II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 371

To provide assistance to the countries in Central America and the Caribbean

affected by Hurricane Mitch and Hurricane Georges, to provide additional trade benefits to certain beneficiary countries in the Caribbean,

and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 4, 1999

Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. COVERDELL, Mr. DOMENICI,

Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. DODD, Mr. HATCH, Mr. FRIST, Mr. MACK, and Mr.

HAGEL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To provide assistance to the countries in Central America

and the Caribbean affected by Hurricane Mitch and Hurricane Georges, to provide additional trade benefits to

certain beneficiary countries in the Caribbean, 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 ‘‘Central American and Caribbean Relief Act’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

TITLE I—UNITED STATES-CARIBBEAN TRADE ENHANCEMENT

Sec. 101. Short title.

Sec. 102. Statement of policy.

Sec. 103. Definitions.

Sec. 104. Temporary provisions to provide additional trade benefits to certain

beneficiary countries.

Sec. 105. Adequate and effective protection for intellectual property rights.

Sec. 106. Duty-free treatment for certain beverages made with Caribbean rum.

TITLE II—ECONOMIC SUPPORT FUND AND OTHER ASSISTANCE

Sec. 201. ESF assistance; Habitat for Humanity.

Sec. 202. Disaster assistance.

Sec. 203. Disaster mitigation.

TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Sec. 301. Drawdown authority.

Sec. 302. Replacement of funds used for disaster relief and reconstruction in

connection with Hurricane Mitch.

TITLE IV—INTERNATIONAL MONETARY RELIEF

Sec. 401. Rescheduling and reduction of indebtedness.

Sec. 402. Contribution to a Central American Emergency Trust Fund.

TITLE V—OPIC

Sec. 501. Private sector development activities of the OPIC.

TITLE VI—MICROCREDIT AND AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE

Sec. 601. Declaration of policy.

Sec. 602. Microenterprise assistance.

Sec. 603. Support for producer-owned cooperative marketing associations.

Sec. 604. Agricultural research and extension activities.

Sec. 605. Nonemergency food assistance programs.

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

4 Congress makes the following findings:

5 (1) In October of 1998, Hurricane Mitch dev6 astated areas of the Caribbean and Central America.

7 The National Hurricane Center has called this storm
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1 ‘‘the most deadly hurricane in the Atlantic in over

2 200 years’’. Hurricane Mitch killed 9,860 people and

3 left approximately 3,000,000 people homeless in the

4 region.

5 (2) Hurricane Georges hit the Florida Keys, the

6 islands of the Caribbean, and the Gulf coast of the

7 United States in September of 1998, causing more

8 than $1,000,000,000 in damage. The storm killed

9 250 people.

10 (3) The total direct economic impact of Hurri11 cane Mitch and Hurricane Georges on Honduras,

12 Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador,

13 and Guatemala amounts to $4,200,000,000. Hon14 duras’ losses represent more than 50 percent of its

15 gross domestic product and Nicaragua lost a quarter

16 of its gross domestic product.

17 (4) The United States must continue to play a

18 leading role in responding to the disaster and en19 courage others to contribute to the recovery effort.

20 For example, Taiwan has contributed $50,800,000

21 in assistance for the construction of roads and hous22 ing, the rehabilitation of agricultural production,

23 and the distribution of supplies. Sweden, Spain, and

24 France have sent engineering teams to the region to

25 assess damage to roads, and Japan and the Euro-
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1 pean Union have pledged millions of dollars in as2 sistance. The United States praises the efforts of

3 these and other nations in assisting with the reha4 bilitation of the region.

5 (5) Approximately 356 bridges were destroyed

6 in the region, and 57 percent of the region’s roads

7 were impacted. The United States equivalent of this

8 would be the destruction of 3,900,000 miles of high9 way. These roads must be reconstructed quickly so

10 that farmers can transport their goods to market

11 and much-needed medical supplies can reach rural

12 areas.

13 (6) Hurricane Mitch devastated the agricultural

14 sector in the affected areas of Central America and

15 the Caribbean, particularly the countries of Hon16 duras and Guatemala. An estimated 70 percent of

17 Honduras’ crops were destroyed by Hurricane

18 Mitch, including 90 percent of the country’s banana

19 and grain crops. In Guatemala, an estimated 95 per20 cent of the nation’s banana crop was damaged, 25–

21 60 percent of the corn, bean, coffee, and sugar crops

22 were destroyed, and 30 percent of the cattle was

23 lost.

24 (7) Approximately 50 percent of Central Amer25 ica and the Caribbean’s workforce is employed in ag-
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1 riculture. The devastation to the agriculture sector

2 by Hurricane Mitch has resulted in a widespread

3 shortage of food which is likely to continue in the

4 long term unless the region’s agricultural sector is

5 rehabilitated.

