I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2735 
To make certain footwear eligible for duty-free treatment under the 
Generalized System of Preferences, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 25, 2017 
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska (for himself and Mr. BLUMENAUER) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To make certain footwear eligible for duty-free treatment 
under the Generalized System of Preferences, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘GSP Footwear Act 
of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The Generalized System of Preferences 
under title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
2461 et seq.) was enacted to promote economic de-
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velopment in developing and least-developed coun-
tries by expanding trade opportunities. 
(2) Articles referred to as footwear and classi-
fied under chapter 64 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States may not be designated 
as eligible articles for purposes of the Generalized 
System of Preferences. 
(3) Global trade and manufacturing dynamics 
have evolved since the enactment of the Generalized 
System of Preferences in 1974, and many footwear 
articles may no longer be import-sensitive to indus-
tries in the United States. Companies in the United 
States benefit when sourcing options are increased, 
which is key goal of the Generalized System of Pref-
erences. 
(4) By removing certain footwear articles from 
the list of articles excluded from eligibility under the 
Generalized System of Preferences, Congress is not 
changing rates in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States, but instead is allowing those arti-
cles access to the annual review process under the 
Generalized System of Preferences, which relies on 
investigations and recommendations from the inde-
pendent United States International Trade Commis-
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sion, among other agencies of the United States 
Government. 
(5) As of 2015, 66 of the 124 countries des-
ignated as beneficiary developing countries under the 
Generalized System of Preferences export to the 
United States articles classified under Chapter 64 of 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States. Fifteen of those countries have been des-
ignated as least-developed beneficiary developing 
countries for purposes of the Generalized System of 
Preferences. 
(6) Countries designated as beneficiary devel-
oping countries under the Generalized System of 
Preferences account for only 6.7 percent of imports 
of footwear into the United States. 
(7) The provision of duty-free treatment under 
the Generalized System of Preferences for certain 
footwear articles imported into the United States 
may result in a shift in the production of those arti-
cles to countries designated as beneficiary developing 
countries or least-developed beneficiary developing 
countries under the Generalized System of Pref-
erences, and thereby promote economic growth in 
such countries. 
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SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is— 
(1) to provide duty-free treatment for certain 
footwear in a manner that provides as broad a ben-
efit to all participating countries as possible; and 
(2) to give all countries eligible for such duty- 
free treatment an opportunity to manufacture that 
footwear if a review determines that such duty-free 
treatment is warranted. 
SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN FOOTWEAR FOR DUTY- 
FREE TREATMENT UNDER THE GENERAL-
IZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES. 
Section 503(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
2463(b)) is amended— 
(1) by designating the second paragraph (5) as 
paragraph (6); 
(2) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘paragraphs (4) and (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘para-
graphs (4) and (6)’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘in 
paragraph (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘in paragraphs 
(6) and (7)’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
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upper, and except footwear designed to be 
protective that is incomplete in its condi-
tion as imported), valued at more than $25 
per pair, whose height from the bottom of 
the outer sole to the top of the upper does 
not exceed 10 inches (25.4 centimeters), 
designed to be worn in lieu of, but not 
over, other footwear as a protection 
against water, oil, grease, or chemicals or 
cold or inclement weather where such pro-
tection includes protection against water 
that is imparted by the use of a laminated 
textile fabric (provided for in subheading 
6402.91.50 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States). 
‘‘(ii) Footwear for persons other than 
men or women, with outer soles and up-
pers of rubber or plastics (except vulcan-
ized footwear and footwear with waterproof 
molded or vulcanized bottoms, including 
bottoms comprising an outer sole and all 
or part of the upper, and except footwear 
designed to be protective that is incomplete 
in its condition as imported), valued at 
more than $16 per pair, designed to be 
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worn in lieu of, but not over, other foot-
wear as a protection against water, oil, 
grease, or chemicals or cold or inclement 
weather where such protection includes 
protection against water that is imparted 
by the use of a laminated textile fabric 
(provided for in subheading 6402.91.50 of 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States). 
‘‘(iii) Footwear for persons other than 
men or women, with outer soles and up-
pers of rubber or plastics (other than 
sports footwear described in Subheading 
Note 1 to chapter 64 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States) that 
is designed for outdoor activities, such as 
hiking shoes, trekking shoes, running 
shoes, and trail running shoes, which pro-
vides protection against water that is im-
parted by the use of a laminated textile 
fabric, with or without insulation, valued 
at more than $16 per pair (provided for in 
subheading 6402.91.50 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States). 
