I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 722 

To decrease dependency on People’s Republic of China manufacturing and 

decrease migration due to lost regional economic opportunities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2023 

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee 

on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To decrease dependency on People’s Republic of China manufacturing and decrease migration due to lost regional 

economic opportunities. 

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 ‘‘Western Hemisphere 

5 Nearshoring Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Our neighbors in the Western Hemisphere 

2 play a vital role in ensuring peace, security, and de3 mocracy. 

4 (2) Instability and lack of economic opportuni5 ties in the region are major drivers of migration in 

6 violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

7 (3) According to the United States Census Bu8 reau, in 2021 the United States exported $174.62 

9 billion worth of goods to Central and South America, 

10 and imported $121 billion. 

11 (4) The United States is a net exporter with 

12 Central and South America. 

13 (5) Economic growth and development of the 

14 Western Hemisphere brings essential strength and 

15 stability to the region. 

16 (6) There is significant opportunity to expand 

17 the free flow of goods and services in the Western 

18 Hemisphere. 

19 (7) Closer relations among the Americas 

20 through free trade agreements and trade liberaliza21 tion would encourage further economic development 

22 and stability in the region. 

23 (8) The United States should exercise its influ24 ence to encourage privatization, free markets, and 

25 economic cooperation in the region. 


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1 (9) Countries in the region should combat cor2 ruption, strengthen the rule of law, reduce bureau3 cratic red tape, streamline permitting, and embrace 

4 free market principles to encourage further private 

5 sector investment. 

6 (10) With cooperation from the United States, 

7 regional countries must take serious steps to curb 

8 migration in violation of the Immigration and Na9 tionality Act. 

10 (11) The Western Hemisphere has supply 

11 chains that are vulnerable due to their over depend12 ence on the People’s Republic of China. 

13 (12) Free trade and expanded commercial ties 

14 between the United States and Western Hemisphere 

15 partners will foster economic and commercial co16 operation, increase investment opportunities, de17 crease migration in violation of the Immigration and 

18 Nationality Act, reduce our dependence on the Peo19 ple’s Republic of China, and create jobs for Amer20 ican workers. 


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1 SEC. 3. USE OF UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL DEVELOP2 MENT FINANCE CORPORATION FUNDS TO FI3 NANCE MOVING EXPENSES AND NECESSARY 

4 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COSTS IN5 CURRED BY COMPANIES MOVING FROM THE 

6 PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA TO LATIN 

7 AMERICA OR THE CARIBBEAN. 

8 (a) USE OF FUNDS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The United States Inter10 national Development Finance Corporation, in co11 ordination with relevant Federal agencies (including 

12 the United States Trade and Development Agency, 

13 the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the 

14 United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the 

15 United States Agency for International Develop16 ment) and the United States Executive Directors of 

17 relevant international financial institutions (includ18 ing the World Bank Group, the Inter-American De19 velopment Bank, and the International Monetary 

20 Fund), shall use not less than 10 percent of the 

21 amounts made available to provide financing under 

22 section 1421 of the Better Utilization of Investments 

23 Leading to Development Act of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 

24 9621) for each fiscal year beginning after the date 

25 of the enactment of this Act to finance the qualified 

26 moving costs and necessary workforce development 


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1 costs of, and reduce the interest rate on any loan to 

2 be provided by the DFC to the interest rate de3 scribed in paragraph (3) to, any qualified corpora4 tion that is eligible for, or a recipient of, assistance 

5 from the DFC, to the extent of qualifying applica6 tions for assistance under this section. 

7 (2) AVAILABILITY OF UNUSED AMOUNTS.—If 

8 the DFC does not use the entire amount described 

9 in paragraph (1) for a fiscal year described in such 

10 paragraph, such amount shall, to the maximum ex11 tent practicable, be made available to the DFC for 

12 the next fiscal year to carry out this section or other 

13 DFC programs for Latin American or Caribbean 

14 countries. 

15 (3) INTEREST RATE DESCRIBED.—The interest 

16 rate described in this paragraph is— 

17 (A) the Federal funds rate; or 

18 (B) the interest rate that is determined by 

reducing by not less than 1 19 ⁄2 of 1 percent and 

20 not more than 1 percent (but to not less than 

21 zero percent) the interest rate on the loan to be 

22 provided by the DFC to the qualified corpora23 tion, 

24 whichever is the lesser. 


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1 (b) NO NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON EMPLOYMENT IN

2 THE UNITED STATES.—The DFC shall not provide assist3 ance under this section unless the Secretary of Commerce 

4 has determined that the provision of the assistance would 

5 not result in a negative effect on employment in the 

6 United States. 

7 (c) DISPOSITION OF UNUSED ASSISTANCE.—A cor8 poration to which financing is made under this section 

9 shall remit to the DFC any portion of the assistance that 

10 is not expended within a period of time after the date the 

11 financing is made that is determined by the DFC on a 

12 case-by-case basis. 

13 (d) CONDITIONS ON PROVISION OF LOANS.—The 

14 DFC— 

15 (1) may provide loans under this section to a 

16 corporation only if the loans are commercially viable, 

17 as determined by the DFC; and 

18 (2) shall determine an appropriate amount of 

19 time for repayment of loans under this section to a 

20 corporation. 

21 (e) PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act, the DFC shall develop and 

23 submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

24 of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Rela25 tions of the Senate a plan to streamline the provision of 


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1 assistance under this section, including to expedite the ap2 proval process for the provision of such assistance. 

3 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE DUTY-FREE TREATMENT 

4 FOR GOODS AND SERVICES OF COMPANIES 

5 MOVING FROM THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF 

6 CHINA TO LATIN AMERICA OR THE CARIB7 BEAN. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi9 sion of law, the President shall proclaim duty-free treat10 ment (or other preferential treatment) for any good or 

11 service made or produced in a Latin American or Carib12 bean country by a qualified corporation that has received 

13 assistance under section 3, subject to such terms and con14 ditions as the President determines to be appropriate. 

15 (b) REGULATIONS.—The President shall prescribe 

16 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this 

17 section. 

18 (c) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) shall apply 

20 with respect to a good or service made or produced 

21 in a Latin American or Caribbean country by a cor22 poration for the 15-year period beginning on the 

23 date on which the corporation begins operations in 

24 such country. 


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1 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

2 section may be construed to affect duty-free treat3 ment (or other preferential treatment) for any good 

4 or service made or produced in a Latin American or 

5 Caribbean country by a qualified corporation after 

6 the 15-year period described in paragraph (1) if 

7 goods and services from such country are otherwise 

8 generally eligible for duty-free treatment (or other 

9 preferential treatment). 

10 SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS ON RECEIPT OF ASSIST11 ANCE UNDER SECTION 3 AND DUTY-FREE 

12 TREATMENT (OR OTHER PREFERENTIAL 

13 TREATMENT) UNDER SECTION 4. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The appropriate Federal agency 

15 may not provide assistance under section 3 or duty-free 

16 treatment (or other preferential treatment) under section 

17 4 to a corporation unless— 

18 (1) the agency determines that the corporation 

19 will create jobs in the Latin American or Caribbean 

20 country to which it moves operations in numbers de21 termined by the agency to be commensurate with the 

22 assistance provided; 

23 (2) the corporation makes a binding commit24 ment to the agency that on and after the date the 

25 assistance is provided— 


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1 (A) the corporation will not come under 

2 the ownership or control of the Government of 

3 the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese 

4 Communist Party, the Government of the Rus5 sian Federation, or any other foreign adversary; 

6 and 

7 (B) the corporation will not have its head8 quarters in the People’s Republic of China, the 

9 Russian Federation, or any other foreign adver10 sary; 

11 (3) within 2 years after the date described in 

12 paragraph (2), and subject to an additional exten13 sion as determined appropriate by the agency, all as14 sets of the corporation with respect to which the as15 sistance is provided will have been moved from the 

16 People’s Republic of China to a Latin American or 

17 Caribbean country; and 

18 (4) the corporation retains all assets of the cor19 poration with respect to which the assistance is pro20 vided in a Latin American or Caribbean country 

21 after the date described in paragraph (2) or the last 

22 day of the extension described in paragraph (3), as 

23 the case may be. 

24 (b) COMPLIANCE DETERMINATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The appropriate Federal 

2 agency, in coordination with the Department of 

3 State, shall make all determinations regarding com4 pliance with the provisions of subsection (a). 

5 (2) NON-COMPLIANCE ACTIONS.—A qualified 

6 corporation that has received assistance under sec7 tion 3 or duty-free treatment (or other preferential 

8 treatment) under section 4 that is subsequently de9 termined by the appropriate Federal agency not to 

10 be in compliance with the provisions of subsection 

11 (a) shall be subject to the following actions: 

12 (A) Any good or service made or produced 

13 in a Latin American or Caribbean country by 

14 the corporation (other than a good or service 

15 made or produced in a free trade zone or which 

16 is subject to benefits under a free trade agree17 ment) shall not be eligible for duty-free treat18 ment (or other preferential treatment) under 

19 section 4. 

20 (B) The appropriate Federal agency shall 

21 adjust the interest rate on any loan to be pro22 vided by the agency to the corporation to the 

23 prevailing market interest rate. 


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1 (c) APPROPRIATE FEDERAL AGENCY DEFINED.—In 

2 this section, the term ‘‘appropriate Federal agency’’ 

3 means— 

4 (1) with respect to actions relating to assistance 

5 under section 3, the DFC; and 

6 (2) with respect to actions relating to duty-free 

7 treatment (or other preferential treatment) under 

8 section 4, the United States Trade Representative. 

