II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 432 

To extend certain trade preferences to certain least-developed countries in 

Asia and the South Pacific, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2013 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To extend certain trade preferences to certain least-developed 

countries in Asia and the South Pacific, 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 ‘‘Asia–South Pacific 

5 Trade Preferences Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) It is in the mutual interest of the United 

9 States and least-developed countries to promote staVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:28 Mar 02, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432

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1 ble and sustainable economic growth and develop2 ment. 

3 (2) Trade and investment are powerful eco4 nomic tools and can be used to reduce poverty and 

5 raise the standard of living in a country. 

6 (3) A country that is open to trade may in7 crease its economic growth. 

8 (4) Trade and investment often lead to employ9 ment opportunities and often help alleviate poverty. 

10 (5) Least-developed countries have a particular 

11 challenge in meeting the economic requirements of 

12 and competitiveness necessary for globalization and 

13 international markets. 

14 (6) The United States has recognized the bene15 fits that international trade provides to least-devel16 oped countries by enacting the Generalized System 

17 of Preferences under title V of the Trade Act of 

18 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) and trade benefits for 

19 developing countries in the Caribbean, Andean, and 

20 sub-Saharan African regions of the world. 

21 (7) Enhanced trade with least-developed Mus22 lim countries, including Afghanistan and Ban23 gladesh, is consistent with other United States ob24 jectives of encouraging a strong private sector and 

25 individual economic empowerment in those countries. 


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1 (8) Offering least-developed countries enhanced 

2 trade preferences will encourage both higher levels of 

3 trade and direct investment in support of positive 

4 economic and political developments throughout the 

5 world. 

6 (9) Encouraging the reciprocal reduction of 

7 trade and investment barriers will enhance the bene8 fits of trade and investment as well as enhance com9 mercial and political ties between the United States 

10 and the countries designated for benefits under this 

11 Act. 

12 (10) Economic opportunity and engagement in 

13 the global trading system together with support for 

14 democratic institutions and a respect for human 

15 rights are mutually reinforcing objectives and key 

16 elements of a policy to confront and defeat global 

17 terrorism. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) ASIA OR SOUTH PACIFIC COUNTRY.—The 

21 term ‘‘Asia or South Pacific country’’ means— 

22 (A) Afghanistan; 

23 (B) Bangladesh; 

24 (C) Bhutan; 

25 (D) Cambodia; 


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1 (E) Kiribati; 

2 (F) Lao People’s Democratic Republic; 

3 (G) Maldives; 

4 (H) Nepal; 

5 (I) Samoa; 

6 (J) Solomon Islands; 

7 (K) Timor-Leste (East Timor); 

8 (L) Tuvalu; 

9 (M) Vanuatu; or 

10 (N) a successor political entity of a coun11 try specified in subparagraphs (A) through (M). 

12 (2) BENEFICIARY ASIA OR SOUTH PACIFIC

13 COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘beneficiary Asia or South 

14 Pacific country’’ means an Asia or South Pacific 

15 country that the President has designated as eligible 

16 for preferential treatment under this Act. 

17 (3) FORMER BENEFICIARY ASIA OR SOUTH PA18 CIFIC COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘former beneficiary Asia 

19 or South Pacific country’’ means a country that, 

20 after being designated as a beneficiary Asia or South 

21 Pacific country under this Act, ceased to be des22 ignated as such a country by reason of its entering 

23 into a free trade agreement with the United States. 


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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO DESIGNATE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to 

3 designate an Asia or South Pacific country as a bene4 ficiary Asia or South Pacific country eligible for pref5 erential treatment under this Act if the President deter6 mines— 

7 (1) that the country meets the requirements set 

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

9 104(a) of the African Growth and Opportunity Act 

10 (19 U.S.C. 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 the country meets the eligibility require15 ments of such section 502. 

16 (b) WITHDRAWAL, SUSPENSION, OR LIMITATION OF

17 PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT; MANDATORY GRADUATION

18 OF COUNTRIES.—The provisions of subsections (d) and 

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

20 2462) shall apply with respect to beneficiary Asia or South 

21 Pacific countries to the same extent and in the same man22 ner as such provisions apply with respect to beneficiary 

23 developing countries under title V of that Act (19 U.S.C. 

24 2461 et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE ARTICLES. 