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‘‘(iv) Footwear for men or for women, 
with outer soles and uppers of rubber or 
plastics (other than sports footwear de-
scribed in Subheading Note 1 to chapter 
64 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States) that is designed for out-
door activities, such as hiking shoes, trek-
king shoes, running shoes and trail run-
ning shoes, valued at more than $25 per 
pair, which provides protection against 
water that is imparted by the use of a lam-
inated textile fabric, with or without insu-
lation, whose height from the bottom is at 
least 6 inches (15.35 centimeters) and does 
not exceed 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) 
(provided for in subheading 6402.91.50 of 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States). 
‘‘(v) Footwear for men or for women, 
with outer soles and uppers of rubber or 
plastics (except vulcanized footwear and 
footwear with waterproof molded bottoms 
or vulcanized bottoms, including bottoms 
comprising an outer sole and all or part of 
the upper, and except footwear designed to 
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be protective that is incomplete in its con-
dition as imported), not covering the ankle 
or having a protective metal-toe cap, val-
ued at more than $25 per pair, designed to 
be worn in lieu of, but not over, other foot-
wear as a protection against water, oil, 
grease, or chemicals or cold or inclement 
weather where such protection includes 
protection against water that is imparted 
by the use of a laminated textile fabric 
(provided for in subheading 6402.99.33 of 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States). 
‘‘(vi) Footwear for persons other than 
men or women, with outer soles and up-
pers of rubber or plastics (except vulcan-
ized footwear and footwear with waterproof 
molded bottoms or vulcanized bottoms, in-
cluding bottoms comprising an outer sole 
and all or part of the upper, and except 
footwear designed to be protective that is 
incomplete in its condition as imported), 
not covering the ankle or having a protec-
tive metal-toe cap, valued at more than 
$16 per pair, designed to be worn in lieu 
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of, but not over, other footwear as a pro-
tection against water, oil, grease, or chemi-
cals or cold or inclement weather where 
such protection includes protection against 
water that is imparted by the use of a lam-
inated textile fabric (provided for in sub-
heading 6402.99.33 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States). 
‘‘(vii) Sports footwear for men or for 
women with outer soles of rubber or plas-
tics and uppers of textile, valued at more 
than $20 per pair, other than ski boots, 
cross country ski footwear, and snowboard 
boots, designed to be worn in lieu of, but 
not over, other footwear as a protection 
against water, oil, grease, or chemicals or 
cold or inclement weather where such pro-
tection is imparted by the use of a lami-
nated textile and with openings in the bot-
tom or side of the sole, or covered openings 
in the upper above the sole unit, or a com-
bination thereof, designed to permit mois-
ture vapor transport from under the foot 
(provided for in subheading 6404.11.90 of 
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the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States). 
‘‘(viii) Golf footwear for men, youths, 
or boys with outer soles of rubber, plastics, 
leather, or composition leather and uppers 
of leather, not pigskin or welt, designed to 
be worn in lieu of, but not over, other foot-
wear as a protection against water, oil, 
grease, or chemicals or cold or inclement 
weather where such protection is imparted 
by the use of a laminated textile and with 
openings in the bottom or side of the sole, 
or covered openings in the upper above the 
sole unit, or a combination thereof, de-
signed to permit moisture vapor transport 
from under the foot (as provided for under 
subheading 6403.19.30 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States). 
‘‘(ix) Footwear for men, with uppers 
of leather other than of pigskin (other than 
work footwear, tennis shoes, basketball 
shoes, gym shoes, training shoes and the 
like, and other than slip-on footwear), cov-
ering the ankle, valued at more than $27 
per pair, designed to be worn in lieu of, 
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but not over, other footwear as a protec-
tion against water, oil, grease, or chemicals 
or cold or inclement weather where such 
protection 
includes 
protection 
against 
water that is imparted by the use of a lam-
inated textile fabric (provided for in sub-
heading 6403.91.60 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States). 
‘‘(x) Footwear for women, with uppers 
of leather other than of pigskin (other than 
work footwear, tennis shoes, basketball 
shoes, gym shoes, training shoes and the 
like, and other than slip-on footwear), cov-
ering the ankle, valued at more than $27 
per pair, designed to be worn in lieu of, 
but not over, other footwear as a protec-
tion against water, oil, grease, or chemicals 
or cold or inclement weather where such 
protection 
includes 
protection 
against 
water that is imparted by the use of a lam-
inated textile fabric (provided for in sub-
heading 6403.91.90 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States). 