6 (8) Agricultural assistance and training and

7 microcredit assistance will provide much needed aid

8 to the affected areas of Central America and the

9 Caribbean as the areas rebuild their agriculture sec10 tors. The immediate distribution of food aid is im11 portant in the short term, but it is essential that the

12 region be able to return to self-sufficiency in food

13 production so the citizens of Central America and

14 the Caribbean will be able to feed themselves once

15 again.

16 (9) The goal of United States assistance to the

17 region should focus on, in addition to the short-term

18 disaster assistance, long-term solutions for a suc19 cessful economic recovery of Central America and

20 the Caribbean. Successful economic recovery lies in

21 the region’s ability to expand its international trade

22 with important trading partners such as the United

23 States.

24 (10) The Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery

25 Act (referred to in this Act as ‘‘CBERA’’) rep-
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1 resents a permanent commitment by the United

2 States to encourage the development of strong demo3 cratic governments and revitalized economies in

4 neighboring countries in the Caribbean Basin.

5 (11) Thirty-four democratically elected leaders

6 agreed at the 1994 Summit of the Americas to con7 clude negotiation of a Free Trade Area of the Amer8 icas (referred to in this title as ‘‘FTAA’’) by the

9 year 2005.

10 (12) The economic security of the countries in

11 the Caribbean Basin will be enhanced by the comple12 tion of the FTAA.

13 (13) Offering temporary benefits to Caribbean

14 Basin countries will enhance trade between the

15 United States and the Caribbean Basin, encourage

16 development of trade and investment policies that

17 will facilitate participation of Caribbean Basin coun18 tries in the FTAA, preserve the United States com19 mitment to Caribbean Basin beneficiary countries,

20 help further economic development in the Caribbean

21 Basin region, and accelerate the trend toward more

22 open economies in the region.

23 (14) Promotion of the growth of free enterprise

24 and economic opportunity in the Caribbean Basin
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1 will enhance the national security interests of the

2 United States.

3 (15) Increased trade and economic activity be4 tween the United States and Caribbean Basin bene5 ficiary countries will create expanding export oppor6 tunities for United States businesses and workers.

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

8 In this Act:

9 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis10 trator’’ means the Administrator of the United

11 States Agency for International Development.

12 (2) AFFECTED AREAS OF CENTRAL AMERICA

13 AND THE CARIBBEAN.—The term ‘‘affected areas of

14 Central America and the Caribbean’’ means areas in

15 the Central American countries and the Caribbean

16 countries that incurred damage from Hurricane

17 Mitch in October of 1998.

18 (3) CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES.—The term ‘‘Carib19 bean countries’’ means any country listed in section

20 212(b) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery

21 Act (19 U.S.C. 2702(b)) (other than Central Amer22 ican countries).

23 (4) CENTRAL AMERICAN COUNTRIES.—The

24 term ‘‘Central American countries’’ means Belize,
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1 Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,

2 Nicaragua, and Panama.

3 (5) OPIC.—The term ‘‘OPIC’’ means the Over4 seas Private Investment Corporation.

5 TITLE I—UNITED STATES-CARIB6 BEAN TRADE ENHANCEMENT

7 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

8 This title may be cited as the ‘‘United States-Carib9 bean Basin Trade Enhancement Act’’.

10 SEC. 102. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

11 It is the policy of the United States to—

12 (1) offer Caribbean Basin beneficiary countries

13 willing to prepare to become a party to the FTAA,

14 or a comparable trade agreement, tariff treatment

15 essentially equivalent to that accorded to products of

16 NAFTA countries for certain products not currently

17 eligible for duty-free treatment under the CBERA;

18 and

19 (2) seek the participation of Caribbean Basin

20 beneficiary countries in the FTAA or a trade agree21 ment comparable to the FTAA at the earliest pos22 sible date, with the goal of achieving full participa23 tion in such agreement not later than 2005.

24 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.

25 In this title:
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1 (1) BENEFICIARY COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘bene2 ficiary country’’ has the meaning given the term in

3 section 212(a)(1)(A) of the Caribbean Basin Eco4 nomic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2702(a)(1)(A)).

5 (2) NAFTA.—The term ‘‘NAFTA’’ means the

6 North American Free Trade Agreement entered into

7 between the United States, Mexico, and Canada on

8 December 17, 1992.

9 (3) NAFTA COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘NAFTA

10 country’’ means any country with respect to which

11 the NAFTA is in force.

12 SEC. 104. TEMPORARY PROVISIONS TO PROVIDE ADDI13 TIONAL TRADE BENEFITS TO CERTAIN BENE14 FICIARY COUNTRIES.

15 (a) TEMPORARY PROVISIONS.—Section 213(b) of the

16 Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C.

