19 USC 3203 - Eligible articles

U.S Code last checked for updates: Nov 22, 2024

§ 3203.

Eligible articles

(a)

In general

(1)

Unless otherwise excluded from eligibility (or otherwise provided for) by this chapter, the duty-free treatment (or preferential treatment) provided under this chapter shall apply to any article which is the growth, product, or manufacture of a beneficiary country if—

(A)

that article is imported directly from a beneficiary country into the customs territory of the United States; and

(B)

the sum of—

(i)

the cost or value of the materials produced in a beneficiary country or 2 or more beneficiary countries under this chapter, or a beneficiary country under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act [19 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.] or 2 or more such countries, plus

(ii)

the direct costs of processing operations performed in a beneficiary country or countries (under this chapter or the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act),

is not less than 35 percent of the appraised value of such article at the time it is entered.

For purposes of determining the percentage referred to in subparagraph (B), the term “beneficiary country” includes the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. If the cost or value of materials produced in the customs territory of the United States (other than the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) is included with respect to an article to which this paragraph applies, an amount not to exceed 15 percent of the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered that is attributed to such United States cost or value may be applied toward determining the percentage referred to in subparagraph (B).

(2)

The Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out paragraph (1) including, but not limited to, regulations providing that, in order to be eligible for duty-free treatment under this chapter, an article must be wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of a beneficiary country, or must be a new or different article of commerce which has been grown, produced, or manufactured in the beneficiary country; but no article or material of a beneficiary country shall be eligible for such treatment by virtue of having merely undergone—

(A)

simple combining or packaging operations, or

(B)

mere dilution with water or mere dilution with another substance that does not materially alter the characteristics of the article.

(3)

As used in this subsection, the phrase “direct costs of processing operations” includes, but is not limited to—

(A)

all actual labor costs involved in the growth, production, manufacture, or assembly of the specific merchandise, including fringe benefits, on-the-job training and the cost of engineering, supervisory, quality control, and similar personnel; and

(B)

dies, molds, tooling, and depreciation on machinery and equipment which are allocable to the specific merchandise.

Such phrase does not include costs which are not directly attributable to the merchandise concerned or are not costs of manufacturing the product, such as (i) profit, and (ii) general expense of doing business which are either not allocable to the specific merchandise or are not related to the growth, production, manufacture, or assembly of the merchandise, such as administrative salaries, casualty and liability insurance, advertising, interest, and salesmen’s salaries, commissions or expenses.

(4)

If the President, pursuant to section 223 of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Expansion Act of 1990, considers that the implementation of revised rules of origin for products of beneficiary countries designated under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) would be appropriate, the President may include similarly revised rules of origin for products of beneficiary countries designated under this chapter in any suggested legislation transmitted to the Congress that contains such rules of origin for products of beneficiary countries under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act.

(b)

Exceptions and special rules

(1)

Certain articles that are not import-sensitive

The President may proclaim duty-free treatment under this chapter for any article described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) that is the growth, product, or manufacture of an ATPDEA beneficiary country, that is imported directly into the customs territory of the United States from an ATPDEA beneficiary country, and that meets the requirements of this section, if the President determines that such article is not import-sensitive in the context of imports from ATPDEA beneficiary countries:

(A)

Footwear not designated at the time of the effective date of this chapter as eligible for purposes of the generalized system of preferences under title V of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.].

(B)

Petroleum, or any product derived from petroleum, provided for in headings 2709 and 2710 of the HTS.

(C)

Watches and watch parts (including cases, bracelets and straps), of whatever type including, but not limited to, mechanical, quartz digital or quartz analog, if such watches or watch parts contain any material which is the product of any country with respect to which HTS column 2 rates of duty apply.

(D)

Handbags, luggage, flat goods, work gloves, and leather wearing apparel that were not designated on August 5, 1983, as eligible articles for purposes of the generalized system of preferences under title V of the Trade Act of 1974.