9 SEC. 6. EXPENSES PAID FOR WITH TARIFFS COLLECTED 

10 FROM THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUST FUND.—There is es12 tablished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 

13 consisting of such amounts as are appropriated to such 

14 trust fund under subsection (b). 

15 (b) APPROPRIATIONS TO TRUST FUND.—There are 

16 hereby appropriated to such trust fund amounts equiva17 lent to the tariffs collected by the United States on goods 

18 manufactured in the People’s Republic of China. 

19 (c) APPROPRIATIONS FROM TRUST FUND.—There 

20 are hereby appropriated from such trust fund to the Gen21 eral Fund of the Treasury amounts equivalent to the re22 duction in revenue to such General Fund by reason of as23 sistance provided by the DFC under this Act. 

24 (d) TIMING OF TRANSFERS, ETC.—Rules similar to 

25 the rules of section 9601 of the Internal Revenue Code 


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1 of 1986 shall apply with respect to appropriations to and 

2 from such trust fund under subsections (b) and (c). 

3 SEC. 7. AMENDMENTS TO THE BUILD ACT OF 2018. 

4 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—Section 1411 of the 

5 Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development 

6 Act of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 9611) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

8 end; 

9 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 

10 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(9) to further United States economic growth 

13 by prioritizing United States-owned businesses in 

14 providing support under title II; and 

15 ‘‘(10) to further United States national security 

16 by prioritizing the production of goods in critical in17 dustries, as determined by the Corporation, in con18 sultation with the Department of Homeland Secu19 rity.’’. 

20 (b) PROHIBITION ON SUPPORT FOR STATE-OWNED

21 ENTERPRISES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Better Utili23 zation of Investments Leading to Development Act 

24 of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 9671 et seq.) is amended by 

25 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1455. PROHIBITION ON SUPPORT FOR ENTITIES 

2 OWNED OR CONTROLLED BY FOREIGN GOV3 ERNMENTS. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

5 (b), the Corporation is prohibited from providing support 

6 under title II for an entity owned or controlled by a for7 eign government. 

8 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation may pro10 vide feasibility studies and technical assistance 

11 under title II for an entity owned or controlled by 

12 a foreign government that is not a foreign adversary. 

13 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN ADVERSARY DEFINED.—In this 

14 subsection, the term ‘foreign adversary’ means a for15 eign government engaged in a long-term pattern or 

16 serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to 

17 the national security of the United States or security 

18 and safety of United States persons.’’. 

19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con20 tents for the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (49 

21 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended by inserting after 

22 the item relating to section 1454 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 1455. Prohibition on support for entities owned or controlled by foreign 

governments.’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. TRADE NEGOTIATING AUTHORITY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Trade Rep3 resentative shall take action to initiate negotiations to ob4 tain trade agreements with each Latin American or Carib5 bean country that as of the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act is not a party to a free trade agreement with the 

7 United States if the country meets the conditions de8 scribed in subsection (b). 

9 (b) CONDITIONS DESCRIBED.—The conditions de10 scribed in this subsection are the following: 

11 (1) The country is taking steps to reduce mi12 gration in violation of the Immigration and Nation13 ality Act. 

14 (2) The country is taking steps to reduce eco15 nomic dependence on the People’s Republic of 

16 China. 

17 (3) The country allows Taiwan to establish and 

18 maintain a commercial office in the country. 

19 SEC. 9. AGREEMENTS FOR COOPERATION PURSUANT TO 

20 SECTION 123 OF THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT 

21 OF 1954. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to 

23 take action to initiate negotiations with Latin American 

24 and Caribbean countries to obtain agreements for coopera25 tion pursuant to section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act 

26 of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2153) to approve the sales of nuclear 


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1 reactors to such countries, or to qualified corporations 

2 that receive assistance under this Act, but only if— 

3 (1) the President determines that such sales 

4 will not threaten the national security of the United 

5 States; and 

6 (2) the countries or qualified corporations, as 

7 the case may be, meet the conditions described in 

8 paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 8(b). 

9 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EXPERTISE.—The 

10 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter11 national Development, in consultation with the Secretary 

12 of Energy and the DFC, may provide technical assistance 

13 and expertise in electrical grid and energy efficiency im14 provements related to sales under subsection (a), as appro15 priate. 

16 SEC. 10. TEMPORARY INCREASED EXPENSING FOR RELO17 CATING MANUFACTURING FROM THE PEO18 PLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA TO A LATIN 

19 AMERICAN OR CARIBBEAN COUNTRY. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 168(k) of 

21 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, in the case of any 

22 qualified relocated manufacturing property which is placed 

23 in service by a qualified manufacturer after the date of 

24 the enactment of this Act, and before January 1, 2038— 


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1 (1) such property shall be treated as qualified 

2 property (within the meaning of such section), 

3 (2) the applicable percentage otherwise deter4 mined under section 168(k)(6) of such Code with re5 spect to such property shall be 75 percent, and 

6 (3) paragraph (8) of such section shall not 

7 apply. 

8 (b) QUALIFIED RELOCATED MANUFACTURING PROP9 ERTY.—For purposes of this section— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘qualified relo11 cated manufacturing property’’ means qualified 

12 property (within the meaning of section 168(k) of 

13 such Code) or nonresidential real property (as de14 fined in section 168(e)(2)(B) of such Code) which 

15 is— 

16 (A) placed in service in a Latin American 

17 or Caribbean country by a qualified manufac18 turer, and 

19 (B) is acquired by such qualified manufac20 turer in connection with a qualified relocation 

21 of manufacturing. 

22 (2) QUALIFIED RELOCATION OF MANUFAC23 TURING.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘qualified re25 location of manufacturing’’ means, with respect 


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1 to any qualified manufacturer, the relocation of 

2 the manufacturing of any tangible personal 

3 property from the People’s Republic of China to 

4 a Latin American or Caribbean country. 

5 (B) RELOCATION OF PROPERTY NOT RE6 QUIRED.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), 

7 manufacturing shall not fail to be treated as re8 located merely because property used in such 

9 manufacturing was not relocated. 

10 (C) RELOCATION OF NOT LESS THAN

11 EQUIVALENT PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY RE12 QUIRED.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), 

13 manufacturing shall not be treated as relocated 

14 unless the property manufactured in a Latin 

15 American or Caribbean country is substantially 

16 identical to the property previously manufac17 tured in the People’s Republic of China and the 

18 increase in the units of production of such 

19 property in a Latin American or Caribbean 

20 country by the qualified manufacturer is not 

21 less than the reduction in the units of produc22 tion of such property by such qualified manu23 facturer in the People’s Republic of China. 


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1 (c) QUALIFIED MANUFACTURER.—For purposes of 

2 this section, the term ‘‘qualified manufacturer’’ means any 

3 person— 

4 (1) which is engaged in the trade or business of 

5 manufacturing any tangible personal property, 

6 (2) with respect to which the Secretary of the 

7 Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) has made the 

8 determination described in section 5(a)(1), and 

9 (3) which has entered into a binding agreement 

10 with such Secretary (or such delegate) to meet the 

11 requirements of section 5(a)(2) which is enforceable 

12 under terms similar to the terms of section 5(b). 

13 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) DFC.—The term ‘‘DFC’’ means the United 

16 States International Development Finance Corpora17 tion. 

18 (2) QUALIFIED CORPORATION.—The term 

19 ‘‘qualified corporation’’ does not include a State20 owned enterprise. 

21 (3) QUALIFIED MOVING COSTS DEFINED.—The 

22 term ‘‘qualified moving costs’’ means— 

23 (A) the costs of moving inventory, equip24 ment, and supplies from the People’s Republic 


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1 of China to a Latin American or Caribbean 

2 country; and 

3 (B) the costs of workforce development 

4 and construction of facilities. 

5 (4) LATIN AMERICAN OR CARIBBEAN COUNTRY; 

6 WESTERN HEMISPHERE.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘‘Latin 

8 American or Caribbean country’’ and ‘‘Western 

9 Hemisphere’’— 

10 (i) mean a country in the Caribbean 

11 Sea, South America, or Central America, 

12 and Mexico; and 

13 (ii) except as provided in subpara14 graph (B), do not include Cuba or Ven15 ezuela. 

16 (B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘‘Latin Amer17 ican or Caribbean country’’ shall include Cuba 

18 or Venezuela if the Secretary of State deter19 mines and certifies to Congress that— 

20 (i) the government of such country— 

21 (I) has held free and fair presi22 dential and legislative elections, as de23 termined by independent international 

24 observers, and subsequent elections 

25 are scheduled; 


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1 (II) respects and upholds human 

2 rights; 

3 (III) is taking significant steps to 

4 privatize its economy and institute a 

5 free market; 

6 (IV) permits the international 

7 community to provide humanitarian, 

8 governance, and economic develop9 ment assistance; 

10 (V) has freed all unlawfully de11 tained United States citizens, legal 

12 permanent residents, and political 

13 prisoners; and 

14 (VI) has expelled all security 

15 services from foreign adversaries from 

16 the country; and 

17 (ii) the prior authorities of such coun18 try have renounced their illegitimate claim 

19 to power. 

20 (5) FEDERAL FUNDS RATE.—The term ‘‘Fed21 eral funds rate’’ means the discount window primary 

22 credit interest rate most recently published on the 

23 Federal Reserve Statistical Release on selected interVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H722.IH H722

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1 est rates (daily or weekly), commonly referred to as 

2 the H.15 release. 

Æ 


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