II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1739

To provide duty-free treatment for certain tuna. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 16, 2003

Mr. KERRY (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL

To provide duty-free treatment for certain tuna.

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 ‘‘Fair Trade in Pouch 

5 Tuna Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) a strong relationship between the United 

9 States and the member nations of the Association of 

10 Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a force for 

11 stability and development in the Southeast Asian re-
2

•S 1739 IS 

1 gion and international trade is a critical element of 

2 this relationship; 

3 (2) many of the ASEAN nations are important 

4 friends and allies in the ongoing fight against world 

5 terrorism; 

6 (3) ASEAN nations provide a large portion of 

7 the processed tuna imported into the United States; 

8 (4) such imports are subject to tariffs whereas 

9 tuna in airtight pouches imported from the bene10 ficiary countries of the Andean Trade Promotion 

11 and Drug Eradication Act (Andean) are not; 

12 (5) as a result, tuna in airtight pouches im13 ported from ASEAN member nations is placed at a 

14 competitive disadvantage that has harmed the econo15 mies of these nations and that will ultimately harm 

16 consumers in the United States; and 

17 (6) eliminating tariffs on pouch tuna imported 

18 from the ASEAN countries in a quantity equal to 

19 the quantity imported from Andean countries will re20 store fair trade in the pouch tuna market and will 

21 benefit United States consumers and the economies 

22 of the ASEAN nations. 
3

•S 1739 IS 

1 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DUTY TREATMENT FOR CERTAIN 

2 TUNA. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 99 of 

4 the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States is 

5 amended by inserting in numerical sequence the following 

6 new heading:

‘‘ 9902.16.04 Tuna in foil or other flexible containers weighing with their contents 

not more than 6.8 kg each (provided 

for in subheading 1604.30.91) .......... No 

change 

Free, if 

the product of a 

country 

listed in 

U.S. Note 

17 to this 

subchapter 

and in the 

quantity 

provided 

for in 

such Note 

No 

change 

On or before 

12/31/2006 ’’. 

7 (b) ASEAN COUNTRIES.—The U.S. Notes to sub8 chapter II of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Sched9 ule of the United States are amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘17. For purposes of heading 9902.16.04: 

12 ‘‘(a) Products of the following countries are eli13 gible to enter at the special rate of duty set forth 

14 in such subheading: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, 

15 Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, 

16 and Vietnam. The term does not include the Union 

17 of Myanmar. 

18 ‘‘(b) The aggregate quantity of tuna entered 

19 under subheading 9902.16.04 during any calendar 
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•S 1739 IS 

1 year shall be limited to the quantity of tuna entered 

2 free of duty from an ATPDEA beneficiary country 

3 (as defined in section 204(b)(6)) of the Andean 

4 Trade Preference Act (19 U.S.C. 3202(b)(6)) and 

5 designated in Note 11(d) of this Schedule) during 

6 the preceding calendar year pursuant to section 

7 204(b)(4) of the Andean Trade Preference Act (19 

8 U.S.C. 3202(b)(4)).’’. 

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section apply to goods entered, or withdrawn from 

11 warehouse, for consumption on or after the 15th day after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act.

Æ