Agreement, and all other free trade agreements and 
trade preference programs, in order to prevent 
transshipments and origin fraud; 
(6) the TAPP officials should coordinate and 
collaborate with foreign government counterparts to 
ensure effective enforcement of textile and apparel 
articles; and 
(7) U.S. Customs and Border Protection should 
ensure that seizures, detentions, special operations, 
and TPVTs remain the primary focus of its enforce-
ment efforts relating to textile and apparel articles. 
TITLE I—ADDITIONAL AUTHORI-
TIES FOR U.S. CUSTOMS AND 
BORDER PROTECTION 
SEC. 101. SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE OF CERTAIN TEXTILE 
OR 
APPAREL 
ARTICLES 
AND 
USE 
OF 
AMOUNTS FROM FINES, PENALTIES, AND 
FORFEITURES. 
(a) SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The following penalties shall 
apply with respect to an importation of a textile or 
apparel article: 
(A) In the case of importation for which a 
trade preference has been claimed and with re-
spect to which the textile or apparel article has 
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been either misdescribed on entry as to country 
of origin or for which the importer does not 
verify actual country of origin, for purposes of 
avoiding a duty or other obligation to the 
United States Government, including any mer-
chandise accompanied by documentation which 
indicates a false or fraudulent country of origin 
or source of textile or apparel articles, and any 
merchandise accompanied by a counterfeit visa, 
license, permit, bill of lading, or similar docu-
mentation that is subsequently used by the im-
porter for entry of textile or apparel articles, 
the textile or apparel article shall be subject to 
seizure and forfeiture in accordance with 
United States trade laws and title 18, United 
States Code. 
(B) In the case of importation by an im-
porter who provides false information with re-
spect to the physical address of the importer or 
who does not meet the requirements of section 
484(a)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 
U.S.C. 1484 (a)(2)(B)), the textile or apparel 
article shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture 
in accordance with United States trade laws 
and title 18, United States Code. 
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(2) EXCEPTION.—A clerical error shall not be 
considered a violation of paragraph (1) unless such 
error is part of a pattern of negligent conduct. 
(b) USE OF AMOUNTS FROM FINES, PENALTIES, 
AND FORFEITURES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity, the Commissioner, or the Secretary of the 
Treasury— 
(A) shall use amounts from fines, pen-
alties, and forfeitures of property for violations 
of any law regarding the import of textile or ap-
parel articles enforced by the Secretary of 
Homeland Security or the Secretary of the 
Treasury to pay for— 
(i) expenses directly related to inves-
tigations of, and civil or criminal enforce-
ment proceedings on, violations of any law 
regarding the import of textile or apparel 
articles, including any necessary expenses 
for equipment, training, travel, witnesses, 
and contracting services directly related to 
such investigations or proceedings; and 
(ii) expenses related to training and 
education for applicable revenue positions, 
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including import specialists, international 
trade specialists, and auditors who partici-
pate in the enforcement of the export or 
import of textile or apparel articles 
through United States trade laws; and 
(B) may use amounts from fines, penalties, 
and forfeitures of property for violations of any 
law regarding the import of textile or apparel 
articles enforced by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, the Commissioner, or the Secretary of 
the Treasury to pay for a reward of not less 
than 20 percent of the amount of the fine, pen-
alty, or forfeiture of property collected or 
$20,000, whichever is the lesser amount, to any 
person who furnishes information that leads to 
an arrest, conviction, civil penalty assessment, 
or forfeiture of property for any violation of any 
law regarding the import of textile or apparel 
articles enforced by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, the Commissioner, or the Secretary of 
the Treasury. 
(2) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Amounts col-
lected from fines, penalties, and forfeitures of prop-
erty for violations of any law regarding the import 
of textile or apparel articles enforced by the Sec-
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retary of Homeland Security, the Commissioner, or 
the Secretary of the Treasury to pay for expenses 
described in paragraph (1)(A) or a reward described 
in paragraph (1)(B) are in addition to amounts oth-
erwise available for such purposes. 
SEC. 102. INCREASE IN CERTAIN TAPP POSITIONS AND IM-
PORT SPECIALIST POSITIONS AND BIENNIAL 
REVIEW OF STAFF LEVELS. 
(a) INCREASE IN CERTAIN TAPP POSITIONS.—Not 
later than 180 days of the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Commissioner shall ensure that— 
(1) the Textile Operations Branch (or any suc-
cessor or related Branch) of the TAPP shall consist 
of, at a minimum, one Branch Chief and six Oper-
ations Staff, of whom three Operations Staff shall 
be assigned to one of the CAFTA–DR countries for 
purposes of assisting U.S. Customs and Border Pro-
tection with verification of textile and apparel pref-
erences claimed under the Dominican Republic-Cen-
tral America-United States Free Trade Agreement; 
(2) the Textile/Apparel Policy & Programs Divi-
sion (or any successor or related Branch) of the 
TAPP shall consist of, at a minimum, one Branch 
Chief and three Operations Staff and two textile 
trade analysts; and 
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(3) the Quota Branch (or any successor or re-
lated Branch) of the TAPP shall consist of, at a 
minimum, one Branch Chief and four Operations 
Staff. 
