II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1683 

To provide the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection, and the Department of the Treasury with authority to more 

aggressively enforce trade laws relating to textile and apparel articles, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 12, 2011 

Mrs. HAGAN (for herself and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To provide the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of 

the Treasury with authority to more aggressively enforce 

trade laws relating to textile and apparel articles, and 

for other purposes. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Textile Enforcement and Security Act of 2011’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

2 

•S 1683 IS

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Textile or apparel article defined. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Findings. 

Sec. 5. Sense of Congress. 

TITLE I—ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES FOR U.S. CUSTOMS AND 

BORDER PROTECTION 

Sec. 101. Seizure and forfeiture of certain textile or apparel articles and use 

of amounts from fines, penalties, and forfeitures. 

Sec. 102. Increase in certain TAPP positions and import specialist positions 

and biennial review of staff levels. 

TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE TARIFF ACT OF 1930 

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

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

agreements. 

Sec. 203. Establishment of textile and apparel new importer program. 

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

TITLE III—ESTABLISHMENT OF TEXTILE AND APPAREL 

MANUFACTURING AND SUPPLIER REGISTRY 

Sec. 301. Establishment of textile and apparel manufacturing and supplier registry. 

TITLE IV—IMPLEMENTATION REPORT 

Sec. 401. Implementation report. 

1 SEC. 2. TEXTILE OR APPAREL ARTICLE DEFINED. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act, the term ‘‘textile or 

3 apparel article’’ means any of the following: 

4 (1) Any good classifiable in chapters 50 

5 through 63 of the HTS. 

6 (2) Any good classifiable under one of the fol7 lowing HTS headings or subheadings: 

8 (A) 3005.90. 

9 (B) 3921.12.15. 

10 (C) 3921.13.15. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

3 

•S 1683 IS

1 (D) 3921.90.25. 

2 (E) 6601.10 through 6601.99. 

3 (F) 7019.19.15. 

4 (G) 7019.19.28. 

5 (H) 7019.40 through 7019.59. 

6 (I) 8708.21. 

7 (J) 9404.30.40. 

8 (K) 9404.30.80. 

9 (L) 9404.90. 

10 (b) HTS DEFINED.—In subsection (a), the term 

11 ‘‘HTS’’ means the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 

12 United States. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis16 sioner’’ means the Commissioner responsible for 

17 U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

18 (2) ENTER; ENTRY.—The terms ‘‘enter’’ and 

19 ‘‘entry’’ refer to the entry, or withdrawal from ware20 house for consumption, of a textile or apparel article 

21 in the customs territory of the United States. 

22 (3) IMPORTER.—The term ‘‘importer’’ means 

23 one of the parties qualifying as an importer of 

24 record under section 484(a)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act 

25 of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1484(a)(2)(B)). 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

4 

•S 1683 IS

1 (4) SPECIAL OPERATIONS.—The term ‘‘special 

2 operations’’ means an initiative that is— 

3 (A) implemented to address specific in4 stances of transactions that do not comply with 

5 United States trade laws with respect to textile 

6 or apparel articles; 

7 (B) used to address any import violations 

8 involving textile or apparel articles, including 

9 fraud, quota requirements, revenue collection, 

10 trade preferences or requirements under free 

11 trade agreements, product safety, anti-dumping 

12 and countervailing duties, or intellectual prop13 erty rights; or 

14 (C) initiated to address a singular instance 

15 or a pattern of high-risk behavior, involving a 

16 particular commodity or other trade issue, in17 cluding valuation, origin fraud, or trade pref18 erence violation, on the part of a country, im19 porter, or manufacturer. 

20 (5) TAPP.—The term ‘‘TAPP’’ means the Tex21 tile and Apparel Policy and Programs division of the 

22 Office of International Trade within U.S. Customs 

23 and Border Protection. 

24 (6) TPVTS.—The term ‘‘TPVTs’’ means Tex25 tile Product Verification Teams. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

5 

•S 1683 IS

1 (7) DEDICATED.—The term ‘‘dedicated’’ 

2 means, with respect to an import specialist, that 

3 such import specialist who focus solely on the import 

4 of textile or apparel articles. 