17 2703(b)) is amended to read as follows:

18 ‘‘(b) IMPORT-SENSITIVE ARTICLES.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2)

20 through (4), the duty-free treatment provided under

21 this title does not apply to—

22 ‘‘(A) textile and apparel articles which

23 were not eligible articles for purposes of this

24 title on January 1, 1994, as this title was in ef25 fect on that date;
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1 ‘‘(B) footwear not designated at the time

2 of the effective date of this title as eligible arti3 cles for the purpose of the generalized system

4 of preferences under title V of the Trade Act of

5 1974;

6 ‘‘(C) tuna, prepared or preserved in any

7 manner, in airtight containers;

8 ‘‘(D) petroleum, or any product derived

9 from petroleum, provided for in headings 2709

10 and 2710 of the HTS;

11 ‘‘(E) watches and watch parts (including

12 cases, bracelets, and straps), of whatever type

13 including, but not limited to, mechanical, quartz

14 digital, or quartz analog, if such watches or

15 watch parts contain any material which is the

16 product of any country with respect to which

17 HTS column 2 rates of duty apply; or

18 ‘‘(F) articles to which reduced rates of

19 duty apply under subsection (h).

20 ‘‘(2) TRANSITION PERIOD TREATMENT OF CER21 TAIN TEXTILE AND APPAREL ARTICLES.—

22 ‘‘(A) PRODUCTS COVERED.—During the

23 transition period, the preferential treatment de24 scribed in subparagraph (B) shall apply to the

25 following products:
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1 ‘‘(i) APPAREL ARTICLES ASSEMBLED

2 IN A BENEFICIARY COUNTRY.—Apparel ar3 ticles assembled in a beneficiary country

4 from fabrics wholly formed and cut in the

5 United States, from yarns wholly formed

6 in the United States that are—

7 ‘‘(I) entered under subheading

8 9802.00.80 of the HTS; or

9 ‘‘(II) entered under chapter 61

10 or 62 of the HTS, if, after such as11 sembly, the articles would have quali12 fied for entry under subheading

13 9802.00.80 of the HTS but for the

14 fact that the articles were subjected to

15 stone-washing, enzyme-washing, acid

16 washing, perma-pressing, oven-baking,

17 bleaching, garment-dyeing, or other

18 similar processes.

19 ‘‘(ii) APPAREL ARTICLES CUT AND AS20 SEMBLED IN A BENEFICIARY COUNTRY.—

21 Apparel articles cut in a beneficiary coun22 try from fabric wholly formed in the

23 United States from yarns wholly formed in

24 the United States, if such articles are as-
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1 sembled in such country with thread

2 formed in the United States.

3 ‘‘(iii) HANDLOOMED, HANDMADE, AND

4 FOLKLORE ARTICLES.—A handloomed,

5 handmade, or folklore article of a bene6 ficiary country identified under subpara7 graph (C) that is certified as such by the

8 competent authority of such beneficiary

9 country.

10 ‘‘(iv) TEXTILE LUGGAGE.—Textile

11 luggage—

12 ‘‘(I) assembled in a beneficiary

13 country from fabric wholly formed

14 and cut in the United States, from

15 yarns wholly formed in the United

16 States, that is entered under sub17 heading 9802.00.80 of the HTS; or

18 ‘‘(II) assembled from fabric cut

19 in a beneficiary country from fabric

20 wholly formed in the United States

21 from yarns wholly formed in the

22 United States, if such luggage is as23 sembled in such country with thread

24 formed in the United States.
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1 ‘‘(v) KNIT-TO-SHAPE.—Any textile or

2 apparel article imported into the United

3 States from a beneficiary country that is

4 knit-to-shape in a beneficiary country from

5 yarns wholly formed in the United States.

6 ‘‘(vi) SPECIAL RULE FOR FINDINGS

7 AND TRIMMINGS.—

8 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Textile and

9 apparel articles imported into the

10 United States from a beneficiary

11 country may contain findings and

12 trimmings of non-United States origin

13 incorporated into the assembled prod14 uct if the findings and trimmings do

15 not exceed 25 percent of the cost of

16 the components of the assembled

17 product.

18 ‘‘(II) DEFINITION.—For pur19 poses of this clause, the term ‘findings

20 and trimmings’ includes sewing

21 thread, hooks and eyes, snaps, but22 tons, bow buds, decorative lace trim,

23 elastic strips, zippers (including zipper

24 tapes), and labels. Elastic strips shall

25 be treated as findings and trimmings
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1 only if they are less than 1 inch in

2 width and used in the production of

3 brassieres.

4 ‘‘(III) SUIT LININGS.—Certain

5 non-United States formed, United

6 States cut interlinings for suit jackets

7 and suit-type jackets may be treated

8 as findings and trimmings if the inter9 linings meet the requirements of the

10 amendment to the Special Access Pro11 gram in effect on April 3, 1998.

12 ‘‘(B) PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT.—Ex13 cept as provided in subparagraph (E), during

14 the transition period, the articles described in

15 subparagraph (A) shall enter the United States

16 free of duty and free of any quantitative limita17 tions.