(2)

Exclusions

Subject to paragraph (3), duty-free treatment under this chapter may not be extended to—

(A)

textiles and apparel articles which were not eligible articles for purposes of this chapter on January 1, 1994, as this chapter was in effect on that date;

(B)

rum and tafia classified in subheading 2208.40 of the HTS;

(C)

sugars, syrups, and sugar-containing products subject to over-quota duty rates under applicable tariff-rate quotas; or

(D)

tuna prepared or preserved in any manner in airtight containers, except as provided in paragraph (4).

(3)

Apparel articles and certain textile articles

(A)

In general

(B)

Covered articles

The apparel articles referred to in subparagraph (A) are the following:

(i)

Apparel articles assembled from products of the United States or ATPDEA beneficiary countries or products not available in commercial quantities

Apparel articles sewn or otherwise assembled in 1 or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries, or the United States, or both, exclusively from any one or any combination of the following:

(I)

Fabrics or fabric components wholly formed, or components knit-to-shape, in the United States, from yarns wholly formed in the United States or 1 or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries (including fabrics not formed from yarns, if such fabrics are classifiable under heading 5602 or 5603 of the HTS and are formed in the United States). Apparel articles shall qualify under this subclause only if all dyeing, printing, and finishing of the fabrics from which the articles are assembled, if the fabrics are knit fabrics, is carried out in the United States. Apparel articles shall qualify under this subclause only if all dyeing, printing, and finishing of the fabrics from which the articles are assembled, if the fabrics are woven fabrics, is carried out in the United States.

(II)

Fabrics or fabric components formed or components knit-to-shape, in 1 or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries, from yarns wholly formed in 1 or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries, if such fabrics (including fabrics not formed from yarns, if such fabrics are classifiable under heading 5602 or 5603 of the HTS and are formed in 1 or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries) or components are in chief value of llama, alpaca, or vicuña.

(III)

Fabrics or yarns, to the extent that apparel articles of such fabrics or yarns would be eligible for preferential treatment, without regard to the source of the fabrics or yarns, under Annex 401 of the NAFTA.

(ii)

Additional fabrics

At the request of any interested party, the President is authorized to proclaim additional fabrics and yarns as eligible for preferential treatment under clause (i)(III) if—

(I)

the President determines that such fabrics or yarns cannot be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner;

(II)

the President has obtained advice regarding the proposed action from the appropriate advisory committee established under section 135 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155) and the United States International Trade Commission;

(III)

within 60 days after the request, the President has submitted a report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate that sets forth the action proposed to be proclaimed and the reasons for such action, and the advice obtained under subclause (II);

(IV)

a period of 60 calendar days, beginning with the first day on which the President has met the requirements of subclause (III), has expired; and

(V)

the President has consulted with such committees regarding the proposed action during the period referred to in subclause (III).

(iii)

Apparel articles assembled in 1 or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries from regional fabrics or regional components

(I)

Subject to the limitation set forth in subclause (II), apparel articles sewn or otherwise assembled in 1 or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries from fabrics or from fabric components formed or from components knit-to-shape, in 1 or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries, from yarns wholly formed in the United States or 1 or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries (including fabrics not formed from yarns, if such fabrics are classifiable under heading 5602 or 5603 of the HTS and are formed in 1 or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries), whether or not the apparel articles are also made from any of the fabrics, fabric components formed, or components knit-to-shape described in clause (i) (unless the apparel articles are made exclusively from any of the fabrics, fabric components formed, or components knit-to-shape described in clause (i)).

(II)

The preferential treatment referred to in subclause (I) shall be extended in the 1-year period beginning October 1, 2002, and in each of the 10 succeeding 1-year periods, to imports of apparel articles in an amount not to exceed the applicable percentage of the aggregate square meter equivalents of all apparel articles imported into the United States in the preceding 12-month period for which data are available.

(III)

For purposes of subclause (II), the term “applicable percentage” means—

(aa)

2 percent for the 1-year period beginning October 1, 2002, increased in each of the 4 succeeding 1-year periods by equal increments, so that for the period beginning October 1, 2006, the applicable percentage does not exceed 5 percent; and

(bb)

for the 1-year period beginning October 1, 2007, and for the succeeding 5-year period, the percentage determined under item (aa) for the 1-year period beginning October 1, 2006.

