I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6515 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 30, 2023 

Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 

and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, 

Oversight and Accountability, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To 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 2023’’ or the ‘‘FOREST Act of 2023’’. 


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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) At least 69 percent of tropical forest conver14 sion into commercial agriculture uses between 2013 

15 and 2019 was carried out in contravention of the 

16 laws of the country in which the conversion oc17 curred. 

18 (3) Such illegal forest conversion results in the 

19 emission of more than 2.7 gigatons of carbon dioxide 

20 equivalent per year, more than the entire annual fos21 sil fuel emissions of India in 2018. 

22 (4) The global increase of average temperatures 

23 can be mitigated by natural climate solutions like 

24 rapid and significant reductions in deforestation 

25 globally. Cost-effective greenhouse gas emission miti26 gation from forests and land use can provide roughly 


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1 1 ⁄3 of the mitigation required by 2030 to hold the in2 crease in the global average temperature below 2 de3 grees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. 

4 (5) Forests contain most of the world’s terres5 trial biodiversity, providing habitats for 80 percent 

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

7 percent of mammal species, and 60,000 different 

8 species of trees. 

9 (6) Forests are also an important source of live10 lihoods, food, and fuel, with more than 

11 1,600,000,000 people depending directly on forests 

12 for their livelihoods. 

13 (7) The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Plat14 form on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services found 

15 in 2019 that the rate of global species extinction is 

16 accelerating and is now tens to hundreds of times 

17 higher than the average rate over the last 

18 10,000,000 years, threatening the loss of 1,000,000 

19 species, and illegal land-use change has an over20 whelming relative impact on terrestrial ecosystems. 

21 (8) Illegal deforestation in many countries is 

22 closely associated with violations of the rights of in23 digenous peoples and local communities and with the 

24 exploitation of workers, including through the use of 

25 forced labor and child labor, and in many cases is 


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1 enabled by corruption, criminality, and violence 

2 against individuals defending their land rights. 

3 (9) Congress has taken a number of steps to 

4 address the trade in illegal timber to protect legiti5 mate forestry businesses and reduce illegal logging 

6 globally, such as, in section 8204 of the Food, Con7 servation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 

8 110–246; 122 Stat. 2052), amending the Lacey Act 

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

10 prohibit the importation of illegal plant products, in11 cluding such products made from illegally logged 

12 wood. 

13 (10) As with illegal timber, agricultural com14 modities produced on illegally deforested land enter 

15 international markets, including the United States, 

16 and compete with commodities produced legally. 

17 (11) The United States is a significant market 

18 for products made wholly or in part of commodities 

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

20 being produced on illegally deforested land. For ex21 ample, in 2022, the United States imported— 

22 (A) processed cowhides and beef products 

23 valued at more than $1,100,000,000 from 

24 Brazil, where a recent study estimated 95 perVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jan 23, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6515.IH H6515

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1 cent of deforestation was not in full compliance 

2 with applicable laws; and 

3 (B) crude palm oil and palm kernel oil val4 ued at more than $2,600,000,000 and 

5 oleochemicals commonly derived from palm oils 

6 valued at more than $900,000,000, from Indo7 nesia, where government audits of the sector in 

8 recent years have indicated widespread non9 compliance with applicable laws regarding de10 forestation. 

11 (12) The lack of traceability in the supply 

12 chains for such commodities and the absence of im13 porter due diligence requirements increases the risk 

14 that United States trade is associated with illegal 

15 deforestation and human rights abuses, preventing 

16 United States consumers from knowing where or 

17 how the goods they purchase were produced and 

18 putting companies that ensure legal sourcing at a 

19 competitive disadvantage. 

20 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that the United States must do more to address ille22 gal deforestation, including— 

23 (1) avoiding trade that incentivizes foreign gov24 ernments to allow illegal deforestation; 


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1 (2) assisting foreign governments in eliminating 

2 illegal deforestation and limiting all deforestation to 

3 the extent practicable; 

4 (3) requiring that goods entering the United 

5 States market be subject to requirements, including 

6 the necessary supply chain traceability, to reduce the 

7 risk of association with illegal deforestation; 

8 (4) preventing the United States financial sys9 tem from being used to launder proceeds from illegal 

10 deforestation; and 

11 (5) providing procurement preference incentives 

12 to suppliers of the Federal Government to adopt and 

13 implement policies to eliminate goods produced on 

14 deforested land from their supply chains. 

