I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1504
To ensure the competitiveness of the United States textile and apparel
industry.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 30, 1997
Mr. SPRATT (for himself, Mr. COBLE, Mr. BAESLER, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr.
BISHOP, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. BURR of North Carolina, Mr.
CARDIN, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. COMBEST,
Mr. CRAMER, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. EVANS, Mr. EV-
ERETT, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GOODE, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. HEFNER, Mr.
HILLEARY, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina,
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JONES, Mr. LEVIN, Mr.
LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. MANTON, Mr. MCHALE, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mrs.
MYRICK, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. OLVER, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. RILEY, Ms.
SLAUGHTER, Mr. SOLOMON, Mr. SPENCE, Mr. TAYLOR of North Caro-
lina, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. TORRES, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. TRAFICANT, and Mr.
WELLER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To ensure the competitiveness of the United States textile
and apparel industry.
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 ‘‘Customs Enforcement
and Market Access Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) the textile and apparel industry is a key
part of the United States manufacturing base and
the third largest manufacturing complex in the Unit-
ed States economy;
(2) textile and apparel facilities are often lo-
cated in economically sensitive regions;
(3) the industry has demonstrated an ability to
compete in the global economy where market access
is available;
(4) the domestic textile and apparel industry
has committed significant resources to be competi-
tive and productive;
(5) workers in the industry make the highest
quality textile and apparel goods in the world and
are the world’s most productive;
(6) the industry is preparing to compete in the
world market without the protection of import
quotas authorized by the Multifiber Arrangement;
(7) United States trade policy should be ori-
ented toward expanding exports and ensuring that
United States trade laws are vigorously enforced;
and
(8) the Committee for the Implementation of
Textile Agreements, the Office of Textiles, Apparel,
and Consumer Goods of the Department of Com-
merce, and the Ambassador for Textiles and Apparel
in the Office of the United States Trade Representa-
tive—
(A) play central and indispensable roles in
administering the laws governing trade in tex-
tile and apparel goods;
(B) have diligently carried out laws en-
acted by the Congress and under powers dele-
gated to them by the President; and
(C) have acted in accordance with United
States and international law.
SEC. 3. MARKET ACCESS FOR UNITED STATES TEXTILE AND
APPAREL PRODUCTS.
(a) ACCESSION PROTOCOLS.—In any case in which
the United States negotiates a protocol for accession of
a country to the World Trade Organization, the Trade
Representative shall negotiate for inclusion in that proto-
col, in addition to any other provisions, the following:
(1) Provisions for effective market access to
that country’s domestic markets for textile and ap-
parel products of the United States.
(2) Provisions allowing the suspension or rev-
ocation of the provisions of paragraph 14 (relating
to increasing import levels based on growth rates) of
the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing if the Unit-
ed States determines that the country has failed to
enforce the provisions referred to in paragraph (1).
(b) BILATERAL AGREEMENTS WITH COUNTRIES
THAT ARE NOT WTO MEMBERS.—In any case in which
the United States negotiates a textile agreement with a
country that is not a WTO member, including any agree-
ment negotiated pursuant to section 5 of this Act, the
Trade Representative shall negotiate for inclusion in that
textile agreement, in addition to any other provisions, the
following:
(1) Provisions for effective market access to
that country’s domestic markets for textile and ap-
parel products of the United States.
(2) Provisions that recognize the right of the
United States to pursue remedies under United
States law, including section 301 of the Trade Act
of 1974, to respond to the denial of market access
described in paragraph (1).
(c) REVIEW OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS.—The Trade
Representative shall take into account the compliance of
countries with the provisions negotiated under subsections
(a) and (b) in identifying countries for purposes of section
183 of the Trade Act of 1974, as added by subsection
(d) of this section.
(d) PRIORITY FOREIGN COUNTRIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 8 of title I of the
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2241 and following)
is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
‘‘SEC. 183. IDENTIFICATION OF COUNTRIES THAT DENY
MARKET ACCESS FOR TEXTILE AND APPAREL
PRODUCTS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date that is
30 days after the date on which the annual report is sub-
mitted to congressional committees under section 181(b),
the United States Trade Representative (hereafter re-
ferred to as the ‘Trade Representative’) shall identify—
‘‘(1) those foreign countries that deny fair and
equitable market access to United States persons
that produce or sell textile or apparel products, and
‘‘(2) those foreign countries identified under
paragraph (1) that are determined by the Trade
Representative to be priority foreign countries.
‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULES
FOR IDENTIFICATIONS.—In
identifying priority foreign countries under subsection (a),
the following shall apply:
‘‘(1) In identifying priority foreign countries
under subsection (a)(2), the Trade Representative
shall identify only those foreign countries—
‘‘(A) that have the most onerous or egre-
gious acts, policies, or practices that deny fair
and equitable market access to United States
persons that sell or produce textile or apparel
products,
‘‘(B) whose acts, policies, or practices de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) have the greatest
adverse impact (actual or potential) on the rel-
evant United States products, and
‘‘(C) that are not—
‘‘(i) entering into good faith negotia-
tions, or
‘‘(ii) making significant progress in
bilateral or multilateral negotiations,
to provide adequate and effective market access
for textile and apparel products of the United
States.
‘‘(2) In identifying foreign countries under sub-
section (a)(2), the Trade Representative shall—
‘‘(A) consult with the Chair of the Com-
mittee for the Implementation of Textile Agree-
ments and other appropriate officers of the
Federal Government, and
‘‘(B) take into account information from
such sources as may be available to the Trade
Representative and such information as may be
submitted to the Trade Representative in re-
ports submitted under section 181(b) and peti-
tions submitted under section 302.
‘‘(3) The Trade Representative may identify a
foreign country under subsection (a)(1) only if the
Trade Representative finds that there is a factual
basis for the denial of fair and equitable market ac-
cess as a result of the violation of international law
or an international agreement, or the existence of
barriers referred to in subsection (d)(1).
‘‘(4) In identifying foreign countries under
paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a), the Trade
Representative shall take into account—
‘‘(A) the history of market access laws and
practices of the foreign country, including any
previous identification under subsection (a)(2);
and
‘‘(B) the history of efforts of the United
States, and the response of the foreign country,
to achieve fair and equitable market access for
textile and apparel products.
‘‘(c) REVOCATIONS AND ADDITIONAL IDENTIFICA-
TIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Trade Representative
may at any time—
‘‘(A) revoke the identification of any for-
eign country as a priority foreign country under
this section, or
‘‘(B) identify a foreign country as a prior-
ity foreign country under this section,
if information available to the Trade Representative
indicates that such action is appropriate.
‘‘(2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Trade Rep-
resentative shall include in the semiannual report
submitted to the Congress under section 309(3) a
detailed explanation of the identification of any for-
eign country as a priority foreign country under this
section.
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec-
tion—
‘‘(1) a foreign country denies fair and equitable
market access if the foreign country effectively de-
nies access for textile or apparel products of the
United States through the use of laws, procedures,
practices, or regulations which—
‘‘(A) violate provisions of international law
or international agreements to which both the