5 (8) TRAINED.—The term ‘‘trained’’ means, 

6 with respect to an import specialist, that such im7 port specialist has received, at least every last three 

8 years, education or training related to the import of 

9 textile or apparel articles. 

10 (9) NONRESIDENT IMPORTER.—The term ‘‘non11 resident importer’’ means an importer who is— 

12 (A) an individual who is not a citizen of 

13 the United States or an alien lawfully admitted 

14 for permanent residence in the United States; 

15 or 

16 (B) a partnership, corporation, or other 

17 commercial entity that is not organized under 

18 the laws of a jurisdiction within the customs 

19 territory of the United States (as such term is 

20 defined in General Note 2 of the Harmonized 

21 Tariff Schedule of the United States) or in the 

22 Virgin Islands of the United States. 

23 (10) NEW IMPORTER.—The term ‘‘new im24 porter’’ means an importer with fewer than three 

25 years of import history into the United States of 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

6 

•S 1683 IS

1 textile or apparel articles. For purposes of this para2 graph, a new importer that merges with or is pur3 chased by another importer, or is otherwise altered, 

4 shall be considered to remain a new importer until 

5 such time as such new importer presents proof to 

6 the Commissioner of such merger, purchase, or other 

7 alteration for a determination regarding whether 

8 such new importer may be treated as an importer. 

9 (11) CAFTA-DR COUNTRY.—The term 

10 ‘‘CAFTA-DR country’’ has the meaning given such 

11 term in section 3(2) of the Dominican Republic-Cen12 tral America-United States-Free Trade Agreement 

13 Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 4002(2); Public Law 

14 109–53). 

15 SEC. 4. FINDINGS. 

16 Congress finds the following: 

17 (1) The fraudulent or illegal imports of textile 

18 and apparel articles into the United States results in 

19 significant revenue loss to the Department of the 

20 Treasury. 

21 (2) The Textile and Apparel Policy and Pro22 grams division of the Office of International Trade 

23 within U.S. Customs and Border Protection or any 

24 subsequent division has, with respect to textile or 

25 apparel articles, the primary responsibility to ensure 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

7 

•S 1683 IS

1 the proper enforcement of all trade laws, rules, and 

2 regulations affecting textile and apparel articles. 

3 (3) The TAPP has the authority to direct the 

4 implementation and enforcement of free trade agree5 ments, multilateral agreements, bilateral textile 

6 agreements, trade preference programs, and all 

7 other trade laws affecting textiles and apparel arti8 cles. 

9 (4) The primary focus of the TAPP is to ensure 

10 the effective implementation of all trade enforcement 

11 activities involving textile or apparel articles with its 

12 principle focus to prevent circumvention of the re13 quirements to obtain preferential trade treatment 

14 under free trade agreements and trade preference 

15 programs in order to avoid quotas or duties. 

16 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that— 

18 (1) U.S. Customs and Border Protection and 

19 the TAPP should be involved in supporting the ne20 gotiation of enforcement provisions of trade pref21 erence programs and free trade agreements affecting 

22 textiles and apparel articles; 

23 (2) the TAPP should conduct outreach to other 

24 Federal departments and agencies involved in overall 

25 trade policy, such as Department of Commerce and 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

8 

•S 1683 IS

1 the Office of the United States Trade Representa2 tive; 

3 (3) the TAPP should be involved in the develop4 ment of policies and procedures that provide guid5 ance to the port of entry of the textile and apparel 

6 articles, including training of TAPP officials; 

7 (4) the TAPP headquarters office is currently 

8 below its optimal staffing levels and the TAPP per9 sonnel efforts should be targeted at retaining senior 

10 staff and hiring new qualified personnel so that the 

11 division is brought up to optimal staffing levels, and 

12 these positions should be designated as not only pol13 icy positions, but enforcement positions as well; 

14 (5) the TAPP should implement special oper15 ations, Textile Product Verification Teams, and 

16 other actions under U.S. Customs and Border Pro17 tection authority to ensure enforcement of trade 

18 laws relating to imports of textile or apparel articles 

19 in a timely manner as concerns arise, particularly as 

20 such concerns relate to enforcement of the North 

21 American Free Trade Agreement, the Dominican 

22 Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade 

23 Agreement, and all other free trade agreements and 

24 trade preference programs, in order to prevent 

25 transshipments and origin fraud; 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

9 

•S 1683 IS

1 (6) the TAPP officials should coordinate and 

2 collaborate with foreign government counterparts to 

3 ensure effective enforcement of textile and apparel 

4 articles; and 

5 (7) U.S. Customs and Border Protection should 

6 ensure that seizures, detentions, special operations, 

7 and TPVTs remain the primary focus of its enforce8 ment efforts relating to textile and apparel articles. 

9 TITLE I—ADDITIONAL AUTHORI10 TIES FOR U.S. CUSTOMS AND 

11 BORDER PROTECTION 

12 SEC. 101. SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE OF CERTAIN TEXTILE 

13 OR APPAREL ARTICLES AND USE OF 

14 AMOUNTS FROM FINES, PENALTIES, AND 

15 FORFEITURES. 

16 (a) SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following penalties shall 

18 apply with respect to an importation of a textile or 

19 apparel article: 

20 (A) In the case of importation for which a 

21 trade preference has been claimed and with re22 spect to which the textile or apparel article has 

23 been either misdescribed on entry as to country 

24 of origin or for which the importer does not 

25 verify actual country of origin, for purposes of 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

10 

•S 1683 IS

1 avoiding a duty or other obligation to the 

2 United States Government, including any mer3 chandise accompanied by documentation which 

4 indicates a false or fraudulent country of origin 

5 or source of textile or apparel articles, and any 

6 merchandise accompanied by a counterfeit visa, 

7 license, permit, bill of lading, or similar docu8 mentation that is subsequently used by the im9 porter for entry of textile or apparel articles, 

10 the textile or apparel article shall be subject to 

11 seizure and forfeiture in accordance with 

12 United States trade laws and title 18, United 

13 States Code. 

14 (B) In the case of importation by an im15 porter who provides false information with re16 spect to the physical address of the importer or 

17 who does not meet the requirements of section 

18 484(a)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

19 U.S.C. 1484 (a)(2)(B)), the textile or apparel 

20 article shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture 

21 in accordance with United States trade laws 

22 and title 18, United States Code. 

23 (2) EXCEPTION.—A clerical error shall not be 

24 considered a violation of paragraph (1) unless such 

25 error is part of a pattern of negligent conduct. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

11 

•S 1683 IS

1 (b) USE OF AMOUNTS FROM FINES, PENALTIES, 

2 AND FORFEITURES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

4 provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Secu5 rity, the Commissioner, or the Secretary of the 

6 Treasury— 

7 (A) shall use amounts from fines, pen8 alties, and forfeitures of property for violations 

9 of any law regarding the import of textile or ap10 parel articles enforced by the Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security or the Secretary of the 

12 Treasury to pay for— 

13 (i) expenses directly related to inves14 tigations of, and civil or criminal enforce15 ment proceedings on, violations of any law 

16 regarding the import of textile or apparel 

17 articles, including any necessary expenses 

18 for equipment, training, travel, witnesses, 

19 and contracting services directly related to 

20 such investigations or proceedings; and 

21 (ii) expenses related to training and 

22 education for applicable revenue positions, 

23 including import specialists, international 

24 trade specialists, and auditors who partici25 pate in the enforcement of the export or 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

12 

•S 1683 IS

1 import of textile or apparel articles 

2 through United States trade laws; and 

3 (B) may use amounts from fines, penalties, 

4 and forfeitures of property for violations of any 

5 law regarding the import of textile or apparel 

6 articles enforced by the Secretary of Homeland 

7 Security, the Commissioner, or the Secretary of 

8 the Treasury to pay for a reward of not less 

9 than 20 percent of the amount of the fine, pen10 alty, or forfeiture of property collected or 

11 $20,000, whichever is the lesser amount, to any 

12 person who furnishes information that leads to 

13 an arrest, conviction, civil penalty assessment, 

14 or forfeiture of property for any violation of any 

15 law regarding the import of textile or apparel 

16 articles enforced by the Secretary of Homeland 

17 Security, the Commissioner, or the Secretary of 

18 the Treasury. 

