I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2659 

To authorize preferential treatment for certain imports from Nepal. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 4, 2015 

Mr. CRENSHAW (for himself and Mr. POLIS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To authorize preferential treatment for certain imports from 

Nepal. 

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 ‘‘Nepal Trade Pref5 erences Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that it should be an objec8 tive of the United States to use trade policies and trade 

9 agreements to contribute to the reduction of poverty and 

10 the elimination of hunger. 


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1 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President may authorize the 

3 provision of preferential treatment under this Act to arti4 cles that are imported directly from Nepal into the cus5 toms territory of the United States pursuant to section 

6 4 if the President determines— 

7 (1) that Nepal meets the requirements set forth 

8 in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 104(a) of 

9 the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 

10 3703(a)); and 

11 (2) after taking into account the factors set 

12 forth in paragraphs (1) through (7) of subsection (c) 

13 of section 502 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

14 2462), that Nepal meets the eligibility requirements 

15 of such section 502. 

16 (b) WITHDRAWAL, SUSPENSION, OR LIMITATION OF

17 PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT; MANDATORY GRADUA18 TION.—The provisions of subsections (d) and (e) of sec19 tion 502 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2462) shall 

20 apply with respect to Nepal to the same extent and in the 

21 same manner as such provisions apply with respect to ben22 eficiary developing countries under title V of that Act (19 

23 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 4. ELIGIBLE ARTICLES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—An article described in subsection 

3 (b) may enter the customs territory of the United States 

4 free of duty. 

5 (b) ARTICLES DESCRIBED.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—An article is described in 

7 this subsection if— 

8 (A)(i) the article is the growth, product, or 

9 manufacture of Nepal; and 

10 (ii) in the case of a textile or apparel arti11 cle, Nepal is the country of origin of the article, 

12 as determined under section 102.21 of title 19, 

13 Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

14 day before the date of the enactment of this 

15 Act); 

16 (B) the article is imported directly from 

17 Nepal into the customs territory of the United 

18 States; 

19 (C) the article is classified under any of 

20 the following subheadings of the Harmonized 

21 Tariff Schedule of the United States (as in ef22 fect on the day before the date of the enact23 ment of this Act): 

4202.11.00 ..................... 4202.22.60 ..................... 4202.92.08 

4202.12.20 ..................... 4202.22.70 ..................... 4202.92.15 

4202.12.40 ..................... 4202.22.80 ..................... 4202.92.20 

4202.12.60 ..................... 4202.29.50 ..................... 4202.92.30 

4202.12.80 ..................... 4202.29.90 ..................... 4202.92.45 

4202.21.60 ..................... 4202.31.60 ..................... 4202.92.60 


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4202.21.90 ..................... 4202.32.40 ..................... 4202.92.90 

4202.22.15 ..................... 4202.32.80 ..................... 4202.99.90 

4202.22.40 ..................... 4202.32.95 ..................... 4203.29.50 

4202.22.45 ..................... 4202.91.00 .....................

5701.10.90 ..................... 5702.91.30 ..................... 5703.10.80 

5702.31.20 ..................... 5702.91.40 ..................... 5703.90.00 

5702.49.20 ..................... 5702.92.90 ..................... 5705.00.20 

5702.50.40 ..................... 5702.99.15 .....................

5702.50.59 ..................... 5703.10.20 .....................

6117.10.60 ..................... 6214.20.00 ..................... 6217.10.85 

6117.80.85 ..................... 6214.40.00 ..................... 6301.90.00 

6214.10.10 ..................... 6214.90.00 ..................... 6308.00.00 

6214.10.20 ..................... 6216.00.80 .....................

6504.00.90 ..................... 6505.00.30 ..................... 6505.00.90 

6505.00.08 ..................... 6505.00.40 ..................... 6506.99.30 

6505.00.15 ..................... 6505.00.50 ..................... 6506.99.60 

6505.00.20 ..................... 6505.00.60 .....................

6505.00.25 ..................... 6505.00.80 .....................

1 (D) the President determines, after receiv2 ing the advice of the United States Inter3 national Trade Commission in accordance with 

4 section 503(e) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 

5 U.S.C. 2463(e)), that the article is not import6 sensitive in the context of imports from Nepal; 

7 and 

8 (E) subject to paragraph (3), the sum of 

9 the cost or value of the materials produced in, 

10 and the direct costs of processing operations 

11 performed in, Nepal or the customs territory of 

12 the United States is not less than 35 percent of 

13 the appraised value of the article at the time it 

14 is entered. 

15 (2) EXCLUSIONS.—An article shall not be treat16 ed as the growth, product, or manufacture of Nepal 


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1 for purposes of paragraph (1)(A)(i) by virtue of hav2 ing merely undergone— 

3 (A) simple combining or packaging oper4 ations; or 

5 (B) mere dilution with water or mere dilu6 tion with another substance that does not mate7 rially alter the characteristics of the article. 

8 (3) LIMITATION ON UNITED STATES COST.— 

9 For purposes of paragraph (1)(E), the cost or value 

10 of materials produced in, and the direct costs of 

11 processing operations performed in, the customs ter12 ritory of the United States and attributed to the 35- 

13 percent requirement under that paragraph may not 

14 exceed 15 percent of the appraised value of the arti15 cle at the time it is entered. 

16 (c) VERIFICATION WITH RESPECT TO TRANS17 SHIPMENT FOR TEXTILE AND APPAREL ARTICLES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than April 1, July 

19 1, October 1, and January 1 of each year, the Com20 missioner responsible for U.S. Customs and Border 

21 Protection shall verify that textile and apparel arti22 cles imported from Nepal to which preferential treat23 ment is extended under this Act are not being un24 lawfully transshipped into the United States. 


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1 (2) REPORT TO PRESIDENT.—If the Commis2 sioner determines pursuant to paragraph (1) that 

3 textile and apparel articles imported from Nepal to 

4 which preferential treatment is extended under this 

5 Act are being unlawfully transshipped into the 

6 United States, the Commissioner shall report that 

7 determination to the President. 

8 SEC. 5. TRADE FACILITATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find10 ings: 

11 (1) As a land-locked least-developed country, 

12 Nepal has severe challenges reaching markets and 

13 developing capacity to export goods. As of 2015, ex14 ports from Nepal are approximately $800,000,000 

15 per year, with India the major market at 

16 $450,000,000 annually. The United States imports 

17 about $80,000,000 worth of goods from Nepal, or 

18 10 percent of the total goods exported from Nepal. 

19 (2) The World Bank has found evidence that 

20 the overall export competitiveness of Nepal has been 

21 declining since 2005. Indices compiled by the World 

22 Bank and the Organization for Economic Co-oper23 ation and Development found that export costs in 

24 Nepal are high with respect to both air cargo and 

25 container shipments relative to other low-income 


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1 countries. Such indices also identify particular weak2 nesses in Nepal with respect to automation of cus3 toms and other trade functions, involvement of local 

4 exporters and importers in preparing regulations 

5 and trade rules, and export finance. 

6 (3) Implementation by Nepal of the Agreement 

7 on Trade Facilitation of the World Trade Organiza8 tion could directly address some of the weaknesses 

9 described in paragraph (2). 

10 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRADE FACILITATION AND

11 CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM.—Not later than 180 days 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

13 shall, in consultation with the Government of Nepal, es14 tablish a trade facilitation and capacity building program 

15 for Nepal— 

16 (1) to enhance the central export promotion 

17 agency of Nepal to support successful exporters and 

18 to build awareness among potential exporters in 

19 Nepal about opportunities abroad and ways to man20 age trade documentation and regulations in the 

21 United States and other countries; 

22 (2) to provide export finance training for finan23 cial institutions in Nepal and the Government of 

24 Nepal; 


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1 (3) to assist the Government of Nepal in main2 taining publication of all trade regulations, forms for 

3 exporters and importers, tax and tariff rates, and 

4 other documentation relating to exporting goods on 

5 the Internet and developing a robust public-private 

6 dialogue, through its National Trade Facilitation 

7 Committee, for Nepal to identify timelines for imple8 mentation of key reforms and solutions, as provided 

9 for under the Agreement on Trade Facilitation of 

10 the World Trade Organization; and 

11 (4) to increase access to guides for importers 

12 and exporters on the Internet, including rules and 

13 documentation for United States tariff preference 

14 programs. 

15 SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 

16 Not later than one year after the date of the enact17 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President 

18 shall monitor, review, and report to Congress on the imple19 mentation of this Act, the compliance of Nepal with sec20 tion 3(a), and the trade and investment policy of the 

21 United States with respect to Nepal. 

22 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT. 

23 No preferential treatment extended under this Act 

24 shall remain in effect after December 31, 2025. 


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1 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 The provisions of this Act shall take effect on Janu3 ary 1, 2016. 

Æ 


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