(iv)

Handloomed, handmade, and folklore articles

(v)

Certain other apparel articles

(I)

General rule

(II)

Limitation

(III)

Development of procedure to ensure compliance

(vi)

Special rules

(I)

Exception for findings and trimmings

(II)

Certain interlining

(aa)

An article otherwise eligible for preferential treatment under this paragraph shall not be ineligible for such treatment because the article contains certain interlinings of foreign origin, if the value of such interlinings (and any findings and trimmings) does not exceed 25 percent of the cost of the components of the assembled article.

(bb)

Interlinings eligible for the treatment described in division (aa) include only a chest type plate, “hymo” piece, or “sleeve header”, of woven or weft-inserted warp knit construction and of coarse animal hair or man-made filaments.

(cc)

The treatment described in this subclause shall terminate if the President makes a determination that United States manufacturers are producing such interlinings in the United States in commercial quantities.

(III)

De minimis rule

(IV)

Special origin rule

(vii)

Textile luggage

Textile luggage—

(I)

assembled in an ATPDEA beneficiary country from fabric wholly formed and cut in the United States, from yarns wholly formed in the United States, that is entered under subheading 9802.00.80 of the HTS; or

(II)

assembled from fabric cut in an ATPDEA beneficiary country from fabric wholly formed in the United States from yarns wholly formed in the United States.

(viii)

Removal of designation of fabrics or yarns not available in commercial quantities

(C)

Handloomed, handmade, and folklore articles

(D)

Penalties for transshipment

(i)

Penalties for exporters

(ii)

Penalties for countries

(iii)

Transshipment described

(E)

Bilateral emergency actions

(i)

In general

(ii)

Rules relating to bilateral emergency action

For purposes of applying bilateral emergency action under this subparagraph—

(I)

the requirements of paragraph (5) of section 4 of the Annex (relating to providing compensation) shall not apply;

(II)

the term “transition period” in section 4 of the Annex shall mean the period ending July 31, 2013; and

(III)

the requirements to consult specified in section 4 of the Annex shall be treated as satisfied if the President requests consultations with the ATPDEA beneficiary country in question and the country does not agree to consult within the time period specified under section 4 of the Annex.

(4)

Tuna

(A)

General rule

(B)

Definitions

In this paragraph—

(i)

United States vessel

A “United States vessel” is—

(I)

a vessel that has a certificate of documentation with a fishery endorsement under chapter 121 of title 46; or

(II)

in the case of a vessel without a fishery endorsement, a vessel that is documented under the laws of the United States and for which a license has been issued pursuant to section 973g of title 16.

(ii)

ATPDEA vessel

An “ATPDEA vessel” is a vessel—

(I)

which is registered or recorded in an ATPDEA beneficiary country;

(II)

which sails under the flag of an ATPDEA beneficiary country;

(III)

which is at least 75 percent owned by nationals of an ATPDEA beneficiary country or by a company having its principal place of business in an ATPDEA beneficiary country, of which the manager or managers, chairman of the board of directors or of the supervisory board, and the majority of the members of such boards are nationals of an ATPDEA beneficiary country and of which, in the case of a company, at least 50 percent of the capital is owned by an ATPDEA beneficiary country or by public bodies or nationals of an ATPDEA beneficiary country;

(IV)

of which the master and officers are nationals of an ATPDEA beneficiary country; and

(V)

of which at least 75 percent of the crew are nationals of an ATPDEA beneficiary country.

(5)

Customs procedures

(A)

In general

(i)

Regulations

(ii)

Determination

(I)

In general

In order to qualify for the preferential treatment under paragraph (1), (3), or (4) and for a Certificate of Origin to be valid with respect to any article for which such treatment is claimed, there shall be in effect a determination by the President that each country described in subclause (II)—

(aa)

has implemented and follows, or

(bb)

is making substantial progress toward implementing and following,

procedures and requirements similar in all material respects to the relevant procedures and requirements under chapter 5 of the NAFTA.

(II)

Country described

A country is described in this subclause if it is an ATPDEA beneficiary country—

(aa)

from which the article is exported; or

(bb)

in which materials used in the production of the article originate or in which the article or such materials undergo production that contributes to a claim that the article is eligible for preferential treatment under paragraph (1), (3), or (4).

(B)

Certificate of Origin

(C)

Report on cooperation of ATPDEA countries concerning circumvention

The United States Commissioner of Customs shall conduct a study analyzing the extent to which each ATPDEA beneficiary country—

(i)

has cooperated fully with the United States, consistent with its domestic laws and procedures, in instances of circumvention or alleged circumvention of existing quotas on imports of textile and apparel goods, to establish necessary relevant facts in the places of import, export, and, where applicable, transshipment, including investigation of circumvention practices, exchanges of documents, correspondence, reports, and other relevant information, to the extent such information is available;

(ii)

has taken appropriate measures, consistent with its domestic laws and procedures, against exporters and importers involved in instances of false declaration concerning quantities, description, classification, or origin of textile and apparel goods; and

(iii)

has penalized the individuals and entities involved in any such circumvention, consistent with its domestic laws and procedures, and has worked closely to seek the cooperation of any third country to prevent such circumvention from taking place in that third country.

The Commissioner of Customs shall submit to the Congress, not later than October 1, 2003, a report on the study conducted under this subparagraph.

(6)

Definitions

In this subsection—

(A)

Annex

(B)

ATPDEA beneficiary country

The term “ATPDEA beneficiary country” means any “beneficiary country”, as defined in section 3202(a)(1) of this title, which the President designates as an ATPDEA beneficiary country, taking into account the criteria contained in subsections (c) and (d) of section 3202 of this title and other appropriate criteria, including the following:

(i)

Whether the beneficiary country has demonstrated a commitment to—

(I)

undertake its obligations under the WTO, including those agreements listed in section 3511(d) of this title, on or ahead of schedule; and

(II)

participate in negotiations toward the completion of the FTAA or another free trade agreement.

(ii)

The extent to which the country provides protection of intellectual property rights consistent with or greater than the protection afforded under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights described in section 3511(d)(15) of this title.

(iii)

The extent to which the country provides internationally recognized worker rights, including—

(I)

the right of association;

(II)

the right to organize and bargain collectively;

(III)

a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor;

(IV)

a minimum age for the employment of children; and

(V)

acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health.

(iv)

Whether the country has implemented its commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, as defined in section 507(6) of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. 2467(6)].

(v)

The extent to which the country has met the counternarcotics certification criteria set forth in section 2291j of title 22 for eligibility for United States assistance.

(vi)

The extent to which the country has taken steps to become a party to and implements the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption.

(vii)

The extent to which the country—

(I)

applies transparent, nondiscriminatory, and competitive procedures in government procurement equivalent to those contained in the Agreement on Government Procurement described in section 3511(d)(17) of this title; and

(II)

contributes to efforts in international fora to develop and implement international rules in transparency in government procurement.

(viii)

The extent to which the country has taken steps to support the efforts of the United States to combat terrorism.

(C)

NAFTA

(D)

WTO

(E)

ATPDEA

(F)

FTAA

(c)

Suspension of duty-free treatment

(1)

The President may by proclamation suspend the duty-free treatment provided by this chapter with respect to any eligible article and may proclaim a duty rate for such article if such action is proclaimed under chapter 1 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. 2251 et seq.] or section 1862 of this title.

(2)

In any report by the United States International Trade Commission to the President under section 202(f) of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. 2252(f)] regarding any article for which duty-free treatment has been proclaimed by the President pursuant to this chapter, the Commission shall state whether and to what extent its findings and recommendations apply to such article when imported from beneficiary countries.

(3)

For purposes of section 203 of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. 2253], the suspension of the duty-free treatment provided by this chapter shall be treated as an increase in duty.

(4)

No proclamation providing solely for a suspension referred to in paragraph (3) of this subsection with respect to any article shall be taken under section 203 of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. 2253] unless the United States International Trade Commission, in addition to making an affirmative determination with respect to such article under section 202(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. 2252(b)], determines in the course of its investigation under such section that the serious injury (or threat thereof) substantially caused by imports to the domestic industry producing a like or directly competitive article results from the duty-free treatment provided by this chapter.