19 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Amounts col20 lected from fines, penalties, and forfeitures of prop21 erty for violations of any law regarding the import 

22 of textile or apparel articles enforced by the Sec23 retary of Homeland Security, the Commissioner, or 

24 the Secretary of the Treasury to pay for expenses 

25 described in paragraph (1)(A) or a reward described 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

13 

•S 1683 IS

1 in paragraph (1)(B) are in addition to amounts oth2 erwise available for such purposes. 

3 SEC. 102. INCREASE IN CERTAIN TAPP POSITIONS AND IM4 PORT SPECIALIST POSITIONS AND BIENNIAL 

5 REVIEW OF STAFF LEVELS. 

6 (a) INCREASE IN CERTAIN TAPP POSITIONS.—Not 

7 later than 180 days of the date of the enactment of this 

8 Act, the Commissioner shall ensure that— 

9 (1) the Textile Operations Branch (or any suc10 cessor or related Branch) of the TAPP shall consist 

11 of, at a minimum, one Branch Chief and six Oper12 ations Staff, of whom three Operations Staff shall 

13 be assigned to one of the CAFTA-DR countries for 

14 purposes of assisting U.S. Customs and Border Pro15 tection with verification of textile and apparel pref16 erences claimed under the Dominican Republic-Cen17 tral America-United States Free Trade Agreement; 

18 (2) the Textile/Apparel Policy & Programs Divi19 sion (or any successor or related Branch) of the 

20 TAPP shall consist of, at a minimum, one Branch 

21 Chief and three Operations Staff and two textile 

22 trade analysts; and 

23 (3) the Quota Branch (or any successor or re24 lated Branch) of the TAPP shall consist of, at a 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

14 

•S 1683 IS

1 minimum, one Branch Chief and four Operations 

2 Staff. 

3 (b) INCREASE IN TEXTILE AND APPAREL TRAINED

4 IMPORT SPECIALISTS.—As soon as practicable after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall 

6 certify, with respect to the 15 largest (by value of entries) 

7 United States ports of entry for textile or apparel articles, 

8 that Import Specialists who are assigned to such ports of 

9 entry are trained in fraud, trade preference verification, 

10 undervaluation, or other issues relating to imports of tex11 tile or apparel articles so that the number of such trained 

12 Import Specialist positions is not less than 150 percent 

13 of the number of trained Import Specialist positions in 

14 existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act. 

15 (c) INCREASE IN DEDICATED TEXTILE AND AP16 PAREL IMPORT SPECIALISTS.—As soon as practicable 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis18 sioner shall increase dedicated textile and import special19 ists by 25 percent at the 15 largest (by value of entries) 

20 United States ports of entry for textile or apparel articles 

21 over the number of such specialists in existence as of the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act. 

23 (d) BIENNIAL REVIEW OF STAFF LEVELS.—Not 

24 later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 

25 Act and every two years thereafter, the Commissioner 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

15 

•S 1683 IS

1 shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means and 

2 the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

3 Representatives, the Committee on Finance and the Com4 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

5 of the Senate, and the co-chairs of the Congressional Tex6 tile Caucus a report on the staffing levels specified in this 

7 section, including a determination of whether or not there 

8 is need for additional staff to carry out the duties of the 

9 TAPP. 

10 TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE 

11 TARIFF ACT OF 1930 

12 SEC. 201. SPECIAL PROVISIONS REGARDING CERTAIN VIO13 LATIONS RELATING TO IMPORT DOCUMENTA14 TION. 

15 (a) PUBLICATION OF NAMES OF CERTAIN VIOLA16 TORS.—Section 592A(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

17 U.S.C. 1592a(a)(1)) is amended— 

18 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

19 by striking ‘‘is authorized to’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’; 

20 and 

21 (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting before the 

22 comma at the end the following: ‘‘, including for vio23 lations of quotas, duties, or trade preference pro24 grams’’. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

16 

•S 1683 IS

1 (b) LIST OF HIGH-RISK COUNTRIES.—Section 

2 592A(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (1592(a)(b)(1)) is 

3 amended, in the first sentence— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘is authorized to’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘shall’’; and 

6 (2) by inserting ‘‘or duties or violate trade pref7 erence programs’’ after ‘‘quotas’’. 

