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106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 922

To prohibit the use of the ‘‘Made in USA’’ label on products of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and to deny such products

duty-free and quota-free treatment.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 29, 1999

Mr. ABRAHAM (for himself and Mr. HOLLINGS) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To prohibit the use of the ‘‘Made in USA’’ label on products

of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

and to deny such products duty-free and quota-free treatment.

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 ‘‘Made in USA Label

5 Defense Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) manufacturing facilities in the Common2 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (in this Act

3 referred to as the ‘‘CNMI’’) are misleading con4 sumers in the United States by promoting their

5 products as ‘‘made in the USA’’ when these prod6 ucts are in fact made in the CNMI by foreign work7 ers using foreign materials under foreign super8 vision;

9 (2) the misuse of United States-origin claims on

10 these products is a fraud and deception on patriotic

11 consumers in the United States, who rely on the

12 truth of these claims and who look for this label in

13 order to support the United States and jobs in this

14 country;

15 (3) these goods, which receive duty-free treat16 ment and which unfairly compete against products

17 actually made in the United States, thereby destroy18 ing the jobs of tens of thousands of workers

19 throughout the United States, are currently being

20 exported by the CNMI to the United States in

21 amounts valued at more than $1,000,000,000;

22 (4) United States taxpayers are being forced to

23 unfairly subsidize these foreign-produced goods in

24 the amount of at least $200,000,000 annually as a
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1 result of the unfair duty-free treatment they now

2 enjoy, unlike other goods produced in Asia;

3 (5) the CNMI has not only refused to control

4 foreign immigration into its territory, but has ag5 gressively encouraged the importation of low-wage

6 foreign workers to the extent that these workers now

7 comprise a majority of CNMI’s population and over

8 90 percent of its private sector work force;

9 (6) in the CNMI, many foreign workers have

10 been required to sign contracts with representatives

11 of the People’s Republic of China which forbid par12 ticipation in religious and political activities and

13 which prohibit workers from dating or marrying

14 while in United States territory; and

15 (7) the CNMI has consistently ignored repeated

16 warnings from the United States Government re17 garding the importation and exploitation of these

18 workers.

19 SEC. 3. RESTRICTIONS ON GOODS IMPORTED FROM

20 NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.

21 The joint resolution entitled ‘‘Joint Resolution to ap22 prove the ‘Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the

23 Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the

24 United States of America’, and for other purposes’’, ap-
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1 proved March 24, 1976 (48 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), is

2 amended by adding at the end the following new sections:

3 ‘‘SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON IDENTIFICATION OF CERTAIN

4 GOODS AS MADE IN THE UNITED STATES.

5 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no

6 product that is made in the Northern Mariana Islands

7 shall have a stamp, tag, label, or other means of identifica8 tion or substitute therefor on or affixed to the product

9 stating ‘Made in the USA’ or otherwise stating or imply10 ing that the product was made or assembled in the United

11 States.

12 ‘‘SEC. 8. DUTY-FREE TREATMENT OF PRODUCTS PRODUCED

13 BY UNITED STATES CITIZENS.

14 ‘‘Notwithstanding General Note 3(a)(iv) of the Har15 monized Tariff Schedule of the United States, any provi16 sion of the covenant set forth in the first section of this

17 joint resolution, or any other provision of law, no product

18 that is made in the Northern Mariana Islands shall be

19 admitted free of duty or quotas into the customs territory

20 of the United States as the product of a United States

21 insular possession.’’.

22 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

23 The amendments made by this Act apply to goods

24 entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption,
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1 on or after the 15th day after the date of enactment of

2 this Act.

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