Title II — Amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930

S. 1412 · 113th Congress · Jul 31, 2013 · Lineage

II Amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930

Sec. 201 Special provisions regarding certain violations relating to import documentation

(a)

Publication of names of certain violators— Section 592A(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592a(a)(1)) is amended—

(1)

in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “is authorized to” and inserting “shall”; and

(2)

in subparagraph (A), by inserting before the comma at the end the following: “, including for violations of quotas, duties, or trade preference programs”.

(b)

List of high-Risk countries— Section 592A(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592a(b)(1)) is amended, in the first sentence—

(1)

by striking “is authorized to” and inserting “shall”; and

(2)

by inserting “or duties or violate trade preference programs” after “quotas”.

Sec. 202 Electronic preference verification system for origin of textile or apparel articles under CAFTA–DR, NAFTA, and other free trade agreements

(a)

Establishment— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the Commissioner and in coordination with the head of the Office of Textiles and Apparel of the Department of Commerce, shall establish an electronic verification system for tracking textile or apparel articles imported or exported under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement, or any other free trade agreement to which the United States is a party, to ensure compliance with the respective requirements of such agreements.

(b)

Implementation— The President shall seek to enter into consultations and agreements, as appropriate, with the government of each foreign country that is a party to an agreement referred to in subsection (a) for purposes of implementing the electronic verification system established under that subsection.

(c)

Confidentiality— The electronic verification system established under subsection (a) shall ensure that proprietary information, such as information about supply chain participants, is coded so that only U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Office of Textiles and Apparel personnel can access the information.

(d)

Sense of Congress— It is the sense of Congress that the President should seek to make the integration of the electronic verification system established under subsection (a) in future free trade agreements a priority in negotiations for such agreements.

Sec. 203 Establishment of textile and apparel new importer program

(a)

In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall establish a new importer program that directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to adjust bond amounts for new importers of textile and apparel articles based on the level of risk with respect to protection of the revenue of the Federal Government presented by each new importer.

(b)

Requirements— The Commissioner shall ensure that, as part of the new importer program established under subsection (a), U.S. Customs and Border Protection—

(1)

develops risk assessment guidelines for new importers of textile and apparel articles;

(2)

adjusts bond amounts for new importers in accordance with the risk assessment guidelines developed under paragraph (1);

(3)

maintains a centralized database of new importers; and

(4)

ensures accuracy of required information provided to U.S. Customs and Border Protection by new importers.

(c)

Bonding authority— Section 623(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1623(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(5) In the case of importation of textile or apparel articles, by regulation or specific instruction require, or authorize U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to require, the amount of the bond to include amounts equal to any duties, fees, or penalties estimated to be payable on such articles. For purposes of this paragraph, amounts equal to any penalties estimated to be payable on such articles shall be based on a risk assessment of the new importer carried out in accordance with section 203 of the Textile Security and Enforcement Act of 2013. Any person who violates a requirement imposed pursuant to this paragraph shall be liable for a civil penalty of $50,000 for each such violation.”

(d)

Other penalties— In addition to the penalties specified in paragraph (5) of section 623(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1623(b)), as added by subsection (c) of this section, for a violation of such paragraph, any person who violates any other customs or trade law of the United States with respect to the importation of textile or apparel articles shall be subject to any applicable civil or criminal penalty, including seizure and forfeiture that may be imposed under such customs or trade law, including section 592 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592).

Sec. 204 Nonresident importer declaration program for textile or apparel articles

(a)

Establishment of program— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall establish and maintain a nonresident importer declaration program with respect to the importation of textile or apparel articles. The program shall require nonresident importers of textile or apparel articles to provide the information required under subsection (b) and declare the information required under subsection (c), and require that such information accompany the entry summary documentation for such textile or apparel articles.

(b)

Information required— The Commissioner shall require the following information to be submitted by any nonresident importer seeking to import textile or apparel articles:

(1)

An identification of a resident agent in the State in which the port of entry is located who is authorized to accept service of process against the nonresident importer in connection with the importation of the textile or apparel articles.

(2)

A certification that the resident agent described in paragraph (1) has assets in the United States in sufficient amounts for the purpose of ensuring the payment of any additional loss of revenue not covered by any surety bond or for any civil penalties levied by the Federal Government in connection with the importation of the textile or apparel articles.

(3)

A copy of the commercial invoice accompanying the shipment of the textile or apparel articles, including the name, address, and contact information for each person in the transaction, such as the trading house, the freight forwarder, and the ultimate purchaser of the goods.

(c)

Declarations required— Pursuant to procedures prescribed by the Commissioner, any nonresident importer seeking to import textile or apparel articles shall declare the following:

(1)

The nonresident importer has secured a bond in connection with the importation of the textile or apparel articles as required by paragraph (5) of section 623(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1623(b)) (as added by section 203(c) of this Act).

(2)

The nonresident importer has established a power of attorney in connection with the importation of the textile or apparel articles.

(d)

Authority— A resident agent under this section shall accept service of process on behalf of the nonresident importer of such agent for the purpose of duties, penalties, or other fines issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Commissioner if the Secretary or the Commissioner is unable to collect duties, penalties, or other fines from such nonresident importer.

(e)

Penalties—

(1)

In general— It shall be unlawful for any person to import into the United States any textile or apparel article in violation of this section.

(2)

Civil penalties— Any person who violates paragraph (1) shall be liable for a civil penalty of $50,000 for each such violation.

(3)

Other penalties— In addition to the penalties specified in paragraph (2), any violation of this section that violates any other customs or trade law of the United States shall be subject to any applicable civil and criminal penalty, including seizure and forfeiture, that may be imposed under such customs or trade law or title 18, United States Code, with respect to the importation of textile or apparel articles.