15 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF COMMODITIES 

16 PRODUCED ON ILLEGALLY DEFORESTED 

17 LAND AND PRODUCTS MADE FROM SUCH 

18 COMMODITIES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Tariff Act of 1930 is amend20 ed by inserting after section 527 (19 U.S.C. 1527) the 

21 following: 


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

2 MADE WHOLLY OR IN PART OF COMMODITIES 

3 PRODUCED ON ILLEGALLY DEFORESTED 

4 LAND. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any per6 son to import any product made wholly or in part of a 

7 covered commodity produced on land that undergoes ille8 gal deforestation on or after the date of the enactment 

9 of the FOREST Act of 2023. 

10 ‘‘(b) IMPORT DECLARATIONS.— 

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

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

13 FOREST Act of 2023, and subject to paragraph 

14 (2), a person may not import a covered product un15 less the person files electronically upon entry a dec16 laration stating that the person has exercised rea17 sonable care to assess and mitigate the risks that 

18 any covered commodity used to make the covered 

19 product was produced on land subject to illegal de20 forestation on or after such date of enactment. 

21 ‘‘(2) COVERED COMMODITIES FROM COUNTRIES

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

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

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

25 a person may not import a covered product con26 taining any covered commodity produced in the 


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1 country and identified in the action plan unless the 

2 person files upon entry a declaration that includes 

3 sufficient information to show— 

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

5 origin of the covered commodity; and 

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

7 risks that the point of origin was subject to ille8 gal deforestation on or after the date of the en9 actment of the FOREST Act of 2023; or 

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

11 could have contributed to the supply chain of 

12 the covered commodity, if mixing or points of 

13 aggregation exist within the supply chain; and 

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

15 risks that any possible points of origin were 

16 subject to illegal deforestation on or after such 

17 date of enactment. 

18 ‘‘(3) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 90 days after 

19 the date of the enactment of the FOREST Act of 

20 2023, and as appropriate thereafter, the Secretary 

21 of Homeland Security— 

22 ‘‘(A) shall publish guidance on what con23 stitutes reasonable care under paragraph (1) 

24 and sufficient information under paragraph (2), 


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1 which may include guidance with respect to spe2 cific commodities, as appropriate; and 

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

4 about the potential role of third-party certifi5 cations assisting importers with meeting the re6 quirements of this section. 

7 ‘‘(4) TRUSTED TRADER PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one 

9 year after the date of the enactment of the 

10 FOREST Act of 2023, the Commissioner of 

11 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (in this 

12 section referred to as the ‘Commissioner’) shall 

13 establish a program to streamline the require14 ments of this section for importers that have 

15 demonstrated— 

16 ‘‘(i) a transparent and credible due 

17 diligence system; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) a track record of compliance, 

19 supply chain traceability and transparency, 

20 and sourcing of products not made wholly 

21 or in part of a covered commodity pro22 duced on land that undergoes illegal defor23 estation. 

24 ‘‘(B) AUDITS.—The Commissioner shall 

25 carry out, and publish the results of, regular, 


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1 random audits of participants in the program 

2 established under subparagraph (A)— 

3 ‘‘(i) to assess the compliance of par4 ticipants with the requirements of the pro5 gram; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) to terminate the participation in 

7 the program of participants found to be in 

8 violation of those requirements. 

9 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICI10 PANTS.—Each participant in the program es11 tablished under subparagraph (A) shall make 

12 up-to-date information on implementation of 

13 due diligence systems and supply chains pub14 licly available to facilitate third-party moni15 toring. 

16 ‘‘(D) CONTINUED COMPLIANCE.—Partici17 pation in the program does not remove any obli18 gation of a participant to comply with the re19 quirements of subsection (a) or paragraph (1) 

20 or (2). 

21 ‘‘(E) CONSULTATIONS.—The Commis22 sioner shall establish the program under sub23 paragraph (A) in consultation with— 

24 ‘‘(i) the interagency working group es25 tablished under subsection (f); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the advisory committee estab2 lished under subsection (g); and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the public. 

4 ‘‘(c) LISTS OF COVERED COMMODITIES AND COV5 ERED PRODUCTS.— 

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

7 after the date of the enactment of the FOREST Act 

8 of 2023, the United States Trade Representative (in 

9 this section referred to as the ‘Trade Representa10 tive’) shall publish the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) An initial list made up of the fol12 lowing commodities (in this section referred to 

13 as ‘covered commodities’): 

14 ‘‘(i) Palm oil. 

15 ‘‘(ii) Soybeans. 

16 ‘‘(iii) Cocoa. 

17 ‘‘(iv) Cattle. 

18 ‘‘(v) Rubber. 

19 ‘‘(B) An initial list made up of the fol20 lowing products made wholly or in part of a 

21 covered commodity (in this section referred to 

22 as ‘covered products’): 

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

24 classifiable under any of the following 

25 headings or subheadings of the HTS: 

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


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

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

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

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 ‘‘(2) REVIEWS AND UPDATES.— 

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

16 than annually, the Trade Representative shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) review the list of covered com18 modities published under subparagraph 

19 (A) of paragraph (1) and the list of cov20 ered products published under subpara21 graph (B) of that paragraph to assess 

22 whether covered commodities or covered 


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1 products, as the case may be, should be 

2 added to or removed from the lists to en3 sure that the scope of the lists is sufficient 

4 to deter illegal deforestation and to ensure 

5 that neither commodities produced in the 

6 United States nor imported commodities 

7 that were not produced on illegally 

8 deforested land are displaced by imported 

9 commodities produced on illegally 

10 deforested land; 

11 ‘‘(ii) consult and solicit relevant infor12 mation from the interagency working 

13 group established under subsection (f) and 

14 the advisory committee established under 

15 subsection (g) regarding the list of covered 

16 commodities published under subparagraph 

17 (A) of paragraph (1) and the list of cov18 ered products published under subpara19 graph (B) of that paragraph; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) publish updated lists based on 

21 the review under clause (i) and the con22 sultation under clause (ii). 

23 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS FROM UPDATES.— 

24 ‘‘(i) ADDITIONS.—The Trade Rep25 resentative may not add under subparaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jan 23, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6515.IH H6515

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1 graph (A) to the list of covered commod2 ities published under paragraph (1)(A) a 

3 commodity for which an import declaration 

4 is required under section 3(f) of the Lacey 

5 Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 

6 3372(f)). 

7 ‘‘(ii) REMOVALS.—The Trade Rep8 resentative may not remove a commodity 

9 under subparagraph (A) from the list of 

10 covered commodities published under para11 graph (1)(A) solely because an import dec12 laration is required under section 3(f) of 

13 the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 

14 U.S.C. 3372(f)) with respect to the com15 modity. 

16 ‘‘(C) EFFECT ON IMPORT DECLARA17 TIONS.—Any addition under subparagraph (A) 

18 to the list of covered products under paragraph 

19 (1)(B) shall be subject to the declaration re20 quirement under subsection (b) on and after the 

21 date that is one year after the updated list in22 cluding the addition is published. 

23 ‘‘(d) ACTION PLANS FOR COUNTRIES WITHOUT ADE24 QUATE AND EFFECTIVE PROTECTION AGAINST ILLEGAL

25 DEFORESTATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IDENTIFICATION OF COUNTRIES.— 

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

3 days after the date of the enactment of the 

4 FOREST Act of 2023, the Trade Representa5 tive shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) identify foreign countries without 

7 adequate and effective protection against 

8 illegal deforestation for the production of 

9 commodities likely to enter the United 

10 States; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) publish in the Federal Register— 

12 ‘‘(I) a list of the countries identi13 fied under clause (i); and 

14 ‘‘(II) data and analysis related to 

15 the considerations described in sub16 paragraph (B). 

