II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2950 

To combat illegal deforestation by prohibiting the importation of products 

made wholly or in part of certain commodities produced on land undergoing illegal deforestation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 6, 2021 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. HEINRICH, 

Mr. BOOKER, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. COONS, and Ms. WARREN) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Finance 

A BILL 

To combat illegal deforestation by prohibiting the importation 

of products made wholly or in part of certain commodities produced on land undergoing illegal deforestation, 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fostering Overseas 

5 Rule of law and Environmentally Sound Trade Act of 

6 2021’’ or the ‘‘FOREST Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) According to the Food and Agriculture Or5 ganization of the United Nations, 31 percent of land 

6 on earth is covered in forests, but that area is rap7 idly decreasing. An estimated 1,600,000 square 

8 miles of forest has been converted to other land uses 

9 since 1990, with 42,500 square miles converted annually since 2010. Since the early 2000s, 2 10 ⁄3 of glob11 al forest cover loss has occurred in the tropics and 

12 subtropics. 

13 (2) The expansion of commercial agriculture 

14 into tropical forests is the largest driver of forest 

15 conversion, led by cattle ranching and the cultivation 

16 of soy and palm oil. An estimated 69 percent of such 

17 conversion between 2013 and 2019 was carried out 

18 in contravention of the laws of the country in which 

19 the conversion occurred. 

20 (3) Such illegal deforestation results in the 

21 emission of more than 2.7 gigatons of carbon dioxide 

22 equivalent per year, more than the entire annual fos23 sil fuel emissions of India in 2018. 

24 (4) Limiting global temperatures below 1.5 de25 grees Celsius above preindustrialized levels requires 

26 rapid and significant reductions in deforestation 


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1 globally. Cost-effective greenhouse gas emission miti2 gation from forests and land use can provide roughly 

1 3 ⁄3 of the mitigation required by 2030 to stay below 

4 2 degrees Celsius. 

5 (5) Forests contain most of the world’s terres6 trial biodiversity, providing habitats for 80 percent 

7 of amphibian species, 75 percent of bird species, 68 

8 percent of mammal species, and 60,000 different 

9 species of trees. 

10 (6) Forests are also an important source of live11 lihoods, food, and fuel, with more than 

12 1,600,000,000 people depending directly on forests 

13 for their livelihoods. 

14 (7) The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Plat15 form on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services found 

16 in 2019 that the rate of global species extinction is 

17 accelerating and is now tens to hundreds of times 

18 higher than the average rate over the last 

19 10,000,000 years, threatening the loss of 1,000,000 

20 species, and land-use change is the direct driver with 

21 the largest relative impact on terrestrial ecosystems. 

22 (8) Deforestation in many countries is closely 

23 associated with violations of the rights of indigenous 

24 peoples and local communities and with the exploi25 tation of workers, including through the use forced 


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1 labor and child labor, and in many cases is enabled 

2 by corruption, criminality, and violence against indi3 viduals defending their land rights and environment. 

4 (9) According to the United Nations High Com5 missioner for Human Rights, individuals defending 

6 the rights of communities and indigenous peoples to 

7 their traditional lands and environment are particu8 larly vulnerable to threats and violence and ac9 counted for roughly half of the killings of human 

10 rights defenders documented in 2019. 

11 (10) Congress has taken a number of steps to 

12 address the trade in illegal timber to protect legiti13 mate forestry businesses and reduce illegal logging 

14 globally, such as, in section 8204 of the Food, Con15 servation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 

16 110–246; 122 Stat. 2052), amending the Lacey Act 

17 Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.) to 

18 prohibit the importation of illegal plant products, in19 cluding such products made from illegally logged 

20 wood. 

21 (11) As with illegal timber, agricultural com22 modities produced on illegally deforested land enter 

23 international markets, including the United States, 

24 and compete with commodities produced legally. 


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1 (12) The United States is a significant market 

2 for products made wholly or in part of commodities 

3 such as palm oil, cattle, cocoa, and rubber at risk of 

4 being produced on illegally deforested land. For ex5 ample, in 2020, the United States imported— 

6 (A) processed cowhides and beef products 

7 valued at more than $500,000,000 from Brazil, 

8 where cattle ranching is the largest driver of 

9 deforestation in the Amazon forest and other 

10 biomes, and an estimated 95 percent of all de11 forestation was not in full compliance with ap12 plicable laws; and 

13 (B) crude palm oil and palm kernel oil val14 ued at more than $880,000,000 and 

15 oleochemicals commonly derived from palm oils 

16 valued at more than $390,000,000, from Indo17 nesia, where the expansion of palm oil planta18 tions is the largest driver of deforestation, and 

19 government audits of the sector in recent years 

20 have indicated widespread noncompliance with 

21 applicable laws. 

22 (13) The lack of traceability in the supply 

23 chains for such commodities and the absence of im24 porter due diligence requirements increases the risk 

25 that United States trade is associated with illegal 


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1 deforestation and human rights abuses, preventing 

2 United States consumers from knowing where or 

3 how the goods they purchase were produced and 

4 putting companies that ensure legal sourcing at a 

5 competitive disadvantage. 

6 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that the United States must do more to address ille8 gal deforestation from agricultural commodities, includ9 ing— 

10 (1) avoiding trade that incentivizes foreign gov11 ernments to allow illegal deforestation; 

12 (2) assisting foreign governments in eliminating 

13 illegal deforestation and limiting all deforestation to 

14 the extent practicable; 

15 (3) requiring that goods entering the United 

16 States market be subject to requirements, including 

17 the necessary supply chain traceability, to reduce the 

18 risk of association with illegal deforestation; 

19 (4) preventing the United States financial sys20 tem from being used to launder proceeds from illegal 

21 deforestation; and 

22 (5) providing incentives to suppliers of the Fed23 eral Government to adopt and implement policies to 

24 eliminate goods produced on or from deforested land 

25 from their supply chains. 


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1 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF COMMODITIES 

2 PRODUCED ON ILLEGALLY DEFORESTED 

3 LAND AND PRODUCTS MADE FROM SUCH 

4 COMMODITIES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Tariff Act of 1930 is amend6 ed by inserting after section 527 (19 U.S.C. 1527) the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 527A. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF PRODUCTS 

9 MADE WHOLLY OR IN PART OF COMMODITIES 

10 PRODUCED ON ILLEGALLY DEFORESTED 

11 LAND. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any per13 son to import any product made wholly or in part of a 

14 covered commodity produced from land that undergoes il15 legal deforestation on or after the date of the enactment 

16 of the FOREST Act of 2021. 

17 ‘‘(b) IMPORT DECLARATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date that 

19 is one year after the date of the enactment of the 

20 FOREST Act of 2021, and subject to paragraph 

21 (2), a person may not import a covered product un22 less the person files upon entry a declaration stating 

23 that the person has exercised reasonable care to as24 sess and mitigate the risks that any covered com25 modity used to make the covered product was proVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 Oct 14, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2950.IS S2950

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1 duced from land subject to illegal deforestation on or 

2 after such date of enactment. 

3 ‘‘(2) COVERED COMMODITIES FROM COUNTRIES

4 UNDER AN ACTION PLAN.—On and after the date 

5 that is one year after an action plan applicable to a 

6 foreign country is finalized under subsection (d)(2), 

7 a person may not import a covered product con8 taining any covered commodity produced in the 

9 country and identified in the action plan unless the 

10 person files upon entry a declaration that includes 

11 sufficient information to show— 

12 ‘‘(A)(i) the supply chain and the point of 

13 origin of the covered commodity; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) steps taken to assess and mitigate the 

15 risks that the point of origin was subject to ille16 gal deforestation on or after the date of the en17 actment of the FOREST Act of 2021; or 

18 ‘‘(B)(i) all possible points of origin that 

19 could have contributed to the supply chain of 

20 the covered commodity, if mixing or points of 

21 aggregation exist within the supply chain; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) steps taken to assess and mitigate the 

23 risks that any possible points of origin were 

24 subject to illegal deforestation on or after such 

25 date of enactment. 


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1 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF PRODUCTS SUBJECT TO

2 MULTIPLE IMPORT DECLARATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

3 In the case of a product for which an import dec4 laration is required by this subsection and section 

5 3(f) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 

6 U.S.C. 3372(f)), U.S. Customs and Border Protec7 tion and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

8 Service shall coordinate to limit the administrative 

9 burden, to the extent practicable, for importers. 

10 ‘‘(4) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 90 days after 

11 the date of the FOREST Act of 2021, and as appro12 priate thereafter, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 

13 and Border Protection (in this section referred to as 

14 the ‘Commissioner’)— 

15 ‘‘(A) shall publish guidance on what con16 stitutes reasonable care under paragraph (1) 

17 and sufficient information under paragraph (2), 

18 which may include guidance with respect to spe19 cific commodities, as appropriate; and 

20 ‘‘(B) may, as appropriate, issue guidance 

21 about the potential role of third-party certifi22 cations assisting importers with meeting the re23 quirements of this section. 

24 ‘‘(c) LISTS OF COVERED COMMODITIES AND COV25 ERED PRODUCTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) INITIAL LISTS.—Not later than 30 days 

2 after the date of the enactment of the FOREST Act 

3 of 2021, the United States Trade Representative (in 

4 this section referred to as the ‘Trade Representa5 tive’) shall publish the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) An initial list made up of the fol7 lowing commodities (in this section referred to 

8 as ‘covered commodities’): 

9 ‘‘(i) Palm oil. 

10 ‘‘(ii) Soybeans. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Cocoa. 

12 ‘‘(iv) Cattle. 

13 ‘‘(v) Rubber. 

14 ‘‘(vi) Wood pulp. 

15 ‘‘(B) An initial list made up of the fol16 lowing products made wholly or in part of a 

17 covered commodity (in this section referred to 

18 as ‘covered products’): 

19 ‘‘(i) Palm oil or palm oil products 

20 classifiable under any of the following 

21 headings or subheadings of the HTS: 

‘‘1511 ............................. 2905.17.00 ..................... 3823.11.00 

1513.21.00 ..................... 2905.45.00 ..................... 3823.12.00 

1513.29.00 ..................... 2915.70.01 ..................... 3823.19 

2306.60.00 ..................... 2915.90 .......................... 3823.70. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Soybeans or soybean products 

2 classifiable under heading 1201 or 1507 or 

3 subheading 2304.00.00 of the HTS. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Cocoa or cocoa products classifi5 able under heading 1803 or 1806 or sub6 heading 1801.00.00, 1802.00.00, 

7 1804.00.00, or 1805.00.00 of the HTS. 

8 ‘‘(iv) Cattle or cattle products classifi9 able under any of the following headings or 

10 subheadings of the HTS: 

‘‘0201 ............................. 0206.21.00 ..................... 1602.50 

0202 ............................... 0206.22.00 ..................... 4104 

0206.10.00 ..................... 0206.29.00 ..................... 4107. 

11 ‘‘(v) Rubber or rubber products classi12 fiable under heading 4001 or 4011 of the 

13 HTS. 

14 ‘‘(vi) Pulp or pulp products classifi15 able under any of the following headings or 

16 subheadings of the HTS: 

‘‘4703 ............................. 4804 ............................... 4818 

4801.00.01 ..................... 4805 ............................... 4819 

4802 ............................... 4810 ............................... 4820 

4803.00 .......................... 4811 ............................... 4823. 

17 ‘‘(2) REVIEWS AND UPDATES.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently 

19 than annually, the Trade Representative shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) review the list of covered com21 modities published under subparagraph 


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1 (A) of paragraph (1) and the list of cov2 ered products published under subpara3 graph (B) of that paragraph to assess 

4 whether covered commodities or covered 

5 products, as the case may be, should be 

6 added to or removed from the lists to en7 sure that the scope of the lists is sufficient 

8 to increasingly deter illegal deforestation 

9 and to ensure that no material amount of 

10 a commodity produced from illegally 

11 deforested land enters the United States; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) publish updated lists based on 

14 that review. 

15 ‘‘(B) EFFECT ON IMPORT DECLARA16 TIONS.—Any addition under subparagraph (A) 

17 to the list of covered products under paragraph 

18 (1)(B) shall be subject to the declaration re19 quirement under subsection (b) on and after the 

20 date that is one year after the updated list in21 cluding the addition is published. 

22 ‘‘(3) SOLICITATION OF INPUT.—In updating the 

23 lists under paragraph (1) as required by paragraph 

24 (2), the Trade Representative shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) consult with the Secretary of State 

2 and the Administrator of the United States 

3 Agency for International Development; and 

4 ‘‘(B) coordinate and solicit relevant infor5 mation from— 

6 ‘‘(i) the interagency working group es7 tablished under subsection (f); 

8 ‘‘(ii) the advisory committee estab9 lished under subsection (g); 

10 ‘‘(iii) other Federal, State, and local 

11 agencies in the United States; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) the public. 

13 ‘‘(d) ACTION PLANS FOR COUNTRIES WITHOUT ADE14 QUATE AND EFFECTIVE PROTECTION AGAINST ILLEGAL

15 DEFORESTATION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IDENTIFICATION OF COUNTRIES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

18 days after the date of the enactment of the 

19 FOREST Act of 2021, the Trade Representa20 tive shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) identify foreign countries without 

22 adequate and effective protection against 

23 illegal deforestation caused by the produc24 tion of commodities likely to enter the 

25 United States; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) make available to the public— 

2 ‘‘(I) a list of the countries identi3 fied under clause (i); and 

4 ‘‘(II) data and analysis related to 

5 the considerations described in sub6 paragraph (B). 

7 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In identifying a 

8 foreign country under subparagraph (A), the 

9 Trade Representative shall consider— 

10 ‘‘(i) trends of deforestation and illegal 

11 deforestation in that country; 

12 ‘‘(ii) policies and practices of the gov13 ernment of the country that deny adequate 

14 and effective enforcement against illegal 

15 deforestation; 

16 ‘‘(iii) trends in the capacity and effec17 tiveness of enforcement against illegal de18 forestation by the country; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) the incidence of violence against, 

20 and other violations of the rights of, indig21 enous peoples, local residents, and environ22 mental and human rights defenders in the 

23 country in connection with illegal deforest24 ation. 


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1 ‘‘(C) REASSESSMENT.—Not less frequently 

2 than every 2 years, the Trade Representative 

3 shall assess whether additional foreign countries 

4 should be identified under subparagraph (A). 

5 ‘‘(2) ACTION PLANS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

7 after the date of the enactment of the FOREST 

8 Act of 2021, the Trade Representative shall fi9 nalize an action plan with respect to each for10 eign country identified under paragraph (1). 

11 ‘‘(B) FINALITY.—An action plan developed 

12 under subparagraph (A) shall be considered 

13 final for the purposes of subsection (b)(2) on 

14 the date on which the action plan is posted on 

15 a publicly accessible internet website of the Of16 fice of the United States Trade Representative. 

17 ‘‘(C) INVOLVEMENT OF FOREIGN COUNTRY

18 AND PUBLIC.—The Trade Representative 

19 shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) seek to involve each foreign coun21 try for which the Trade Representative de22 velops an action plan under subparagraph 

23 (A) in the development of the action plan 

24 for that foreign country; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) release a draft of each action 

2 plan for public review and comment before 

3 finalizing the action plan. 

4 ‘‘(D) GOALS OF ACTION PLANS.—The 

5 Trade Representative shall design an action 

6 plan developed under subparagraph (A) with re7 spect to a foreign country to achieve— 

8 ‘‘(i) new laws, rules, enforcement pro9 cedures, or agreements to ensure that ille10 gal deforestation is no longer occurring in 

11 the country; 

12 ‘‘(ii) sufficient capacity to enforce rel13 evant laws; 

14 ‘‘(iii) processes to remedy or adju15 dicate previous illegal deforestation activi16 ties; 

17 ‘‘(iv) comprehensive monitoring and 

18 data sharing related to deforestation and 

19 potential impacts to other ecosystems; 

20 ‘‘(v) transparency and accessibility of 

21 information with respect to land tenure 

22 and land-use decisions; 

23 ‘‘(vi) traceability, transparency, and 

24 data sharing for commodity supply chains; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(vii) in the case of a country that is 

2 a party to the decision of the 21st Con3 ference of Parties of the United Nations 

4 Framework Convention on Climate Change 

5 adopted in Paris December 12, 2015 (com6 monly known as the ‘Paris Agreement’), 

7 the incorporation of— 

8 ‘‘(I) forest protection into the 

9 country’s nationally determined con10 tribution under the Paris Agreement; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(II) deforestation into the coun13 try’s greenhouse gas reporting as re14 quired by the Paris Agreement. 

15 ‘‘(E) BENCHMARKS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Trade Rep17 resentative shall include in each action 

18 plan developed under subparagraph (A) in19 termediate and final benchmarks described 

20 in clause (ii) and a timeline for achieving 

21 those benchmarks. 

22 ‘‘(ii) BENCHMARKS DESCRIBED.— 

23 Benchmarks described in this clause may 

24 be such legislative, institutional, enforce25 ment, or other actions as the Trade RepVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 Oct 14, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2950.IS S2950

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1 resentative determines to be necessary to 

2 demonstrate that the foreign country has 

3 achieved the goals described in subpara4 graph (D). 

5 ‘‘(F) IDENTIFICATION OF COVERED COM6 MODITIES.—The Trade Representative shall 

7 identify in the action plan developed under sub8 paragraph (A) with respect to a foreign country 

9 the specific covered commodities at risk of 

10 being produced on illegally deforested land in 

11 that country that shall be subject to the dec12 laration requirement under subsection (b)(2). 

13 ‘‘(3) PRESIDENTIAL ACTION AUTHORIZED.—On 

14 and after the date on which an action plan released 

15 to the public under paragraph (2)(A) with respect to 

16 a foreign country has been in place for one year, if 

17 the President determines that the country has not 

18 substantially complied with the benchmarks in the 

19 action plan, the President may take appropriate ac20 tion with respect to the country. 

21 ‘‘(4) PETITIONS FOR DETERMINATION OF COM22 PLIANCE.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A foreign country to 

24 which an action plan developed under para25 graph (2)(A) applies may petition the Trade 


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1 Representative to determine that the country 

2 has achieved all benchmarks in the action plan. 

3 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF ADEQUACY AND

4 EFFECTIVENESS OF PROTECTION.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Trade Rep6 resentative determines under subparagraph 

7 (A) that a foreign country to which an ac8 tion plan developed under paragraph 

9 (2)(A) applies has achieved all benchmarks 

10 in the action plan, the Trade Representa11 tive shall determine whether that country, 

12 after achieving those benchmarks, provides 

13 adequate and effective protection against 

14 illegal deforestation. 

15 ‘‘(ii) COUNTRIES THAT FAIL TO PRO16 VIDE ADEQUATE AND EFFECTIVE PROTEC17 TION AGAINST ILLEGAL DEFOREST18 ATION.—If the Trade Representative deter19 mines under clause (i) that a foreign coun20 try described in that clause continues to 

21 fail to provide adequate and effective pro22 tection against illegal deforestation, the 

23 Trade Representative shall develop a new 

24 action plan under paragraph (2)(A) with 

25 respect to the country. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) COUNTRIES THAT PROVIDE ADE2 QUATE AND EFFECTIVE PROTECTION

3 AGAINST ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION.—If 

4 the Trade Representative determines under 

5 clause (i) that a foreign country described 

6 in that clause provides adequate and effec7 tive protection against illegal deforestation, 

8 the action plan developed under paragraph 

9 (2)(A) with respect to the country shall 

10 terminate. 

11 ‘‘(5) CONSULTATIONS.—In identifying foreign 

12 countries under paragraph (1), developing action 

13 plans under paragraph (2), and making determina14 tions under paragraph (4), the Trade Representative 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) consult with the Secretary of State 

17 and the Administrator of the United States 

18 Agency for International Development; and 

19 ‘‘(B) coordinate and solicit relevant infor20 mation from— 

21 ‘‘(i) the interagency working group es22 tablished under subsection (f); 

23 ‘‘(ii) the advisory committee estab24 lished under subsection (g); 

25 ‘‘(iii) relevant committees of Congress; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) other Federal, State, or local 

2 agencies in the United States; 

3 ‘‘(v) civil society, indigenous peoples, 

4 and local communities in countries that 

5 produce covered commodities and covered 

6 products; and 

7 ‘‘(vi) the public. 

8 ‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of this 

11 section and any regulations issued under this 

12 section shall be enforced, as appropriate, by the 

13 Commissioner, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

14 Secretary of the Interior, and the Attorney 

15 General. 

16 ‘‘(B) AUDITS.—The Administrator of the 

17 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, in 

18 collaboration with the heads of other Federal 

19 agencies, shall conduct random audits of im20 porters filing declarations under subsection 

21 (b)(1) to ensure such importers are retaining 

22 the supporting documentation demonstrating 

23 reasonable care was exercised as required by 

24 that subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENTS.—An official specified 

2 in subparagraph (A) may enter into an agree3 ment with any other Federal agency or any 

4 State agency or Indian Tribe under which that 

5 official may use, with or without reimburse6 ment, the personnel, services, and facilities of 

7 the agency or Indian Tribe for the enforcement 

8 of this section and regulations issued under this 

9 section. 

10 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.— 

11 Not later than one year after the date of the 

12 enactment of the FOREST Act of 2021, the 

13 Commissioner shall develop a process to make 

14 information filed with a declaration required by 

15 subsection (b)(2) (other than information con16 sidered to be confidential business information) 

17 available to the public. 

18 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION OF ENFORCEMENT.—The 

19 Commissioner shall share declarations filed under 

20 subsection (b) and other information received by 

21 U.S. Customs and Border Protection with the Trade 

22 Representative, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

23 Secretary of the Interior, the Attorney General, and 

24 the heads of other Federal agencies as needed to en25 sure effective enforcement of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES.— 

2 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact3 ment of the FOREST Act of 2021, the Commis4 sioner shall establish a process for receiving informa5 tion from persons outside U.S. Customs and Border 

6 Protection indicating that a covered commodity may 

7 be being imported in violation of this section. 

8 ‘‘(4) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 2 

9 years after the date of the enactment of the FOR10 EST Act of 2021, and annually thereafter, the Com11 missioner, with input from the heads of relevant 

12 Federal agencies, shall submit to Congress a report 

13 on the enforcement of this section that includes, for 

14 the year preceding submission of the report— 

15 ‘‘(A) the number of audits conducted by 

16 Federal agencies of importers of record to de17 tect potential violations of this section; 

18 ‘‘(B) the number of instances in which in19 formation was submitted to the Commissioner 

20 under paragraph (3); 

21 ‘‘(C) the number of investigations initiated 

22 into possible violations of this section; 

23 ‘‘(D) the number of such investigations ini24 tiated based on information submitted to the 

25 Commissioner under paragraph (3); 


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1 ‘‘(E) the results of cases adjudicated fol2 lowing such an investigation; 

3 ‘‘(F) the number of such investigations 

4 pending as of the date of the report; and 

5 ‘‘(G) an explanation of how information 

6 submitted to the Commissioner under para7 graph (3) was used to prioritize audits and 

8 other checks. 

9 ‘‘(f) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established an 

11 interagency working group to provide advice and rec12 ommendations to the Trade Representative, the 

13 Commissioner, and the heads of other relevant Fed14 eral agencies on the implementation of this section. 

15 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The interagency working 

16 group established under paragraph (1) shall be com17 posed of representatives of— 

18 ‘‘(A) the Department of State; 

19 ‘‘(B) the Department of Agriculture; 

20 ‘‘(C) U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 

21 ‘‘(D) the Office of the United States Trade 

22 Representative; 

23 ‘‘(E) the United States Agency for Inter24 national Development; 

25 ‘‘(F) the Department of the Interior; 


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1 ‘‘(G) the Department of Justice; and 

2 ‘‘(H) such other Federal agencies as the 

3 Trade Representative considers appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The representative of the 

5 Office of the United States Trade Representative 

6 shall serve as the chairperson of the interagency 

7 working group established under paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(g) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Trade Representative 

10 shall establish an advisory committee to provide ad11 vice and recommendations to the Trade Representa12 tive and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies 

13 on the implementation of this section. 

14 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory committee 

15 established under paragraph (1) shall be made up of 

16 12 individuals— 

17 ‘‘(A) 5 of whom shall be representatives of 

18 institutions of higher education or nongovern19 mental organizations with expertise relevant to 

20 international deforestation, associated human 

21 rights abuses, or trade; 

22 ‘‘(B) 5 of whom shall be representatives of 

23 industry; and 

24 ‘‘(C) 2 of whom shall be representatives of 

25 labor organizations. 


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1 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 ‘‘(1) DEFORESTATION.—The term ‘deforest3 ation’ means a loss of natural forest resulting from 

4 the whole or partial conversion of natural forest to— 

5 ‘‘(A) agricultural use or another non-forest 

6 land use; or 

7 ‘‘(B) a tree plantation. 

8 ‘‘(2) HTS.—The term ‘HTS’ means the Har9 monized Tariff Schedule of the United States. 

10 ‘‘(3) ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION.—The term ‘il11 legal deforestation’ means deforestation conducted in 

12 violation of the law (or any action that has the force 

13 and effect of law) of the country in which the defor14 estation is occurring, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) anti-corruption laws; 

16 ‘‘(B) laws relating to land tenure rights; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(C) laws relating to the free, prior, and 

19 informed consent of indigenous peoples and 

20 local communities. 

21 ‘‘(4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

22 has the meaning given the term ‘Indian tribe’ in sec23 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu24 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 


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1 ‘‘(5) NATURAL FOREST.—The term ‘natural 

2 forest’ means a natural arboreal ecosystem that— 

3 ‘‘(A) has a species composition a signifi4 cant percentage of which is native species; and 

5 ‘‘(B) includes— 

6 ‘‘(i) a native tree canopy cover of 

7 more than 10 percent over an area of not 

8 less 0.5 hectares; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) other wooded land with a com10 bined cover of shrubs, bushes, and trees of 

11 more than 10 percent over an area of not 

12 less than 0.5 hectares. 

13 ‘‘(6) POINT OF ORIGIN.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘point of or15 igin’, with respect to a covered commodity, 

16 means the geographical location, identified by 

17 the smallest administrative unit of land possible 

18 (such as a concession, farm, ranch, property, or 

19 other type of public or private land allocation), 

20 where the covered commodity was produced. 

21 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION TO LIVESTOCK.—In the 

22 case of livestock, the term ‘point of origin’ in23 cludes all geographic locations where that ani24 mal existed from birth to slaughter. 

25 ‘‘(7) PRODUCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by 

2 subparagraph (B), the term ‘produce’ means 

3 growing, harvesting, rearing, collecting, extract4 ing, or otherwise producing a commodity. 

5 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘produce’ 

6 does not include refining or manufacturing. 

7 ‘‘(8) SUPPLY CHAIN.—The term ‘supply chain’ 

8 means the end-to-end process for getting commod9 ities or products to the United States, beginning at 

10 the point of origin and including all points until 

11 entry into the United States, including refiners, 

12 manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, or vendors. 

13 ‘‘(9) WHOLLY OR IN PART.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘wholly or in 

15 part’ shall have the meaning given that term in 

16 regulations. 

17 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—Regulations pre18 scribed under subsection (b) of the FOREST 

19 Act of 2021 shall define the term ‘wholly or in 

20 part’ in a manner designed to limit the admin21 istrative burden on the importer of record while 

22 deterring illegal deforestation.’’. 

23 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than one year after the 

24 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of 

25 U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the United 


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1 States Trade Representative shall publish final regulations 

2 for implementing section 527A of the Tariff Act of 1930, 

3 as added by subsection (a). 

4 SEC. 4. FOREIGN ASSISTANCE FOR COUNTRIES COM5 MITTED TO ELIMINATING DEFORESTATION. 

6 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

7 United States to assist foreign governments in eliminating 

8 illegal deforestation and to limit all deforestation to the 

9 extent practicable. 

10 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

12 Treasury of the United States a fund, consisting of 

13 amounts authorized to be appropriated or appro14 priated under paragraph (2) or (3). 

15 (2) DEPOSITS TO THE FUND.—There are au16 thorized to be appropriated, and there are appro17 priated, to the fund established under paragraph (1) 

18 for fiscal year 2022 and each fiscal year thereafter 

19 an amount equivalent to the amount of penalties es20 timated by the Secretary of the Treasury to be col21 lected under section 527A(e) of the Tariff Act of 

22 1930, as added by section 3, in that fiscal year. 

23 (3) ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO24 PRIATIONS.—In addition to amounts authorized to 

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1 thorized to be appropriated to the fund established 

2 under paragraph (1) $30,000,000 to carry out this 

3 section. 

4 (4) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the 

5 fund established under paragraph (1) shall be avail6 able as follows: 

7 (A) $20,000,000 shall be available to the 

8 Secretary of State— 

9 (i) to provide financial and technical 

10 assistance and other resources to the gov11 ernments of countries and implementing 

12 partners that are working to complete the 

13 benchmarks in action plans developed 

14 under section 527A(d) of the Tariff Act of 

15 1930, as added by section 3; 

16 (ii) to provide assistance for inter17 national efforts to combat deforestation; 

18 (iii) to provide assistance to civil soci19 ety, indigenous peoples, and local residents 

20 in foreign countries to engage in efforts to 

21 combat deforestation; and 

22 (iv) to be transferred, notwithstanding 

23 section 3302 of title 31, United States 

24 Code, to the Administrator of the United 

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1 ment and the heads of other appropriate 

2 Federal agencies to provide assistance 

3 under clauses (i), (ii), and (iii). 

4 (B) $8,000,000 shall be available to the 

5 Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 

6 Protection— 

7 (i) to carry out the duties of the Com8 missioner under section 527A of the Tariff 

9 Act of 1930, as added by section 3; and 

10 (ii) to be transferred, notwithstanding 

11 section 3302 of title 31, United States 

12 Code, to the Secretary of Agriculture and 

13 the Secretary of the Interior for moni14 toring, audits, enforcement, and other du15 ties assigned under such section 527A. 

16 (C) $3,000,000 shall be available to the 

17 United States Trade Representative to carry 

18 out the duties of the Trade Representative 

19 under such section 527A. 

20 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘defor21 estation’’ and ‘‘illegal deforestation’’ have the meanings 

22 given those terms in section 527A(h) of the Tariff Act 

23 of 1930, as added by section 3. 


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1 SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION AS SPECI2 FIED UNLAWFUL ACTIVITY. 

3 Section 1956(c)(7)(B) of title 18, United States 

4 Code, is amended— 

5 (1) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and insert6 ing a semicolon; 

7 (2) in clause (vii), by striking the semicolon and 

8 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(viii) any act, engaged in knowingly, 

11 to carry out, enable, or encourage illegal 

12 deforestation (as defined in section 

13 527A(h) of the Tariff Act of 1930).’’. 

14 SEC. 6. PROCUREMENT PREFERENCE FOR COMMODITIES 

15 NOT PRODUCED FROM LAND SUBJECT TO DE16 FORESTATION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 41, United 

18 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘§ 4715. Procurement preference for commodities not 

21 produced from land subject to deforest22 ation 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In comparing proposals for the 

24 purpose of awarding a contract involving any product 

25 made wholly or in part of a covered commodity (as defined 

26 by section 1527A(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930), the head 


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1 of an executive agency shall reduce the bid price by 10 

2 percent if the contractor demonstrates to the satisfaction 

3 of the head of the agency that— 

4 ‘‘(1) the contractor has a policy described in 

5 subsection (b) in effect; and 

6 ‘‘(2) the policy and data on monitoring and en7 forcement of that policy are publicly available and 

8 updated not less frequently than annually. 

9 ‘‘(b) POLICY DESCRIBED.—A policy described in this 

10 subsection is a policy that includes, at a minimum, the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(1) Measures to identify the point-of-origin of 

13 forest-risk commodities and ensure compliance with 

14 the policy when supply chain risks are present. 

15 ‘‘(2) Data detailing the complete list of direct 

16 and indirect suppliers and supply chain traceability 

17 information, including refineries, processing plants, 

18 farms, and plantations, and their respective owners, 

19 parent entities, and farmers, maps, and geolocations, 

20 for each forest-risk commodity found in products 

21 that may be furnished to the Federal Government. 

22 ‘‘(3) Measures taken to ensure that each such 

23 commodity does not contribute to deforestation. 

24 ‘‘(4) Measures taken to ensure the process of 

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1 digenous peoples and local communities directly af2 fected by the production of such commodities. 

3 ‘‘(5) Measures taken to protect biodiversity and 

4 prevent the poaching of wildlife and trade in 

5 bushmeat in all operations and areas adjacent to the 

6 production of such commodities. 

7 ‘‘(6) Measures taken to ensure compliance with 

8 the laws of countries where forest-risk commodities 

9 in the supply chain of the contractor are produced. 

10 ‘‘(c) BUY AMERICAN REQUIREMENTS.—Subsection 

11 (a) does not affect the application of the requirements of 

12 chapter 83 of title 41, United States Code. 

13 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 ‘‘(1) DEFORESTATION; PRODUCE.—The terms 

15 ‘deforestation’ and ‘produce’ have the meanings 

16 given those terms in section 527A(h) of the Tariff 

17 Act of 1930. 

18 ‘‘(2) FOREST-RISK COMMODITY.—The term 

19 ‘forest-risk commodity’ means a commodity at risk 

20 of being produced from land subject to deforest21 ation.’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

23 for such chapter is amended by inserting after the item 

24 relating to section 4714 the following: 


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‘‘4715. Procurement preference for commodities not produced from land subject 

to deforestation.’’. 

Æ 


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