18 ‘‘(C) HANDLOOMED, HANDMADE, AND

19 FOLKLORE ARTICLES DEFINED.—For purposes

20 of subparagraph (A)(iii), the President, after

21 consultation with the beneficiary country con22 cerned, shall determine which, if any, particular

23 textile and apparel goods of the country shall be

24 treated as being handloomed, handmade, or

25 folklore goods of a kind described in section 2.3
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1 (a), (b), or (c) or Appendix 3.1.B.11 of the

2 Annex.

3 ‘‘(D) PENALTIES FOR TRANS4 SHIPMENTS.—

5 ‘‘(i) PENALTIES FOR EXPORTERS.—If

6 the President determines, based on suffi7 cient evidence, that an exporter has en8 gaged in transshipment with respect to

9 textile or apparel products from a bene10 ficiary country, the President shall deny all

11 benefits under this title to such exporter,

12 and any successor of such exporter, for a

13 period of 2 years.

14 ‘‘(ii) PENALTIES FOR COUNTRIES.—

15 Whenever the President finds, based on

16 sufficient evidence, that transshipment has

17 occurred, the President shall request that

18 the beneficiary country or countries

19 through whose territory the transshipment

20 has occurred take all necessary and appro21 priate actions to prevent such trans22 shipment. If the President determines that

23 a country is not taking such actions, the

24 President shall reduce the quantities of

25 textile and apparel articles that may be im-
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1 ported into the United States from such

2 country by the quantity of the trans3 shipped articles multiplied by 3.

4 ‘‘(iii) TRANSSHIPMENT DESCRIBED.—

5 Transshipment within the meaning of this

6 subparagraph has occurred when pref7 erential treatment for a textile or apparel

8 article under subparagraph (B) has been

9 claimed on the basis of material false in10 formation concerning the country of origin,

11 manufacture, processing, or assembly of

12 the article or any of its components. For

13 purposes of this clause, false information is

14 material if disclosure of the true informa15 tion would mean or would have meant that

16 the article is or was ineligible for pref17 erential treatment under subparagraph

18 (B).

19 ‘‘(E) BILATERAL EMERGENCY ACTIONS.—

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The President

21 may take bilateral emergency tariff actions

22 of a kind described in section 4 of the

23 Annex with respect to any apparel article

24 imported from a beneficiary country if the

25 application of tariff treatment under sub-
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1 paragraph (B) to such article results in

2 conditions that would be cause for the tak3 ing of such actions under such section 4

4 with respect to a like article described in

5 the same 8-digit subheading of the HTS

6 that is imported from Mexico.

7 ‘‘(ii) RULES RELATING TO BILATERAL

8 EMERGENCY ACTION.—For purposes of ap9 plying bilateral emergency action under

10 this subparagraph—

11 ‘‘(I) the requirements of para12 graph (5) of section 4 of the Annex

13 (relating to providing compensation)

14 shall not apply;

15 ‘‘(II) the term ‘transition period’

16 in section 4 of the Annex shall have

17 the meaning given that term in para18 graph (4)(C) of this subsection; and

19 ‘‘(III) the requirements to con20 sult specified in section 4 of the

21 Annex shall be treated as satisfied if

22 the President requests consultations

23 with the beneficiary country in ques24 tion and the country does not agree to
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1 consult within the time period speci2 fied under section 4.

3 ‘‘(3) CUSTOMS PROCEDURES.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—

5 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—Any importer

6 that claims preferential treatment under

7 paragraph (2) shall comply with customs

8 procedures similar in all material respects

9 to the requirements of Article 502(1) of

10 the NAFTA as implemented pursuant to

11 United States law, in accordance with reg12 ulations promulgated by the Secretary of

13 the Treasury.

14 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION.—

15 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In order to

16 qualify for the preferential treatment

17 under paragraph (2) and for a Certifi18 cate of Origin to be valid with respect

19 to any article for which such treat20 ment is claimed, there shall be in ef21 fect a determination by the President

22 that each country described in sub23 clause (II)—

24 ‘‘(aa) has implemented and

25 follows, or
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1 ‘‘(bb) is making substantial

2 progress toward implementing

3 and following,

4 procedures and requirements similar

5 in all material respects to the relevant

6 procedures and requirements under

7 chapter 5 of the NAFTA.

8 ‘‘(II) COUNTRY DESCRIBED.—A

9 country is described in this subclause

10 if it is a beneficiary country—

11 ‘‘(aa) from which the article

12 is exported, or

13 ‘‘(bb) in which materials

14 used in the production of the ar15 ticle originate or in which the ar16 ticle or such materials undergo

17 production that contributes to a

18 claim that the article is eligible

19 for preferential treatment.

20 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN.—The Cer21 tificate of Origin that otherwise would be re22 quired pursuant to the provisions of subpara23 graph (A) shall not be required in the case of

24 an article imported under paragraph (2) if such

25 Certificate of Origin would not be required
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1 under Article 503 of the NAFTA (as imple2 mented pursuant to United States law), if the

3 article were imported from Mexico.

4 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For

5 purposes of this subsection—

6 ‘‘(A) ANNEX.—The term ‘the Annex’

7 means Annex 300–B of the NAFTA.

8 ‘‘(B) TRANSITION PERIOD.—The term

9 ‘transition period’ means, with respect to a ben10 eficiary country, the period that begins on Octo11 ber 1, 1999, and ends on September 30,

12 2005.’’.

13 (b) INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION RE14 PORTS.—

15 (1) Section 215(a) of the Caribbean Basin Eco16 nomic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2704(a)) is amended

17 to read as follows:

18 ‘‘(a) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States Inter20 national Trade Commission (in this section referred

21 to as the ‘Commission’) shall submit to Congress

22 and the President biennial reports regarding the eco23 nomic impact of this title on United States indus24 tries and consumers.
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1 ‘‘(2) FIRST REPORT.—The first report shall be

2 submitted not later than September 30 of the year

3 following the year in which the United States-Carib4 bean Basin Trade Enhancement Act is enacted. No

5 report shall be required under this section after Sep6 tember 30, 2006.

7 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF PUERTO RICO, ETC.—For

8 purposes of this section, industries in the Common9 wealth of Puerto Rico and the insular possessions of

10 the United States are considered to be United States

11 industries.’’.

12 (2) Section 206(a) of the Andean Trade Pref13 erence Act (19 U.S.C. 3204(a)) is amended to read

14 as follows:

15 ‘‘(a) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States Inter17 national Trade Commission (in this section referred

18 to as the ‘Commission’) shall submit to Congress

19 and the President biennial reports regarding the eco20 nomic impact of this title on United States indus21 tries and consumers, and, in conjunction with other

22 agencies, the effectiveness of this title in promoting

23 drug-related crop eradication and crop substitution

24 efforts of the beneficiary countries.
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1 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—During the period that this

2 title is in effect, the report required by paragraph

3 (1) shall be submitted on September 30 of each year

4 that the report required by section 215 of the Carib5 bean Basin Economic Recovery Act is not submitted.

6 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF PUERTO RICO, ETC.—For

7 purposes of this section, industries in the Common8 wealth of Puerto Rico and the insular possessions of

9 the United States are considered to be United States

10 industries.’’.

11 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—

13 (A) Section 211 of the Caribbean Basin

14 Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2701) is

15 amended by inserting ‘‘(or other preferential

16 treatment)’’ after ‘‘treatment’’.

17 (B) Section 213(a)(1) of the Caribbean

18 Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C.

19 2703(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and ex20 cept as provided in subsection (b)(2),’’ after

21 ‘‘Tax Reform Act of 1986,’’.

22 (2) DEFINITIONS.—Section 212(a)(1) of the

23 Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C.

24 2702(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the

25 following new subparagraph:
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1 ‘‘(D) The term ‘NAFTA’ means the North

2 American Free Trade Agreement entered into

3 between the United States, Mexico, and Canada

4 on December 17, 1992.’’.

5 SEC. 105. ADEQUATE AND EFFECTIVE PROTECTION FOR IN6 TELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.

7 Section 212(c) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Re8 covery Act (19 U.S.C. 2702(c)) is amended by adding at

9 the end the following flush sentence:

10 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Presi11 dent may determine that a country is not providing ade12 quate and effective protection of intellectual property

13 rights under paragraph (9), even if the country is in com14 pliance with the country’s obligations under the Agree15 ment on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property

16 Rights described in section 101(d)(15) of the Uruguay

17 Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(15)).’’.

18 SEC. 106. DUTY-FREE TREATMENT FOR CERTAIN BEV19 ERAGES MADE WITH CARIBBEAN RUM.

20 Section 213(a) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Re21 covery Act (19 U.S.C. 2703(a)) is amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘chapter’’ and

23 inserting ‘‘title’’; and

24 (2) by adding at the end the following new

25 paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(6) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the duty-free

2 treatment provided under this title shall apply to liqueurs

3 and spirituous beverages produced in the territory of Can4 ada and Mexico from rum if—

5 ‘‘(A) such rum is the growth, product, or manu6 facture of a beneficiary country or of the Virgin Is7 lands of the United States;

8 ‘‘(B) such rum is imported directly from a ben9 eficiary country or the Virgin Islands of the United

10 States into the territory of Canada and Mexico, and

11 such liqueurs and spirituous beverages are imported

12 directly from the territory of Canada and Mexico

13 into the customs territory of the United States;

14 ‘‘(C) when imported into the customs territory

15 of the United States, such liqueurs and spirituous

16 beverages are classified in subheading 2208.90 or

17 2208.40 of the HTS; and

18 ‘‘(D) such rum accounts for at least 90 percent

19 by volume of the alcoholic content of such liqueurs

20 and spirituous beverages.’’.

21 TITLE II—ECONOMIC SUPPORT

22 FUND AND OTHER ASSISTANCE

23 SEC. 201. ESF ASSISTANCE; HABITAT FOR HUMANITY.

24 (a) ESF ASSISTANCE.—There is authorized to be ap25 propriated to the President for fiscal year 1999
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1 $530,000,000 to carry out chapter 4 of part II of the For2 eign Assistance Act of 1961 to be used for roads, agricul3 tural investment, microcredit loans, water sanitation,

4 health clinics, vaccinations, and technical assistance for

5 housing in the affected areas of Central America and the

6 Caribbean.

7 (b) ASSISTANCE FOR HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

8 INTERNATIONAL TO RESPOND TO THE LONG-RANGE

9 CENTRAL AMERICAN RECONSTRUCTION.—Of the amount

10 authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a),

11 $50,000,000 are authorized to be available over a period

12 of 5 years for eligible expenses in connection with develop13 ing new or renovating existing structures to provide de14 cent, safe, and sanitary nonluxury dwellings in the coun15 tries of Central America and the Caribbean for families

16 and persons who otherwise would be unable to afford to

17 purchase a dwelling.

18 (c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro19 priated pursuant to subsection (b) are authorized to re20 main available until expended.

21 SEC. 202. DISASTER ASSISTANCE.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to amounts otherwise

23 available for such purpose, there are authorized to be ap24 propriated to the President for fiscal year 1999

25 $20,000,000 to carry out chapter 9 of part I of the For-
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1 eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2292 et seq.; relat2 ing to international disaster assistance) with respect to af3 fected countries of Central America and the Caribbean.

4 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro5 priated under this section are authorized to remain avail6 able until expended.

7 SEC. 203. DISASTER MITIGATION.

8 (a) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY IMAG9 ING.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the

10 United States Geological Survey $15,000,000 to conduct

11 imaging and analysis in Honduras and Nicaragua to mini12 mize future loss of life and property.

13 (b) DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR.—There is author14 ized to be appropriated to the Department of the Interior

15 $12,000,000 to develop a river monitoring system in Hon16 duras.

17 TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF

18 DEFENSE

19 SEC. 301. DRAWDOWN AUTHORITY.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to di21 rect the drawdown under section 506 of the Foreign As22 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2318) of defense articles

23 from the stocks of the Department of Defense and defense

24 services of the Department of Defense for the purposes
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1 of providing disaster relief and reconstruction to affected

2 areas of Central America and the Caribbean.

3 (b) LIMITATION.—The aggregate value (as defined in

4 section 644(m) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961)

5 of assistance provided under this section may not exceed

6 $75,000,000 in fiscal year 1999.

7 (c) ADDITIONAL EXISTING AUTHORITY.—The aggre8 gate value of the drawdown authority under this section

9 is provided in addition to the aggregate value of drawdown

10 authority otherwise available to the President for fiscal

11 year 1999.

12 SEC. 302. REPLACEMENT OF FUNDS USED FOR DISASTER

13 RELIEF AND RECONSTRUCTION IN CONNEC14 TION WITH HURRICANE MITCH.

15 In addition to amounts authorized to be appropriated

16 under any other law for the Department of Defense for

17 the fiscal year ending on September 30, 1999, funds are

18 hereby authorized to be appropriated for the use of the

19 Armed Forces and other activities and agencies of the De20 partment of Defense for expenses, not otherwise provided

21 for, for operation and maintenance, in amounts as follows:

22 (1) For the New Horizons Program,

23 $70,000,000, of which $56,000,000 is available for

24 use for Central America and the Dominican Repub-
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1 lic, and $14,000,000 is available to pay for the Na2 tional Guard and Reserve.

3 (2) For Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and

4 Civic Aid programs, $50,000,000, to remain avail5 able until September 30, 2000.

6 (3) For the CINC Initiative Fund,

7 $20,000,000.

8 TITLE IV—INTERNATIONAL

9 MONETARY RELIEF

10 SEC. 401. RESCHEDULING AND REDUCTION OF INDEBTED11 NESS.

12 (a) AUTHORITY TO RESCHEDULE DEBT.—The

13 President is authorized to reschedule the repayment of in14 terest owed to the United States (or any agency of the

15 United States) in fiscal years 1999 and 2000 by the Gov16 ernments of Honduras and Nicaragua on indebtedness

17 outstanding as of October 1, 1998.

18 (b) AUTHORITY TO REDUCE DEBT.—

19 (1) AUTHORITY.—The President shall reduce

20 the amount owed to the United States (or any agen21 cy of the United States) by the Government of Hon22 duras that is outstanding as of October 1, 1998, as

23 a result of concessional loans made to Honduras by

24 the United States under part I or chapter 4 of part
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1 II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, or prede2 cessor foreign economic assistance legislation.

3 (2) APPROPRIATIONS REQUIREMENT.—The au4 thority provided by this section may be exercised

5 only in such amounts or to such extent as is pro6 vided in advance by appropriations Acts.

7 (3) CERTAIN PROHIBITIONS INAPPLICABLE.—

8 (A) A reduction of debt pursuant to this

9 section shall not be considered assistance for

10 purposes of any provision of law limiting assist11 ance to a country.

12 (B) The authority of this section may be

13 exercised notwithstanding section 620(r) of the

14 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or section 321

15 of the International Development and Food As16 sistance Act of 1975.

17 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF DEBT REDUCTION.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The debt reduction pursuant

19 to subsection (b) shall be accomplished by the ex20 change of a new obligation for obligations outstand21 ing as of the date specified in subsection (b)(1).

22 (2) EXCHANGE OF OBLIGATIONS.—The Presi23 dent shall notify the agency primarily responsible for

24 administering part I of the Foreign Assistance Act

25 of 1961 of the agreement with Honduras to ex-
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1 change a new obligation for outstanding obligations

2 pursuant to this subsection. At the direction of the

3 President, the old obligations shall be canceled and

4 a new debt obligation for the country shall be estab5 lished, and the agency primarily responsible for ad6 ministering part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of

7 1961 shall make an adjustment in its accounts to re8 flect the debt reduction.

9 (d) CURRENCY OF PAYMENT.—The principal amount

10 of each new obligation issued pursuant to subsection (c)

11 shall be repaid in United States dollars.

12 (e) DEPOSIT OF PAYMENTS.—Principal repayments

13 of new obligations shall be deposited in the United States

14 Government account established for principal repayments

15 of the obligations for which those obligations were ex16 changed.

17 (f) RATE OF INTEREST.—New obligations issued by

18 a beneficiary country pursuant to subsection (c) shall bear

19 interest at concessional rates.

20 SEC. 402. CONTRIBUTION TO A CENTRAL AMERICAN EMER21 GENCY TRUST FUND.

22 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONTRIBUTE.—The United

23 States Governor of the International Bank for Reconstruc24 tion and Development is authorized on behalf of the

25 United States to contribute $25,000,000 to the Central
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1 American Emergency Trust Fund under the Bank, except

2 that any commitment to make such contribution shall be

3 made subject to obtaining the necessary appropriations.

4 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In order

5 to pay for the United States contribution to the Central

6 American Emergency Trust Fund under the International

7 Bank for Reconstruction and Development provided for in

8 subsection (a), there is authorized to be appropriated to

9 the Department of the Treasury $25,000,000, without fis10 cal year limitation.

11 TITLE V—OPIC

12 SEC. 501. PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OF

13 THE OPIC.

14 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en15 courage OPIC to work with United States businesses and

16 other United States entities to invest in the affected areas

17 of Central America and the Caribbean, particularly in

18 ways that will help promote sustainable development.

19 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that OPIC should in accordance with its mandate

21 to foster private investment and enhance the ability of pri22 vate enterprise to make its full contribution to the develop23 ment process, exercise its authority under law to increase

24 efforts to promote and support United States sponsored
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1 private investment in the affected areas of Central Amer2 ica and the Caribbean, including—

3 (1) issuing loans, guaranties, and insurance, to

4 support infrastructure, agriculture, small business,

5 tourism, and other projects as appropriate; and

6 (2) undertaking a special initiative that

7 includes—

8 (A) sending a needs assessment team to

9 the region to determine ways in which OPIC

10 services can best support the essential invest11 ment required to restore infrastructure and

12 other critical services in the countries impacted

13 by the disaster;

14 (B) engaging in an exhaustive outreach

15 program to involve United States companies in

16 the recovery process and exploring potential

17 new projects which will assist Central America

18 and the Caribbean;

19 (C) consulting and coordinating with host

20 country governments to promote private invest21 ment in priority sectors; and

22 (D) utilizing existing equity funds to sup23 port developmental private sector projects.

24 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

25 authorized to be appropriated to OPIC $1,000,000 for fis-
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1 cal year 1999 to cover the administrative costs of the ac2 tivities described in subsection (b).

3 (d) PILOT EQUITY FINANCE PROGRAM.—Section 234

4 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2194)

5 is amended—

6 (1) in subsection (g)—

7 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting, ‘‘begin8 ning on the date of establishment of the revolv9 ing fund described in paragraph (5)’’ after ‘‘4-

10 year pilot program’’;

11 (B) in the heading of paragraph (2), by

12 striking ‘‘SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND CARIB13 BEAN BASIN’’ and inserting ‘‘SUB-SAHARAN AF14 RICA, CARIBBEAN BASIN, AND CENTRAL AMER15 ICA’’; and

16 (C) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘Central

17 American and Caribbean countries affected by

18 Hurricane Mitch and Hurricane Georges,’’ after

19 ‘‘Africa’’; and

20 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) (the second

21 place it appears) as paragraph (5); and

22 (3) in paragraph (5) (as redesignated by para23 graph (2) of this subsection)—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘$10,000,000’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘$250,000,000’’; and
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1 (B) by indenting the paragraph one full

2 measure.

3 TITLE VI—MICROCREDIT AND

4 AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE

5 SEC. 601. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

6 It is the policy of the United States, consistent with

7 title XII of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961,

8 to support the governments of Central American and Car9 ibbean countries, United States and nongovernmental or10 ganizations, universities, businesses, and international

11 agencies, to help ensure the availability of basic nutrition

12 and economic opportunities for individuals in the affected

13 region, through sustainable agriculture and rural develop14 ment.

15 SEC. 602. MICROENTERPRISE ASSISTANCE.

16 (a) BILATERAL ASSISTANCE.—In providing disaster

17 assistance in the aftermath of Hurricanes Mitch and

18 Georges, the Administrator shall, to the extent practicable,

19 use credit and microcredit assistance to rehabilitate agri20 culture production in the affected areas of Central Amer21 ica and the Caribbean. In providing assistance, the Admin22 istrator should use the applied research and technical as23 sistance capabilities of United States land-grant univer24 sities.
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1 (b) MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE.—The Adminis2 trator shall continue to work with other countries, inter3 national organizations (including multilateral development

4 institutions), and entities assisting microenterprises and

5 shall develop a comprehensive and coordinated strategy for

6 providing microenterprise assistance for Central America

7 and the Caribbean.

8 SEC. 603. SUPPORT FOR PRODUCER-OWNED COOPERATIVE

9 MARKETING ASSOCIATIONS.

10 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are—

11 (1) to support producer-owned cooperative pur12 chasing and marketing associations in Central

13 America and the Caribbean;

14 (2) to strengthen the capacity of farmers in

15 Central America and the Caribbean to participate in

16 national and international private markets and to

17 promote rural development in the region;

18 (3) to encourage the efforts of farmers in Cen19 tral America and the Caribbean to increase their

20 productivity and income through improved access to

21 farm supplies, seasonal credit, technical expertise;

22 and

23 (4) to support small businesses in Central

24 America and the Caribbean as they grow beyond

25 microenterprises.
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1 (b) SUPPORT FOR PRODUCER-OWNED COOPERATIVE

2 MARKETING ASSOCIATIONS.—

3 (1) ACTIVITIES.—The Administrator is author4 ized to utilize relevant foreign assistance programs

5 and initiatives for Central America and the Carib6 bean region to support private producer-owned coop7 erative marketing associations in the region, includ8 ing rural business associations that are owned and

9 controlled by farmer shareholders.

10 (2) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—In addition to carry11 ing out paragraph (1), the Administrator is

12 encouraged—

13 (A) to cooperate with governments of for14 eign countries, including governments of politi15 cal subdivisions of such countries, their agricul16 tural research universities, and particularly with

17 United States nongovernmental organizations

18 and United States land-grant universities, that

19 have demonstrated expertise in the development

20 and promotion of successful private producer21 owned cooperative marketing associations; and

22 (B) to facilitate partnerships between

23 United States and Central America and the

24 Caribbean cooperatives and private businesses

25 to enhance the capacity and technical and mar-
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1 keting expertise of business associations in the

2 region.

3 SEC. 604. AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION AC4 TIVITIES.

5 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—The Administrator, in

6 consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and appro7 priate Department of Agriculture agencies, especially the

8 Cooperative State, Research, Education and Extension

9 Service (CSREES), shall develop a comprehensive plan to

10 coordinate and build on the research and extension activi11 ties of United States land-grant universities, international

12 agricultural research centers, and national agricultural re13 search and extension centers in Central America and the

14 Caribbean.

15 (b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The plan shall

16 seek to ensure that—

17 (1) research and extension activities respond to

18 the needs of the agriculture sectors devastated by

19 Hurricane Mitch while developing the potential and

20 skills of researchers, extension agents, farmers, and

21 agribusiness persons in the region so that these indi22 viduals may continue to change others in the future;

23 and
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1 (2) sustainable agricultural methods of farming

2 will be considered together with new technologies in

3 rehabilitating agricultural production in the region.

4 SEC. 605. NONEMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—In providing nonemergency assist6 ance under title II of the Agricultural Trade Development

7 and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.), the

8 Administrator shall ensure that—

9 (1) in planning, decisionmaking, and providing

10 assistance, the Administrator takes into consider11 ation local input and participation directly and

12 through United States and indigenous private and

13 voluntary organizations;

14 (2) each of the nonemergency activities de15 scribed in paragraphs (2) through (6) of section 201

16 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1721), including programs

17 that provide assistance to people of any age group

18 who are otherwise unable to meet their basic food

19 needs (including feeding programs for the disabled,

20 orphaned, elderly, sick and dying), are carried out;

21 and

22 (3) greater flexibility is provided for program

23 and evaluation plans so that such assistance may be

24 developed to meet local needs, as provided for in sec25 tion 202(f) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1722(f )).
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1 (b) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—In providing assist2 ance under the Agriculture Trade Development and As3 sistance Act of 1954, the Secretary of Agriculture and the

4 Administrator shall ensure that commodities are provided

5 in a manner that is consistent with section 403 (a) and

6 (b) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1733 (a) and (b)).

Æ