IV 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 346

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should 

be parity among the countries that are parties to the North American 

Free Trade Agreement with respect to the personal exemption allowance 

for merchandise purchased abroad by returning residents, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2003

Mr. MICHAUD (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA ́, 

Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. OBERSTAR, and Mr. ALLEN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

there should be parity among the countries that are 

parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement 

with respect to the personal exemption allowance for 

merchandise purchased abroad by returning residents, 

and for other purposes.

Whereas the personal exemption allowance is a vital component of trade and tourism; 

Whereas many border communities and retailers depend on 

customers from both sides of the border; 

Whereas a United States citizen traveling to Canada or Mexico for less than 48 hours is exempt from paying duties 
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on the equivalent of $200 worth of merchandise on return to the United States, and for trips over 48 hours 

United States citizens have an exemption of up to $800 

worth of merchandise; 

Whereas a Canadian traveling in the United States is given 

no exemption for trips of less than 24 hours; 

Whereas a Canadian traveling in the United States is allowed 

a duty-free personal exemption allowance equivalent to, in 

Canadian currency—

(1) $50 worth of merchandise, if the trip is over 24 

hours but not over 48 hours; 

(2) $200 worth of merchandise, if the trip is over 

48 hours but not more than 7 days; and 

(3) $750 worth of merchandise, if the trip is for 

over 7 days; 

Whereas Mexico has a 2-tiered personal exemption allowance 

for its returning residents, set at the equivalent of $50 

worth of merchandise for residents returning by car and 

the equivalent of $300 worth of merchandise for residents 

returning by plane; 

Whereas Canadian and Mexican retail businesses have an unfair competitive advantage over many American businesses because of the disparity between the personal exemption allowances among the 3 countries; 

Whereas the State of Maine legislature passed a resolution 

urging action on this matter; 

Whereas the disparity in personal exemption allowances creates a trade barrier by making it difficult for Canadians 

and Mexicans to shop in American-owned stores without 

facing high additional costs; 
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Whereas the United States entered into the North American 

Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico with the 

intent of phasing out tariff barriers among the 3 countries; and 

Whereas it violates the spirit of the North American Free 

Trade Agreement for Canada and Mexico to maintain restrictive personal exemption allowance policies that are 

not reciprocal: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that the United States Trade Representative 

3 and the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with 

4 the Secretary of Commerce, should continue discussions 

5 with officials of the Governments of Canada and Mexico 

6 to achieve parity by harmonizing the personal exemption 

7 allowance structure of the 3 NAFTA countries at or above 

8 United States exemption levels.

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