8 SEC. 202. ELECTRONIC PREFERENCE VERIFICATION SYS9 TEM FOR ORIGIN OF TEXTILE OR APPAREL 

10 ARTICLES UNDER CAFTA-DR, NAFTA, AND 

11 OTHER FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, act14 ing through the Commissioner and in coordination with 

15 the head of the Office of Textiles and Apparel of the De16 partment of Commerce, shall establish an electronic 

17 verification system for tracking textile or apparel articles 

18 imported or exported under the Dominican Republic-Cen19 tral America-United States Free Trade Agreement, the 

20 North American Free Trade Agreement, or any other free 

21 trade agreement to which the United States is a party, 

22 to ensure compliance with the respective requirements of 

23 such agreements. 

24 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President shall seek to 

25 enter into consultations and agreements, as appropriate, 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

17 

•S 1683 IS

1 with the government of each foreign country that is a 

2 party to an agreement referred to in subsection (a) for 

3 purposes of implementing the electronic verification sys4 tem established under such subsection. 

5 (c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The electronic verification 

6 system established under subsection (a) shall ensure that 

7 proprietary information, such as information about supply 

8 chain participants, are coded so that only U.S. Customs 

9 and Border Protection and Office of Textiles and Apparel 

10 personnel can access such information. 

11 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that the President should seek to make the integra13 tion of the electronic verification system established under 

14 subsection (a) in future free trade agreements a priority 

15 in negotiations for such agreements. 

16 SEC. 203. ESTABLISHMENT OF TEXTILE AND APPAREL NEW 

17 IMPORTER PROGRAM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall 

20 establish a new importer program that directs U.S. Cus21 toms and Border Protection to adjust bond amounts for 

22 new importers of textile and apparel goods based on the 

23 level of risk assessed by U.S. Customs and Border Protec24 tion for protection of revenue of the Federal Government. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

18 

•S 1683 IS

1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Commissioner shall en2 sure that, as part of the new importer program established 

3 under subsection (a), U.S. Customs and Border Protec4 tion— 

5 (1) develops risk assessment guidelines for new 

6 importers of textile and apparel imports; 

7 (2) adjusts bond amounts for new importers in 

8 accordance with the risk assessment guidelines de9 veloped under paragraph (1); 

10 (3) maintains a centralized database of new im11 porters; and 

12 (4) ensures accuracy of required information 

13 provided to U.S. Customs and Border Protection by 

14 new importers. 

15 (c) BONDING AUTHORITY.—Section 623(b) of the 

16 Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1623(b)) is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(5) In the case of importation of textile or ap19 parel articles, by regulation or specific instruction 

20 require, or authorize U.S. Customs and Border Pro21 tection officers to require, the amount of the bond 

22 to include amounts equal to any duties, fees, or pen23 alties estimated to be payable on such articles. For 

24 purposes of this paragraph, amounts equal to any 

25 penalties estimated to be payable on such articles 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

19 

•S 1683 IS

1 shall be based on a risk assessment of the new im2 porter carried out in accordance with section 203 of 

3 the Textile Security and Enforcement Act of 2011. 

4 Any person who violates this paragraph shall be lia5 ble for a civil penalty of $50,000 for each such viola6 tion.’’. 

7 (d) OTHER PENALTIES.—In addition to the penalties 

8 specified in paragraph (5) of section 623(b) of the Tariff 

9 Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1623(b)), as added by subsection 

10 (c) of this section, for a violation of such paragraph, any 

11 person who violates any other customs law of the United 

12 States with respect to the importation of textile or apparel 

13 articles shall be subject to any applicable civil or criminal 

14 penalty, including seizure and forfeiture that may be im15 posed under such customs law, including section 592 of 

16 the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592). 

17 SEC. 204. NONRESIDENT IMPORTER DECLARATION PRO18 GRAM FOR TEXTILE OR APPAREL ARTICLES. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 

20 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

21 Commissioner shall establish and maintain a nonresident 

22 importer declaration program with respect to the importa23 tion of textile or apparel articles. The program shall re24 quire nonresident importers of textile or apparel articles 

25 to provide the information required under subsection (b) 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

20 

•S 1683 IS

1 and declare the information required under subsection (c), 

2 and require that such information accompany the entry 

3 summary documentation for such textile or apparel arti4 cles. 

