I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5940 

To remove preferential trade treatment for certain textile articles. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2010 

Mr. ADERHOLT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To remove preferential trade treatment for certain textile 

articles. 

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 ‘‘Save U.S. Manufac5 turing and Jobs Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Congress should enact measures to save and 

9 create jobs in the United States, which has suffered 

10 the worst recession since World War II. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5940 IH

1 (2) United States production of certain sleeping 

2 bags is under immediate threat due to preferential 

3 trade terms afforded to foreign manufacturers under 

4 the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) pro5 gram under the Trade Act of 1974. 

6 (3) Certain sleeping bags imported from coun7 tries eligible for duty-free trade benefits under the 

8 GSP program have increased in a short period of 

9 time, from less than one percent in 2009 to more 

10 than seven percent by April 2010, and will continue 

11 to increase dramatically, given recent trends. 

12 (4) The production of sleeping bags in the 

13 United States supports a domestic supply chain of 

14 inputs and component parts. 

15 (5) Sleeping bags made in beneficiary countries 

16 under the GSP program are made almost entirely 

17 with Chinese components. In most cases, the value 

18 of the sleeping bags is attributable predominantly to 

19 components made in a third country, particularly 

20 China. The sleeping bags are then assembled in 

21 ‘‘free zones’’, meaning that no duty is paid on the 

22 Chinese fabrics and other raw materials entering 

23 those GSP beneficiary countries. Conversely, United 

24 States manufacturers must pay duty on any imVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:22 Jul 30, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5940.IH H5940

emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5940 IH

1 ported components. This creates an unfair advan2 tage for foreign manufacturers. 

3 (6) Continuing preferential treatment for cer4 tain sleeping bags will lead to the loss of domestic 

5 textile jobs during a time of record unemployment. 

6 (7) Congress determined that certain textile 

7 products and other import sensitive items should not 

8 be provided preferential trade treatment under the 

9 GSP program. Sleeping bags are textile products, 

10 and, as such, should be exempt from GSP. 

11 (8) Reinstating the otherwise applicable most12 favored-nation (MFN) tariff rate for sleeping bags 

13 will level the playing field for United States manu14 facturers. 

15 SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT FOR 

16 CERTAIN TEXTILE ARTICLES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any provision of 

18 title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (relating to the general19 ized system of preferences), no product classifiable under 

20 subheading 9404.30.80 of the Harmonized Tariff Sched21 ule of the United States is eligible for duty-free or other 

22 preferential treatment under such title V. 

23 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) applies to goods 

24 entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5940 IH

1 on or after the 15th day after the date of the enactment 

2 of this Act. 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS