colombia. Vote ``yes'' on this agreement, and stand
up for jobs in America.
Madam Speaker, we have come to a crucial point in the free trade
debate.
The world is watching.
Our best friends and allies in Latin America are watching.
Madam Speaker, our enemies are watching.
The choice that is presented to us with these trade agreements could
not be any clearer. Are we going to stand with our allies? Or are we
going to continue turning our back to them? The choice is an easy one
to make, and the stakes could not be any higher.
Madam Speaker, just as American ingenuity has made our nation the
model for developed economies for decades, in an ever more globalized
economy, free trade is integral to promoting economic growth, to
creating American jobs, and to raising the standard of living in the
United States and abroad. At the same time, Colombia is our best and
strongest ally in Latin America and the oldest functioning democracy in
the region. The Colombian people have a passion to be free and full
partners in the global economy and have shown great enthusiasm about
trading with the United States. As someone who represents the largest
Colombian-American community in the country, I know this first hand.
I have seen what the Colombian people have been through over the past
two decades and the improvements that have been made in that country.
Madam Speaker, Colombia has become a model for success in the region.
Colombia is a nation that looks to the United States as its role
model and has worked to emulate us in its own legislative, judicial,
and social structures. What's more, today Colombia is a nation of
people determined to crush the drug trade and break free from the bonds
of their difficult past to reclaim their homeland.
[[Page H6745]]
American aid to Colombia has made it possible for Colombia to upgrade
its social infrastructure and improve its schools, health care, and
labor laws. There is no more important task before us right now that
will help the Colombian people achieve further advancement, than to
quickly pass the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
So, Madam Speaker, what does passage of these free trade agreements
show to the world?
It shows that we will stand by our allies.
It shows what the United States values. It shows that we value human
rights. It shows that we value democracy. It shows that we value
liberty.
Colombia has achieved, and continues to achieve, all of those things.
Colombia's democracy has withstood terrorism. It has withstood civil
war. And Colombia is a pillar of freedom in the region. The more trade
and economic benefits the Colombian people receive, the less difficult
it becomes for the Colombian government to destroy terrorism and put an
end to the illicit drug trade in their country.
Madam Speaker, the bottom line is that trade, and this agreement,
will create opportunity in Colombia as well as in the United States.
This agreement will mean better, high quality jobs for Colombian
citizens. It will mean better, high quality jobs for our own citizens;
a much-needed boost in this struggling economy.
Madam Speaker, let's send a message to our enemies. Let's send a
message to our best friends and allies in Latin America. Let's send a
message to the world.
Let's send the message that America rewards its allies. Let's send
the message that America wants to do business with another country that
values freedom and democracy. And let's send a message that America
will not let political gamesmanship continue to get in the way of
improving our nation's economy.
In the 112th Congress, both Democrats and Republicans are united and
ready to approve the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
Madam Speaker, it's time to pass the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
{time} 2100
Mr. LEVIN. I yield myself 2 minutes.
We have three FTAs before us. Each one of those should be taken on
their own. And let me express my strong views about the Colombia FTA
based on my three trips there. Trade is about more than tariffs or the
flow of goods. As important as they are, it's about people. And where
workers have no rights, increased trade with another country can work
against us and can work against the other country. Colombia, in that
regard, has presented a special case. A violation of basic rights has
gone on for decades, and not only those violations of laws but
violation of persons, violence, and death.
The Santos administration came to power and said it wanted to do it
differently. Our two governments sat down and worked on an agreement on
worker rights. It was a step forward, but there is a serious set of
problems. First of all, the implementation of that in important
instances has been spotty, especially as to the vehement misuse of
cooperatives in Colombia and so-called collective PACs. And, secondly,
there was an absolute resistance, refusal on the part of the Republican
majority to have any reference in the action plan to the implementation
bill. That is a serious, serious flaw. For that reason, I am very much
opposed to this agreement.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further
consideration of H.R. 3078 is postponed.
____________________