(5)

(A)

Any action taken under section 203 of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. 2253] that is in effect when duty-free treatment is proclaimed under section 3201 of this title shall remain in effect until modified or terminated.

(B)

If any article is subject to any such action at the time duty-free treatment is proclaimed under section 3201 of this title, the President may reduce or terminate the application of such action to the importation of such article from beneficiary countries prior to the otherwise scheduled date on which such reduction or termination would occur pursuant to the criteria and procedures of section 204 of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. 2254].

(d)

Emergency relief with respect to perishable products

(1)

If a petition is filed with the United States International Trade Commission pursuant to the provisions of section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. 2251] regarding a perishable product and alleging injury from imports from beneficiary countries, then the petition may also be filed with the Secretary of Agriculture with a request that emergency relief be granted pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection with respect to such article.

(2)

Within 14 days after the filing of a petition under paragraph (1) of this subsection—

(A)

if the Secretary of Agriculture has reason to believe that a perishable product from a beneficiary country is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury, or the threat thereof, to the domestic industry producing a perishable product like or directly competitive with the imported product and that emergency action is warranted, he shall advise the President and recommend that the President take emergency action; or

(B)

the Secretary of Agriculture shall publish a notice of his determination not to recommend the imposition of emergency action and so advise the petitioner.

(3)

Within 7 days after the President receives a recommendation from the Secretary of Agriculture to take emergency action pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, he shall issue a proclamation withdrawing the duty-free treatment provided by this chapter or publish a notice of his determination not to take emergency action.

(4)

The emergency action provided by paragraph (3) of this subsection shall cease to apply—

(A)

upon the taking of action under section 203 of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. 2253],

(B)

on the day a determination by the President not to take action under section 203(b)(2) of such Act becomes final,

(C)

in the event of a report of the United States International Trade Commission containing a negative finding, on the day of the Commission’s report is submitted to the President, or

(D)

whenever the President determines that because of changed circumstances such relief is no longer warranted.

(5)

For purposes of this subsection, the term “perishable product” means—

(A)

live plants and fresh cut flowers provided for in chapter 6 of the HTS;

(B)

fresh or chilled vegetables provided for in headings 0701 through 0709 (except subheading 0709.52.00) and heading 0714 of the HTS;

(C)

fresh fruit provided for in subheadings 0804.20 through 0810.90 (except citrons of subheadings 0805.90.00, tamarinds and kiwi fruit of subheading 0810.90.20, and cashew apples, mameyes colorados, sapodillas, soursops and sweetsops of subheading 0810.90.40) of the HTS; or

(D)

concentrated citrus fruit juice provided for in subheadings 2009.11.00, 2009.19.40, 2009.20.40, 2009.30.20, and 2009.30.60 of the HTS.

(e)

Fees under section 624 of title 7

(f)

Tariff-rate quotas

(Pub. L. 102–182, title II, § 204, Dec. 4, 1991, 105 Stat. 1239; Pub. L. 103–465, title IV, § 404(e)(2), Dec. 8, 1994, 108 Stat. 4961; Pub. L. 107–210, div. C, title XXXI, § 3103(a), (c)(2), Aug. 6, 2002, 116 Stat. 1024, 1033; Pub. L. 108–429, title II, § 2004(e), Dec. 3, 2004, 118 Stat. 2593; Pub. L. 109–432, div. D, title V, § 5005(b), title VII, § 7003, Dec. 20, 2006, 120 Stat. 3190, 3194; Pub. L. 110–42, § 2, June 30, 2007, 121 Stat. 235; Pub. L. 110–191, § 2(b), Feb. 29, 2008, 122 Stat. 646; Pub. L. 110–436, § 1(b), Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4977; Pub. L. 111–124, § 2(b), Dec. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 3484; Pub. L. 111–344, title II, § 201(c), Dec. 29, 2010, 124 Stat. 3616; Pub. L. 112–42, title V, § 501(b), Oct. 21, 2011, 125 Stat. 494.)

cite as: 19 USC 3203