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

18 foreign country under subparagraph (A), the 

19 Trade Representative shall consider— 

20 ‘‘(i) trends in illegal deforestation in 

21 that country; 

22 ‘‘(ii) whether policies and practices of 

23 the government of the country provide ade24 quate and effective enforcement against il25 legal deforestation; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) trends in the capacity and effec2 tiveness of enforcement against illegal de3 forestation by the country; and 

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

5 and other violations of the rights of, indig6 enous peoples and local residents in the 

7 country in connection with illegal deforest8 ation. 

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

10 than every 2 years, the Trade Representative 

11 shall assess whether additional foreign countries 

12 should be identified under subparagraph (A). 

13 ‘‘(2) ACTION PLANS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Trade Represent15 ative shall publish in the Federal Register an 

16 action plan with respect to each foreign country 

17 identified under paragraph (1) not later than 2 

18 years after the date on which the country is 

19 identified under that paragraph. 

20 ‘‘(B) INVOLVEMENT OF FOREIGN COUNTRY

21 AND PUBLIC.—The Trade Representative 

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) seek to involve each foreign coun24 try for which the Trade Representative de25 velops an action plan under subparagraph 


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1 (A) in the development of the action plan 

2 for that foreign country; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) publish in the Federal Register a 

4 draft of each action plan for public review 

5 and comment before publishing the action 

6 plan under subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(C) GOALS OF ACTION PLANS.—The 

8 Trade Representative shall design an action 

9 plan developed under subparagraph (A) with re10 spect to a foreign country to achieve adequate 

11 and effective protection against illegal deforest12 ation, including by— 

13 ‘‘(i) instituting policies and practices 

14 to prevent illegal deforestation; 

15 ‘‘(ii) ensuring sufficient capacity to 

16 enforce relevant laws; 

17 ‘‘(iii) establishing processes to adju18 dicate and remedy previous illegal deforest19 ation activities; 

20 ‘‘(iv) ensuring comprehensive moni21 toring, transparency, and data sharing re22 lated to land ownership and use, deforest23 ation, and potential impacts to other eco24 systems; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) promoting traceability, trans2 parency, and data sharing for commodity 

3 supply chains. 

4 ‘‘(D) BENCHMARKS.—The Trade Rep5 resentative shall include in each action plan de6 veloped under subparagraph (A) intermediate 

7 and final benchmarks, including such legisla8 tive, institutional, enforcement, or other actions 

9 as the Trade Representative determines to be 

10 necessary to demonstrate that the foreign coun11 try has achieved the goals described in subpara12 graph (C). 

13 ‘‘(E) IDENTIFICATION OF COVERED COM14 MODITIES.—The Trade Representative shall 

15 identify in the action plan developed under sub16 paragraph (A) with respect to a foreign country 

17 the specific covered commodities at risk of 

18 being produced on illegally deforested land in 

19 that country that shall be subject to the dec20 laration requirement under subsection (b)(2). 

21 ‘‘(3) 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 and therefore provides adequate and effective 

4 protection against illegal deforestation. 

5 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF ADEQUACY AND

6 EFFECTIVENESS OF PROTECTION.— 

7 ‘‘(i) COUNTRIES THAT PROVIDE ADE8 QUATE AND EFFECTIVE PROTECTION

9 AGAINST ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION.—If 

10 the Trade Representative determines under 

11 subparagraph (A) that a foreign country to 

12 which an action plan developed under 

13 paragraph (2)(A) applies has achieved all 

14 benchmarks in the action plan to provide 

15 adequate and effective protection against 

16 illegal deforestation, the action plan shall 

17 terminate. 

18 ‘‘(ii) COUNTRIES THAT FAIL TO PRO19 VIDE ADEQUATE AND EFFECTIVE PROTEC20 TION AGAINST ILLEGAL DEFOREST21 ATION.—If the Trade Representative deter22 mines under subparagraph (A) that a for23 eign country to which an action plan devel24 oped under paragraph (2)(A) applies has 


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1 not achieved all benchmarks in the action 

2 plan, the action plan shall remain in force. 