5 (b) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The Commissioner 

6 shall require the following information to be submitted by 

7 any nonresident importer seeking to import textile or ap8 parel articles: 

9 (1) An identification of a resident agent in the 

10 State in which the port of entry is located who is au11 thorized to accept service of process against the non12 resident importer in connection with the importation 

13 of the textile or apparel articles. 

14 (2) A certification that the resident agent de15 scribed in paragraph (1) has assets in the United 

16 States in sufficient amounts for the purpose of en17 suring the payment of any additional loss of revenue 

18 not covered by any surety bond or for any civil pen19 alties levied by the Federal Government in connec20 tion with the importation of the textile or apparel 

21 articles. 

22 (3) A copy of the commercial invoice accom23 panying the shipment of the textile or apparel arti24 cles, including the name, address, and contact infor25 mation for each person in the transaction, such as 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

21 

•S 1683 IS

1 the trading house, the freight forwarder, and the ul2 timate purchaser of the goods. 

3 (c) DECLARATIONS REQUIRED.—Pursuant to proce4 dures prescribed by the Commissioner, any nonresident 

5 importer seeking to import textile or apparel articles shall 

6 declare the following: 

7 (1) The nonresident importer has secured a 

8 bond in connection with the importation of the tex9 tile or apparel articles as required by paragraph (5) 

10 of section 623(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

11 U.S.C. 1623(b)) (as added by section 203(c) of this 

12 Act). 

13 (2) The nonresident importer has established a 

14 power of attorney in connection with the importation 

15 of the textile or apparel articles. 

16 (d) AUTHORITY.—A resident agent under this section 

17 shall accept service of process on behalf of the nonresident 

18 importer of such agent for the purpose of duties, penalties, 

19 or other fines issued by the Secretary of Homeland Secu20 rity or the Commissioner if the Secretary or the Commis21 sioner is unable to collect duties, penalties, or other fines 

22 from such nonresident importer. 

23 (e) PENALTIES.— 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

22 

•S 1683 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any 

2 person to import into the United States any textile 

3 or apparel article in violation of this section. 

4 (2) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Any person who vio5 lates paragraph (1) shall be liable for a civil penalty 

6 of $50,000 for each such violation. 

7 (3) OTHER PENALTIES.—In addition to the 

8 penalties specified in paragraph (2), any violation of 

9 this section that violates any other customs or trade 

10 law of the United States shall be subject to any ap11 plicable civil and criminal penalty, including seizure 

12 and forfeiture, that may be imposed under such cus13 toms or trade law or title 18, United States Code, 

14 with respect to the importation of textile or apparel 

15 articles. 

16 TITLE III—ESTABLISHMENT OF 

17 TEXTILE AND APPAREL MAN18 UFACTURING AND SUPPLIER 

19 REGISTRY 

20 SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF TEXTILE AND APPAREL MAN21 UFACTURING AND SUPPLIER REGISTRY. 

22 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act, the President, acting through the Commis24 sioner and in coordination with the head of the Office of 

25 Textiles and Apparel of the Department of Commerce, 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

23 

•S 1683 IS

1 shall establish an electronic Textile and Apparel Manufac2 turing Supplier Registry pilot program to serve as a cen3 tralized database of United States producers and manu4 facturers of thread, yarn, fabric, and apparel that supply 

5 products to companies in the United States, countries that 

6 are parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement, 

7 the Central American Free Trade Agreement, and other 

8 free trade or preference regions in the Western Hemi9 sphere. 

10 TITLE IV—IMPLEMENTATION 

11 REPORT 

12 SEC. 401. IMPLEMENTATION REPORT. 

13 Not later than one year after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act, the Commissioner shall submit to the 

15 Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on 

16 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, the 

17 Committee on Finance and the Committee on Homeland 

18 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the 

19 co-chairs of the Congressional Textile Caucus a report on 

20 the implementation of this Act. 

Æ 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS