I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2816

To provide duty-free treatment for certain tuna. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 8, 2005

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL

To provide duty-free treatment for certain tuna.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Trade in Pouch 

5 Tuna Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) a strong relationship between the United 

9 States and the member nations of the Association of 

10 Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a force for 

11 stability and development in the Southeast Asian re-
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1 gion and international trade is a critical element of 

2 this relationship; 

3 (2) many of the ASEAN nations are important 

4 friends and allies in the ongoing fight against world 

5 terrorism; 

6 (3) many nations in the ASEAN region were di7 rectly impacted by the December 26, 2004, earth8 quake off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, Indo9 nesia, which unleashed a devastating tsunami that 

10 killed more than 160,000 people and resulted in un11 told economic damage; 

12 (4) even though a robust international relief ef13 fort has been launched, all measures, large and 

14 small, that impact this region should be considered 

15 as part of that relief effort; 

16 (5) ASEAN nations provide a large portion of 

17 the processed tuna imported into the United States; 

18 (6) such imports are subject to tariffs whereas 

19 tuna in airtight pouches imported from the bene20 ficiary countries of the Andean Trade Promotion 

21 and Drug Eradication Act (Andean) are not; 

22 (7) as a result, tuna in airtight pouches im23 ported from ASEAN member nations is placed at a 

24 competitive disadvantage that has harmed the econo-
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1 mies of these nations and that will ultimately harm 

2 consumers in the United States; and 

3 (8) eliminating tariffs on pouch tuna imported 

4 from the ASEAN countries in a quantity equal to 

5 the quantity imported from Andean countries will re6 store fair trade in the pouch tuna market and will 

7 benefit United States consumers and the economies 

8 of the ASEAN nations. 

9 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DUTY TREATMENT FOR CERTAIN 

10 TUNA. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 99 of 

12 the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States is 

13 amended by inserting in numerical sequence the following 

14 new heading:

‘‘ 9902.16.04 Tuna in foil or other flexible 

containers weighing with 

their contents not more than 

6.8 kg each (provided for in 

subheading 1604.30.91) ...... No 

change Free, if the 

product of a 

country listed in U.S. 

Note 18 to 

this subchapter and 

in the quantity provided 

for in such 

Note No change On or before 

12/31/2008 ’’. 

15 (b) ASEAN COUNTRIES.—The U.S. Notes to sub16 chapter II of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Sched17 ule of the United States are amended by adding at the 

18 end the following: 

19 ‘‘18. For purposes of heading 9902.16.04: 
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1 ‘‘(a) Products of the following countries are eli2 gible to enter at the special rate of duty set forth 

3 in such subheading: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, 

4 Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, 

5 and Vietnam. The special rate of duty does not 

6 apply to the Union of Myanmar. 

7 ‘‘(b) The aggregate quantity of tuna entered 

8 under subheading 9902.16.04 during any calendar 

9 year shall be limited to the quantity of tuna entered 

10 free of duty from all ATPDEA beneficiary countries 

11 (as defined in section 204(b)(6)) of the Andean 

12 Trade Preference Act (19 U.S.C. 3202(b)(6)) and 

13 designated in Note 11(d) of this Schedule) during 

14 the preceding calendar year pursuant to section 

15 204(b)(4) of the Andean Trade Preference Act (19 

16 U.S.C. 3202(b)(4)). 

17 ‘‘(c) The products of a country listed under 

18 subsection (a) shall be eligible to enter at the special 

19 rate of duty set forth in such subheading only if 

20 such country provides and enforces internationally 

21 recognized worker rights and environmental protec22 tions.’’. 

23 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

24 this section apply to goods entered, or withdrawn from 
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1 warehouse, for consumption on or after the 15th day after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act.

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