3 ‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.— 

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

6 section and any regulations issued under this 

7 section shall be enforced, as appropriate, by the 

8 Commissioner, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

9 Secretary of the Interior, and the Attorney 

10 General. 

11 ‘‘(B) AUDITS.—The Commissioner, in col12 laboration with the heads of other Federal 

13 agencies, shall conduct random audits of im14 porters filing declarations under subsection 

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

16 the supporting documentation demonstrating 

17 reasonable care was exercised as required by 

18 that subsection. 

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

20 in subparagraph (A) may enter into an agree21 ment with any other Federal agency or any 

22 State agency or Indian Tribe under which that 

23 official may use, with or without reimbursement 

24 (as determined by the head of the relevant 

25 agency or Indian Tribe), the personnel, services, 


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1 and facilities of the agency or Indian Tribe for 

2 the enforcement of this section and regulations 

3 issued under this section. 

4 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.— 

5 Not later than one year after the date of the 

6 enactment of the FOREST Act of 2023, the 

7 Commissioner shall develop a process to make 

8 information filed with a declaration required by 

9 subsection (b)(2) (other than information con10 sidered to be confidential business information) 

11 available to the public. 

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

13 Commissioner shall share declarations filed under 

14 subsection (b) and other information received by 

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

16 Representative, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

17 Secretary of the Interior, the Attorney General, and 

18 the heads of other Federal agencies as needed to en19 sure effective enforcement of this section. 

20 ‘‘(3) NOTICE TO IMPORTERS.—Before taking 

21 any enforcement action with respect to an importer 

22 suspected of violating subsection (a) or (b), the 

23 Commissioner shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) notify the importer of the suspected 

25 violation; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) provide the importer with an oppor2 tunity to provide additional information to dem3 onstrate that the importer is in compliance with 

4 subsections (a) and (b). 

5 ‘‘(4) INFORMATION FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES.— 

6 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact7 ment of the FOREST Act of 2023, the Commis8 sioner shall establish a process for receiving informa9 tion from persons outside U.S. Customs and Border 

10 Protection indicating that a covered commodity may 

11 be being imported in violation of this section. 

12 ‘‘(5) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 2 

13 years after the date of the enactment of the FOR14 EST Act of 2023, and annually thereafter, the Com15 missioner, with input from the heads of relevant 

16 Federal agencies, shall submit to Congress a report 

17 on the enforcement of this section that includes, for 

18 the year preceding submission of the report— 

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

20 Federal agencies of importers of record to de21 tect potential violations of this section; 

22 ‘‘(B) the number of instances in which in23 formation was submitted to the Commissioner 

24 under paragraph (4); 


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1 ‘‘(C) the number of investigations initiated 

2 into possible violations of this section; 

3 ‘‘(D) the number of notices to importers 

4 under paragraph (3) with respect to such viola5 tions; 

6 ‘‘(E) the number of such investigations ini7 tiated based on information submitted to the 

8 Commissioner under paragraph (4); 

9 ‘‘(F) the results of cases adjudicated fol10 lowing such an investigation; 

11 ‘‘(G) the number of such investigations 

12 pending as of the date of the report; and 

13 ‘‘(H) an explanation of how information 

14 submitted to the Commissioner under para15 graph (4) was used to prioritize audits and 

16 other checks. 

17 ‘‘(f) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.— 

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

19 interagency working group to provide advice and rec20 ommendations to the Trade Representative, the 

21 Commissioner, and the heads of other relevant Fed22 eral agencies on the implementation of this section. 

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

24 group established under paragraph (1) shall be com25 posed of representatives of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Department of State; 

2 ‘‘(B) the Department of Agriculture; 

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

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

5 Representative; 

6 ‘‘(E) the United States Agency for Inter7 national Development; 

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

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

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

11 Trade Representative considers appropriate. 

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

13 Office of the United States Trade Representative 

14 shall serve as the chairperson of the interagency 

15 working group established under paragraph (1). 

16 ‘‘(g) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

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

18 shall establish an advisory committee to provide ad19 vice and recommendations to the Trade Representa20 tive and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies 

21 on the implementation of this section. 

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

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

24 14 individuals— 


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

2 institutions of higher education or nongovern3 mental organizations with expertise relevant to 

4 international deforestation, associated human 

5 rights abuses, or trade; 

6 ‘‘(B) 4 of whom shall be representatives of 

7 the covered commodity industry; 

8 ‘‘(C) 3 of whom shall be representatives of 

9 the covered product industry; and 

10 ‘‘(D) 2 of whom shall be representatives of 

11 labor organizations. 

12 ‘‘(h) CONSISTENCY WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREE13 MENTS.—This section shall be applied in a manner con14 sistent with the obligations of the United States under 

15 international agreements. 

16 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 ‘‘(1) DEFORESTATION.—The term ‘deforest18 ation’ means a loss of natural forest resulting from 

19 the whole or partial conversion of natural forest to— 

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

21 land use; or 

22 ‘‘(B) a tree plantation. 

23 ‘‘(2) HTS.—The term ‘HTS’ means the Har24 monized Tariff Schedule of the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION.—The term ‘il2 legal deforestation’ means deforestation conducted in 

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

4 and effect of law) of the country in which the defor5 estation is occurring, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) anti-corruption laws; 

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

8 and 

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

10 informed consent of indigenous peoples and 

11 local communities. 

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

13 has the meaning given the term ‘Indian tribe’ in sec14 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu15 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

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

17 forest’ means a natural arboreal ecosystem that— 

18 ‘‘(A) has a species composition a signifi19 cant percentage of which is native species; and 

20 ‘‘(B) includes— 

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

22 more than 10 percent over an area of not 

23 less 0.5 hectares; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) other wooded land with a com25 bined cover of shrubs, bushes, and trees of 


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1 more than 10 percent over an area of not 

2 less than 0.5 hectares. 

3 ‘‘(6) POINT OF ORIGIN.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘point of or5 igin’, with respect to a covered commodity, 

6 means the geographical location, identified by 

7 the smallest administrative unit of land reason8 ably possible (such as a concession, farm, 

9 ranch, property, or other type of public or pri10 vate land allocation), where the covered com11 modity was produced. 

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

13 case of livestock, the term ‘point of origin’ in14 cludes all geographic locations where that ani15 mal existed from birth to slaughter. 

16 ‘‘(7) PRODUCE.— 

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

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

19 growing, harvesting, rearing, collecting, extract20 ing, or otherwise producing a commodity. 

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

22 does not include refining or manufacturing. 

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

24 means the end-to-end process for getting commod25 ities or products to the United States, beginning at 


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1 the point of origin and including all points until 

2 entry into the United States, including refiners, 

3 manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, or vendors. 

4 ‘‘(9) WHOLLY OR IN PART.— 

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

6 part’ shall have the meaning given that term in 

7 regulations. 

8 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—Regulations pre9 scribed under section 3(b) of the FOREST Act 

10 of 2023 shall define the term ‘wholly or in part’ 

11 in a manner designed to limit the administra12 tive burden on the importer of record while de13 terring illegal deforestation. The definition of 

14 the term may be commodity specific as need15 ed.’’. 

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

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

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

19 States Trade Representative shall publish final regulations 

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

21 as added by subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION OF LACEY ACT IMPORT DEC2 LARATIONS FOR PULP AND PAPER PROD3 UCTS. 

4 If the requirement for an import declaration under 

5 section 3(f)(1) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 

6 U.S.C. 3372(f)(1)) has not been fully implemented with 

7 respect to products classified under chapters 47 and 48 

8 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 

9 by the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

10 of Agriculture shall— 

11 (1) take such actions as are necessary to ensure 

12 that the requirement is fully enforced with respect to 

13 those products on and after the date that is 210 

14 days after such date of enactment; and 

15 (2) not later than 30 days after such date of 

16 enactment, publish a notice in the Federal Register 

17 that the requirement will be fully enforced with re18 spect to those products on and after the date speci19 fied in paragraph (1). 

20 SEC. 5. FOREIGN ASSISTANCE FOR COUNTRIES COM21 MITTED TO ELIMINATING DEFORESTATION. 

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

23 United States to assist foreign governments in eliminating 

24 illegal deforestation and to limit all deforestation to the 

25 extent practicable. 

26 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.— 


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

2 Treasury of the United States a fund, consisting of 

3 amounts authorized to be appropriated or appro4 priated under paragraph (2). 

5 (2) DEPOSITS TO THE FUND.—There are au6 thorized to be appropriated, and there are appro7 priated, to the fund established under paragraph (1) 

8 for fiscal year 2023 and each fiscal year thereafter 

9 an amount equivalent to the amount of penalties es10 timated by the Secretary of the Treasury to be col11 lected under section 527A(e) of the Tariff Act of 

12 1930, as added by section 3, in that fiscal year. 

13 (3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the 

14 fund established under paragraph (1) shall be avail15 able as follows: 

16 (A) 40 percent shall be available to the 

17 Secretary of State— 

18 (i) to provide financial and technical 

19 assistance and other resources to the gov20 ernments of countries and implementing 

21 partners that are working to complete the 

22 benchmarks in action plans developed 

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

24 1930, as added by section 3; and 


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1 (ii) to be transferred, notwithstanding 

2 section 3302 of title 31, United States 

3 Code, to the Administrator of the United 

4 States Agency for International Develop5 ment and the heads of other appropriate 

6 Federal agencies to provide assistance 

7 under clause (i). 

8 (B) 50 percent shall be available to the 

9 Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 

10 Protection— 

11 (i) to carry out the duties of the Com12 missioner under section 527A of the Tariff 

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

14 (ii) to be transferred, notwithstanding 

15 section 3302 of title 31, United States 

16 Code, to the Secretary of Agriculture and 

17 the Secretary of the Interior for moni18 toring, audits, enforcement, and other du19 ties assigned under such section 527A. 

20 (C) 10 percent shall be available to the 

21 United States Trade Representative to carry 

22 out the duties of the Trade Representative 

23 under such section 527A. 

24 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘defor25 estation’’ and ‘‘illegal deforestation’’ have the meanings 


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1 given those terms in section 527A(i) of the Tariff Act of 

2 1930, as added by section 3. 

3 SEC. 6. INCLUSION OF ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION AS SPECI4 FIED UNLAWFUL ACTIVITY. 

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

6 Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and insert8 ing a semicolon; 

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

10 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

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

13 to carry out, enable, or encourage illegal 

14 deforestation (as defined in section 527A(i) 

15 of the Tariff Act of 1930).’’. 

16 SEC. 7. PROCUREMENT PREFERENCE FOR COMMODITIES 

17 NOT PRODUCED ON LAND SUBJECT TO DE18 FORESTATION. 

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

20 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘§ 4715. Procurement preference for commodities not 

23 produced on land subject to deforestation 

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

25 purpose of awarding a contract involving any product 


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1 made wholly or in part of a covered commodity, the head 

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

3 percent if the contractor demonstrates to the satisfaction 

4 of the head of the agency that— 

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

6 subsection (b) in effect; and 

7 ‘‘(2) the policy and data on monitoring and en8 forcement of that policy are publicly available and 

9 updated not less frequently than annually. 

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

11 subsection is a policy that includes, at a minimum, for 

12 each covered commodity included in a product described 

13 in subsection (a), the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) Measures to identify the point of origin of 

15 the commodity and ensure compliance with the pol16 icy when supply chain risks are present. 

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

18 and indirect suppliers and supply chain traceability 

19 information, including refineries, processing plants, 

20 farms, and plantations, and their respective owners, 

21 parent entities, and farmers, maps, and geolocations, 

22 for the commodity. 

23 ‘‘(3) Measures taken to ensure that the com24 modity does not contribute to deforestation. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Measures taken to ensure compliance with 

2 the laws of any country in which the commodity is 

3 produced. 

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

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

6 chapter 83 of title 41, United States Code. 

7 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘cov8 ered commodity’, ‘deforestation’, ‘point of origin’, and 

9 ‘produce’ have the meanings given those terms in section 

10 527A(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930.’’. 

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

12 for such chapter is amended by inserting after the item 

13 relating to section 4714 the following: 

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

to deforestation.’’. 

Æ 


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