II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3859 

To control the export of electronic waste in order to ensure that such waste 

does not become the source of counterfeit goods that may reenter military 

and civilian electronics supply chains in the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 17, 2022 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To control the export of electronic waste in order to ensure 

that such waste does not become the source of counterfeit goods that may reenter military and civilian electronics supply chains in the United States, 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 ‘‘Secure E-Waste Ex5 port and Recycling Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EXPORT CONTROLS ON ELECTRONIC WASTE. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) COUNTERFEIT MILITARY GOOD.—The term 

2 ‘‘counterfeit military good’’ means a counterfeit good 

3 that— 

4 (A) is falsely identified or labeled as meet5 ing military specifications; or 

6 (B) is intended for use in a military, intel7 ligence, or national security application. 

8 (2) COUNTERFEIT GOOD.—The term ‘‘counter9 feit good’’ means any good on which, or in connec10 tion with which, a counterfeit mark is used. 

11 (3) COUNTERFEIT MARK.—The term ‘‘counter12 feit mark’’ has the meaning given that term in sec13 tion 2320 of title 18, United States Code. 

14 (4) ELECTRONIC WASTE.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘electronic 

16 waste’’ means any of the following used items 

17 containing electronic components, or fragments 

18 thereof, including parts or subcomponents of 

19 such items: 

20 (i) Computers and related equipment. 

21 (ii) Data center equipment (including 

22 servers, network equipment, firewalls, bat23 tery backup systems, and power distribu24 tion units). 


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1 (iii) Mobile computers (including note2 books, netbooks, tablets, and e-book read3 ers). 

4 (iv) Televisions (including portable 

5 televisions and portable DVD players). 

6 (v) Video display devices (including 

7 monitors, digital picture frames, and port8 able video devices). 

9 (vi) Digital imaging devices (including 

10 printers, copiers, facsimile machines, image 

11 scanners, and multifunction machines). 

12 (vii) Consumer electronics— 

13 (I) including digital cameras, 

14 projectors, digital audio players, cel15 lular phones and wireless internet 

16 communication devices, audio equip17 ment, video cassette recorders, DVD 

18 players, video game systems (includ19 ing portable systems), video game 

20 controllers, signal converter boxes, 

21 and cable and satellite receivers; and 

22 (II) not including appliances that 

23 have electronic features. 

24 (viii) Portable global positioning sys25 tem navigation devices. 


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1 (ix) Other used electronic items that 

2 the Secretary determines to be necessary 

3 to carry out this section. 

4 (B) EXEMPT ITEMS.—The term ‘‘electronic 

5 waste’’ does not include— 

6 (i) exempted electronic waste items; 

7 (ii) electronic parts of a motor vehicle; 

8 or 

9 (iii) electronic components, or items 

10 containing electronic components, that are 

11 exported or reexported to an entity under 

12 the owernship or control of the person ex13 porting or reexporting the components or 

14 items, with the intent that the components 

15 or items be used for the purpose for which 

16 the components or items were used in the 

17 United States. 

18 (5) EXEMPTED ELECTRONIC WASTE ITEMS.— 

19 The term ‘‘exempted electronic waste items’’ means 

20 the following: 

21 (A) Tested, working used electronics. 

22 (B) Low-risk counterfeit electronics. 

23 (C) Recalled electronics. 

24 (6) EXPORT ADMINISTRATION REGULATIONS.— 

25 The term ‘‘Export Administration Regulations’’ 


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1 means the regulations set forth in subchapter C of 

2 chapter VII of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, 

3 or successor regulations. 

4 (7) EXPORT; REEXPORT.—The terms ‘‘export’’ 

5 and ‘‘reexport’’ have the meanings given those terms 

6 in section 1742 of the Export Control Reform Act 

7 of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801). 

8 (8) FEEDSTOCK.—The term ‘‘feedstock’’ means 

9 any raw material constituting the principal input for 

10 an industrial process. 

11 (9) LOW-RISK COUNTERFEIT ELECTRONICS.— 

12 The term ‘‘low-risk counterfeit electronics’’ means 

13 any electronic components or items that— 

14 (A) have been subjected to destruction 

15 processes that render the items unusable for 

16 their original purpose; and 

17 (B) are exported as a feedstock, with no 

18 additional mechanical or hand separation re19 quired, in a reclamation process to render the 

20 electronic components or items recycled con21 sistent with the laws of the foreign country per22 forming the reclamation process. 

23 (10) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an 

24 individual or entity. 


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1 (11) RECALLED ELECTRONICS.—The term ‘‘re2 called electronics’’ means any electronic items that— 

3 (A) because of a defect in the design or 

4 manufacture of the items— 

5 (i) are subject to a recall notice issued 

6 by the Consumer Product Safety Commis7 sion or other pertinent Federal authority 

8 and have been received by the manufac9 turer or its agent and repaired by the 

10 manufacturer or its agent to cure the de11 fect; or 

12 (ii) have been recalled by the manu13 facturer as a condition of the validity of 

14 the warranty on the items and have been 

15 repaired by the manufacturer or its agent 

16 to cure the defect; and 

17 (B) are exported by the manufacturer of 

18 the items. 

19 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

20 means the Secretary of Commerce. 

21 (13) TESTED, WORKING USED ELECTRONICS.— 

22 The term ‘‘tested, working used electronics’’ means 

23 any used electronic items that— 

24 (A) are determined, through testing meth25 odologies established by the Secretary, to be— 


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1 (i) fully functional for the purpose for 

2 which the items were designed; or 

3 (ii) in the case of multifunction de4 vices, fully functional for at least one of 

5 the primary purposes for which the items 

6 were designed; 

7 (B) are exported with the intent to reuse 

8 the products as functional products; and 

9 (C) are appropriately packaged for ship10 ment to prevent the items from losing 

11 functionality as a result of damage during ship12 ment. 

13 (14) USED.—The term ‘‘used’’, with respect to 

14 an item, means the item has been operated or em15 ployed. 

16 (b) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsections 

17 (c) and (d), no person may export or reexport electronic 

18 waste or exempted electronic waste items. 

19 (c) EXPORT PROHIBITION EXEMPTIONS.—A person 

20 may export or reexport exempted electronic waste items 

21 if the following requirements are met: 

22 (1) REGISTRATION.—The person is listed on a 

23 publicly available registry maintained by the Sec24 retary of persons authorized to export or reexport 

25 exempted electronic waste. 


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1 (2) PURPOSE.—The exempted electronic waste 

2 items are being exported or reexported for reclama3 tion, recall, or reuse. 

4 (3) FILING OF EXPORT INFORMATION.—For 

5 each export transaction, the person files in the Auto6 mated Export System, in accordance with part 758 

7 of the Export Administration Regulations (or any 

8 corresponding similar regulation or ruling), elec9 tronic export information that contains, at a min10 imum, the following information: 

11 (A) A description of the type and total 

12 quantity of exempted electronic waste items ex13 ported. 

14 (B) The name of each country that will re15 ceive the exempted electronic waste items for 

16 reuse, recall, or recycling. 

17 (C)(i) The name of the ultimate consignee 

18 that will receive the exempted electronic waste 

19 items for reclamation, recall, or reuse; and 

20 (ii) documentation and a declaration that 

21 such consignee has the necessary permits, re22 sources, and competence to manage the exempt23 ed electronic waste items as reusable products 

24 or recyclable feedstock and prevent the release 


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1 of such items as counterfeit goods or counter2 feit military goods. 

3 (4) COMPLIANCE WITH EXISTING LAWS.—The 

4 export or reexport of the exempted electronic waste 

5 items otherwise complies with applicable inter6 national agreements to which the United States is a 

7 party and with other trade and export control laws 

8 of the United States. 

9 (5) EXPORT DECLARATIONS AND REQUIRE10 MENTS.—The exempted electronic waste items are 

11 accompanied by— 

12 (A) documentation of the registration of 

13 the exporter required under paragraph (1); 

14 (B) a declaration signed by an officer or 

15 designated representative of the exporter assert16 ing that the exempted electronic waste items 

17 meet the applicable requirements for exempted 

18 electronic waste items under this section; 

19 (C) a description of the contents and con20 dition of the exempted electronic waste items in 

21 the shipment; 

22 (D) for tested, working used electronics, a 

23 description of the testing methodologies and 

24 test results for each item; 


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1 (E) the name of the ultimate consignee 

2 and declaration of the consignee’s applicable 

3 permits, resources, and competence to process 

4 or use the items as intended; and 

5 (F) with respect to low-risk counterfeit 

6 electronics only and when required by the coun7 try to which the electronics are being exported 

8 or reexported, the written consent of the com9 petent authority of the country to allow the 

10 entry of the electronics into the country. 

11 (d) EXCEPTION FOR PERSONAL USE.—The Sec12 retary may provide for an exception to the requirements 

13 of this section, subject to such recordkeeping requirements 

14 as the Secretary may impose, for the export or reexport 

15 of 5 or fewer items that are or contain electronic compo16 nents intended for personal use. 

17 (e) PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS.—Any person who 

18 violates this section or the regulations issued under sub19 section (f)(2) shall be subject to the same penalties as 

20 those that apply to any person violating any other provi21 sion of the Export Administration Regulations. 

22 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

24 this section shall take effect upon the expiration of 


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1 the 1-year period beginning on the date of the enact2 ment of this Act. 

3 (2) MODIFICATION OF EAR.—The Secretary 

4 shall, not later than the effective date under para5 graph (1), ensure that the Export Administration 

6 Regulations are modified to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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