2 (a) CERTAIN MANUFACTURED OR OTHER ARTI3 CLES.— 

4 (1) DUTY-FREE TREATMENT.—An article de5 scribed in paragraph (2) may enter the customs ter6 ritory of the United States free of duty. 

7 (2) ARTICLES DESCRIBED.—An article is de8 scribed in this paragraph if— 

9 (A) the article is the growth, product, or 

10 manufacture of a beneficiary Asia or South Pa11 cific country; 

12 (B) the article is imported directly from 

13 that country into the customs territory of the 

14 United States; 

15 (C) the article is described in subpara16 graphs (B) through (G) of section 503(b)(1) of 

17 the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2463(b)(1)); 

18 (D) the President determines, after receiv19 ing the advice of the International Trade Com20 mission in accordance with section 503(e) of the 

21 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2463(e)), that 

22 the article is not import-sensitive in the context 

23 of imports from beneficiary Asia or South Pa24 cific countries; and 

25 (E) the article meets the requirements of 

26 paragraph (3). 


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1 (3) RULES OF ORIGIN.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara3 graph (B), an article imported from a bene4 ficiary Asia or South Pacific country meets the 

5 requirements of this paragraph if not less than 

6 35 percent of the appraised value of the article 

7 at the time it is entered is attributable to— 

8 (i) the cost or value of the materials 

9 produced in one or more beneficiary Asia 

10 or South Pacific countries, one or more 

11 former beneficiary Asia or South Pacific 

12 countries, the customs territory of the 

13 United States, or any combination thereof; 

14 and 

15 (ii) the direct costs of processing oper16 ations performed in one or more bene17 ficiary Asia or South Pacific countries, one 

18 or more former beneficiary Asia or South 

19 Pacific countries, or any combination 

20 thereof. 

21 (B) LIMITATION ON UNITED STATES COST

22 OR VALUE OF MATERIALS.—For purposes of 

23 subparagraph (A), the cost or value of mate24 rials produced in, and the direct costs of proc25 essing operations performed in, the customs terVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:28 Mar 02, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432

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1 ritory of the United States and attributed to 

2 the 35-percent requirement under that subpara3 graph may not exceed 15 percent of the ap4 praised value of the article at the time it is en5 tered. 

6 (4) EXCLUSIONS.—An article shall not be treat7 ed as the growth, product, or manufacture of a ben8 eficiary Asia or South Pacific country for purposes 

9 of paragraph (2)(A) by virtue of having merely un10 dergone— 

11 (A) simple combining or packaging oper12 ations; or 

13 (B) mere dilution with water or mere dilu14 tion with another substance that does not mate15 rially alter the characteristics of the article. 

16 (b) TEXTILE AND APPAREL ARTICLES.— 

17 (1) DUTY-FREE TREATMENT.—A textile or ap18 parel article may enter the customs territory of the 

19 United States free of duty if the article— 

20 (A) is imported directly into the customs 

21 territory of the United States from a bene22 ficiary Asia or South Pacific country; and 

23 (B) is described in— 

24 (i) paragraph (1), (2), (4), (5), or (7) 

25 of section 112(b) of the African Growth 


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1 and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3721(b)), 

2 as applied and administered pursuant to 

3 paragraph (2); or 

4 (ii) paragraph (3) or (4). 

5 (2) APPLICATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF

6 SECTION 112 OF THE AFRICAN GROWTH AND OPPOR7 TUNITY ACT.—Section 112 of the African Growth 

8 and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3721) shall be ap9 plied and administered for purposes of this sub10 section— 

11 (A) in subsection (a), by substituting ‘‘a 

12 beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country (as 

13 defined in section 3 of the Asia–South Pacific 

14 Trade Preferences Act)’’ for ‘‘a beneficiary sub15 Saharan African country described in section 

16 506A(c) of the Trade Act of 1974’’; and 

17 (B) in paragraphs (1), (2), (4), (5), and 

18 (7) of subsection (b), by substituting ‘‘bene19 ficiary Asia or South Pacific country’’ and 

20 ‘‘beneficiary Asia or South Pacific countries’’ 

21 for ‘‘beneficiary sub-Saharan African country’’ 

22 and ‘‘beneficiary sub-Saharan African coun23 tries’’, respectively, each place such terms ap24 pear in the text and the paragraph headings. 


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1 (3) TEXTILE AND APPAREL ARTICLES ASSEM2 BLED FROM REGIONAL AND OTHER FABRIC.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—A textile or apparel ar4 ticle described in this paragraph is a textile or 

5 apparel article wholly assembled in one or more 

6 beneficiary Asia or South Pacific countries or 

7 former beneficiary Asia or South Pacific coun8 tries, or both, from— 

9 (i) fabric wholly formed in one or 

10 more beneficiary Asia or South Pacific 

11 countries or former beneficiary Asia or 

12 South Pacific countries, or both, from yarn 

13 originating either in the customs territory 

14 of the United States or one or more bene15 ficiary Asia or South Pacific countries or 

16 former beneficiary Asia or South Pacific 

17 countries, or both; or 

18 (ii) from fabric not formed from yarn, 

19 if such fabric is classifiable under heading 

20 5602 or 5603 of the Harmonized Tariff 

21 Schedule of the United States and wholly 

22 formed and cut in the customs territory of 

23 the United States, in one or more bene24 ficiary Asia or South Pacific countries or 


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1 former beneficiary Asia or South Pacific 

2 countries, or any combination thereof. 

3 (B) EXCEPTION.—Textile and apparel arti4 cles described in this paragraph do not include 

5 textile and apparel articles that are made exclu6 sively from any of the fabrics, fabric compo7 nents formed, or components knit-to-shape de8 scribed in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 

9 112(b) of the African Growth and Opportunity 

10 Act (19 U.S.C. 3721(b)), as applied and admin11 istered pursuant to paragraph (2). 

12 (4) HANDLOOMED, HANDMADE, FOLKLORE AR13 TICLES AND ETHNIC PRINTED FABRICS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—A textile or apparel ar15 ticle is described in this paragraph if the textile 

16 or apparel article is— 

17 (i) a textile or apparel article of a 

18 beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country 

19 or countries; 

20 (ii) certified as handloomed, hand21 made, folklore articles or ethnic printed 

22 fabric by the competent authority of such 

23 beneficiary country or countries; and 

24 (iii) on a list of textile or apparel arti25 cles determined by the President, after 


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1 consultation with the government of the 

2 beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country 

3 or countries concerned, to be treated as 

4 being handloomed, handmade, or folklore 

5 articles or ethnic printed fabrics of such 

6 beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country 

7 or countries. 

8 (B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR

9 ETHNIC PRINTED FABRIC.—For purposes of 

10 subparagraph (A), an ethnic printed fabric of a 

11 beneficiary Asia or South Pacific country or 

12 countries is— 

13 (i) fabric containing a selvedge on 

14 both edges, having a width of less than 50 

15 inches, and classifiable under subheading 

16 5208.52.30 or 5208.52.40 of the Har17 monized Tariff Schedule of the United 

18 States; 

19 (ii) fabric of a type that contains de20 signs, symbols, and other characteristics of 

21 Asian or South Pacific prints— 

22 (I) normally produced for and 

23 sold in indigenous Asian or South Pa24 cific markets; and 


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1 (II) normally sold in Asia or 

2 South Pacific countries by the piece 

3 as opposed to being tailored into gar4 ments before being sold in indigenous 

5 Asian or South Pacific markets; 

6 (iii) fabric printed, including waxed, 

7 in one or more beneficiary Asia or South 

8 Pacific countries; and 

9 (iv) fabric formed in the customs ter10 ritory of the United States, from yarn 

11 formed in the customs territory of the 

12 United States, or from fabric formed in 

13 one or more beneficiary Asia or South Pa14 cific countries from yarn originating in ei15 ther the customs territory of the United 

16 States or one or more beneficiary Asia or 

17 South Pacific countries. 

18 (5) SPECIAL RULE.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Preferential treatment 

20 under this subsection shall be extended through 

21 December 31, 2019, for textile and apparel ar22 ticles that are wholly assembled in one or more 

23 beneficiary Asia or South Pacific countries or 

24 former beneficiary Asia or South Pacific coun25 tries, or both, regardless of the country of oriVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:28 Mar 02, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432

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1 gin of the yarn or fabric used to make such ar2 ticles. 

3 (B) COUNTRY LIMITATIONS.— 

4 (i) SMALL SUPPLIERS.—If, during a 

5 calendar year, imports of textile and ap6 parel articles described in subparagraph 

7 (A) from a beneficiary Asia or South Pa8 cific country are less than 1 percent of the 

9 aggregate square meter equivalents of all 

10 textile and apparel articles imported into 

11 the customs territory of the United States 

12 during that calendar year, such imports 

13 from that country may be increased to an 

14 amount that is equal to not more than 1.5 

15 percent of the aggregate square meter 

16 equivalents of all textile and apparel arti17 cles imported into the customs territory of 

18 the United States during that calendar 

19 year for the succeeding calendar year. 

20 (ii) OTHER SUPPLIERS.—If, during a 

21 calendar year, imports of textile and ap22 parel articles described in subparagraph 

23 (A) from a beneficiary Asia or South Pa24 cific country are not less than 1 percent of 

25 the aggregate square meter equivalents of 


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1 all textile and apparel articles imported 

2 into the customs territory of the United 

3 States during that calendar year, such im4 ports from that country may be increased 

5 by an amount that is equal to not more 

than 1 6 ⁄3 of 1 percent of the aggregate 

7 square meter equivalents of all textile and 

8 apparel articles imported into the customs 

9 territory of the United States during that 

10 calendar year for the succeeding calendar 

11 year. 

12 (iii) AGGREGATE COUNTRY LIMIT.—In 

13 no case may the aggregate quantity of tex14 tile and apparel articles described in sub15 paragraph (A) imported into the customs 

16 territory of the United States during a cal17 endar year under this subsection exceed 

18 the applicable percentage set forth in para19 graph (8)(B) for that calendar year. 

20 (6) SURGE MECHANISM.—The provisions of 

21 subparagraph (B) of section 112(b)(3) of the Afri22 can Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 

23 3721(b)(3)) shall apply to textile and apparel arti24 cles imported from a beneficiary Asia or South Pa25 cific country to which preferential treatment is exVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:28 Mar 02, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432

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1 tended under this subsection to the same extent and 

2 in the same manner that such provisions apply to 

3 textile and apparel articles described in such section 

4 112(b)(3) imported from a beneficiary sub-Saharan 

5 African country. 

6 (7) SPECIAL ELIGIBILITY RULES; PROTECTIONS

7 AGAINST TRANSSHIPMENT.—The provisions of sub8 section (e) of section 112 and section 113 of the Af9 rican Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3721 

10 and 3722) shall apply to textile and apparel articles 

11 imported from a beneficiary Asia or South Pacific 

12 country to which preferential treatment is extended 

13 under this subsection to the same extent and in the 

14 same manner that such provisions apply to textile 

15 and apparel articles imported from beneficiary sub16 Saharan countries to which preferential treatment is 

17 extended under such section 112. 

18 (8) LIMITATIONS ON BENEFITS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Preferential treatment 

20 under this subsection shall be extended in the 

21 1-year period beginning January 1, 2014, and 

22 in each of the 10 succeeding 1-year periods, to 

23 imports of textile and apparel articles described 

24 in this subsection in an amount not to exceed 

25 the applicable percentage, as defined in subVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:28 Mar 02, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432

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1 paragraph (B), of the aggregate square meter 

2 equivalents of all textile and apparel articles im3 ported into the customs territory of the United 

4 States in the most recent 12-month period for 

5 which data are available. 

6 (B) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For pur7 poses of this paragraph, the term ‘‘applicable 

8 percentage’’ means 11 percent for the 1-year 

9 period beginning January 1, 2014, increased in 

10 each of the 10 succeeding 1-year periods by 

11 equal increments, so that for the period begin12 ning January 1, 2024, the applicable percent13 age does not exceed 14 percent. 

14 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 

15 6002(a)(2)(B) of the Africa Investment Incentive Act of 

16 2006 (Public Law 109–432; 120 Stat. 3190) is amended 

17 by inserting ‘‘in paragraph (3),’’ before ‘‘by striking’’. 

18 SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 

19 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

20 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall 

21 report to Congress on the implementation of this Act and 

22 on the trade and investment policy of the United States 

23 with respect to the Asia or South Pacific countries. 


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1 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT. 

2 No preferential treatment extended to a beneficiary 

3 Asia or South Pacific country under this Act shall remain 

4 in effect after December 31, 2024. 

5 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

6 The provisions of this Act shall take effect on Janu7 ary 1, 2014. 

Æ 


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