‘‘(xi) Footwear for persons other than 
men or women, with uppers of leather 
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ketball shoes, gym shoes, training shoes 
and the like, and other than slip-on foot-
wear), not covering the ankle, valued at 
more than $18 per pair, designed to be 
worn in lieu of, but not over, other foot-
wear as a protection against water, oil, 
grease, or chemicals or cold or inclement 
weather where such protection includes 
protection against water that is imparted 
by the use of a laminated textile fabric 
(provided for in subheading 6403.99.90 of 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States). 
‘‘(xv) Footwear for men or for women, 
with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather, 
or composition leather and uppers of tex-
tile materials (except vulcanized footwear 
and footwear with waterproof molded or 
vulcanized 
bottoms, 
including 
bottoms 
comprising an outer sole and all or part of 
the upper, work footwear, and except foot-
wear designed to be protective that is in-
complete in its condition as imported), val-
ued at more than $25 per pair, not cov-
ering the ankle, designed to be worn in lieu 
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of, but not over, other footwear as a pro-
tection against water, oil, grease, or chemi-
cals or cold or inclement weather where 
such protection includes protection against 
water that is imparted by the use of a lam-
inated textile fabric (provided for in sub-
heading 6404.19.20 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States). 
‘‘(xvi) Footwear for men or for 
women, with outer soles of rubber, plastics, 
leather, or composition leather and uppers 
of textile materials (except vulcanized foot-
wear and footwear with waterproof molded 
or vulcanized bottoms, including bottoms 
comprising an outer sole and all or part of 
the upper, work footwear, and except foot-
wear designed to be protective that is in-
complete in its condition as imported), val-
ued at more than $25 per pair, whose 
height from the bottom of the outer sole to 
the top of the upper does not exceed 10 
inches (25.4 centimeters), designed to be 
worn in lieu of, but not over, other foot-
wear as a protection against water, oil, 
grease, or chemicals or cold or inclement 
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weather where such protection includes 
protection against water that is imparted 
by the use of a laminated textile fabric 
(provided for in subheading 6404.19.20 of 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States). 
‘‘(xvii) Footwear for persons other 
than men or women, with outer soles of 
rubber, plastics, leather, or composition 
leather and uppers of textile materials (ex-
cept vulcanized footwear and footwear with 
waterproof molded or vulcanized bottoms, 
including bottoms comprising an outer sole 
and all or part of the upper, work foot-
wear, and except footwear designed to be 
protective that is incomplete in its condi-
tion as imported), valued at more than $16 
per pair, designed to be worn in lieu of, 
but not over, other footwear as a protec-
tion against water, oil, grease, or chemicals 
or cold or inclement weather where such 
protection 
includes 
protection 
against 
water that is imparted by the use of a lam-
inated textile fabric (provided for in sub-
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heading 6404.19.20 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States).’’. 
SEC. 5. STUDIES ON STATE OF DOMESTIC FOOTWEAR IN-
DUSTRY AND PROBABLE EFFECT OF EX-
PANDED DUTY-FREE TREATMENT OF FOOT-
WEAR ARTICLES. 
(a) STUDY ON STATE OF DOMESTIC FOOTWEAR IN-
DUSTRY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall include 
in each of the first 6 annual reports under section 
504 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2464) sub-
mitted after the date of the enactment of this Act 
the results of a study on the state of the footwear 
manufacturing industry in the United States during 
the year preceding the submission of the report. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—Each study required under 
paragraph (1) shall focus on changes to the cat-
egories of footwear manufactured in the United 
States during the year covered by the study for the 
purpose of accurately determining which footwear 
categories are manufactured in the United States. 
(b) STUDY ON PROBABLE ECONOMIC EFFECT OF 
EXPANDED DUTY-FREE TREATMENT.—To support ef-
forts by manufacturers in the United States to expand 
production of footwear, in conducting any study of the 
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probable economic effect of providing duty-free treatment 
under title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 
et seq.) to footwear articles, the United States Trade Rep-
resentative shall request that the United States Inter-
national Trade Commission not only examine current do-
mestic production of like or directly competitive articles, 
but also identify any articles for which domestic produc-
tion at a commercial level is likely to occur within the next 
year. 
Æ 
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