(b) INCREASE IN TEXTILE AND APPAREL TRAINED 
IMPORT SPECIALISTS.—As soon as practicable after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall 
certify, with respect to the 15 largest (by value of entries) 
United States ports of entry for textile or apparel articles, 
that Import Specialists who are assigned to such ports of 
entry are trained in fraud, trade preference verification, 
undervaluation, or other issues relating to imports of tex-
tile or apparel articles so that the number of such trained 
Import Specialist positions is not less than 150 percent 
of the number of trained Import Specialist positions in 
existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(c) INCREASE
IN DEDICATED TEXTILE
AND AP-
PAREL IMPORT SPECIALISTS.—As soon as practicable 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis-
sioner shall increase dedicated textile and import special-
ists by 25 percent at the 15 largest (by value of entries) 
United States ports of entry for textile or apparel articles 
over the number of such specialists in existence as of the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
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(d) BIENNIAL REVIEW
OF STAFF LEVELS.—Not 
later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act and every two years thereafter, the Commissioner 
shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means and 
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee on Finance and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate, and the co-chairs of the Congressional Tex-
tile Caucus a report on the staffing levels specified in this 
section, including a determination of whether or not there 
is need for additional staff to carry out the duties of the 
TAPP. 
TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE 
TARIFF ACT OF 1930 
SEC. 201. SPECIAL PROVISIONS REGARDING CERTAIN VIO-
LATIONS RELATING TO IMPORT DOCUMENTA-
TION. 
(a) PUBLICATION OF NAMES OF CERTAIN VIOLA-
TORS.—Section 592A(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 
U.S.C. 1592a(a)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 
by striking ‘‘is authorized to’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’; 
and 
(2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting before the 
comma at the end the following: ‘‘, including for vio-
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lations of quotas, duties, or trade preference pro-
grams’’. 
(b) LIST
OF
HIGH-RISK
COUNTRIES.—Section 
592A(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (1592(a)(b)(1)) is 
amended, in the first sentence— 
(1) by striking ‘‘is authorized to’’ and inserting 
‘‘shall’’; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘or duties or violate trade pref-
erence programs’’ after ‘‘quotas’’. 
SEC. 202. ELECTRONIC PREFERENCE VERIFICATION SYS-
TEM FOR ORIGIN OF TEXTILE OR APPAREL 
ARTICLES UNDER CAFTA–DR, NAFTA, AND 
OTHER FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, act-
ing through the Commissioner and in coordination with 
the head of the Office of Textiles and Apparel of the De-
partment of Commerce, shall establish an electronic 
verification system for tracking textile or apparel articles 
imported or exported under the Dominican Republic-Cen-
tral America-United States Free Trade Agreement, the 
North American Free Trade Agreement, or any other free 
trade agreement to which the United States is a party, 
to ensure compliance with the respective requirements of 
such agreements. 
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(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President shall seek to 
enter into consultations and agreements, as appropriate, 
with the government of each foreign country that is a 
party to an agreement referred to in subsection (a) for 
purposes of implementing the electronic verification sys-
tem established under such subsection. 
(c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The electronic verification 
system established under subsection (a) shall ensure that 
proprietary information, such as information about supply 
chain participants, are coded so that only U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection and Office of Textiles and Apparel 
personnel can access such information. 
(d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the President should seek to make the integra-
tion of the electronic verification system established under 
subsection (a) in future free trade agreements a priority 
in negotiations for such agreements. 
SEC. 203. ESTABLISHMENT OF TEXTILE AND APPAREL NEW 
IMPORTER PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall 
establish a new importer program that directs U.S. Cus-
toms and Border Protection to adjust bond amounts for 
new importers of textile and apparel goods based on the 
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level of risk assessed by U.S. Customs and Border Protec-
tion for protection of revenue of the Federal Government. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Commissioner shall en-
sure that, as part of the new importer program established 
under subsection (a), U.S. Customs and Border Protec-
tion— 
(1) develops risk assessment guidelines for new 
importers of textile and apparel imports; 
(2) adjusts bond amounts for new importers in 
accordance with the risk assessment guidelines de-
veloped under paragraph (1); 
(3) maintains a centralized database of new im-
porters; and 
(4) ensures accuracy of required information 
provided to U.S. Customs and Border Protection by 
new importers. 
(c) BONDING AUTHORITY.—Section 623(b) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1623(b)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) In the case of importation of textile or ap-
parel articles, by regulation or specific instruction 
require, or authorize U.S. Customs and Border Pro-
tection officers to require, the amount of the bond 
to include amounts equal to any duties, fees, or pen-
alties estimated to be payable on such articles. For 
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purposes of this paragraph, amounts equal to any 
penalties estimated to be payable on such articles 
shall be based on a risk assessment of the new im-
porter carried out in accordance with section 203 of 
the Textile Security and Enforcement Act of 2011. 
Any person who violates this paragraph shall be lia-
ble for a civil penalty of $50,000 for each such viola-
tion.’’. 
(d) OTHER PENALTIES.—In addition to the penalties 
specified in paragraph (5) of section 623(b) of the Tariff 
Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1623(b)), as added by subsection 
(c) of this section, for a violation of such paragraph, any 
person who violates any other customs law of the United 
States with respect to the importation of textile or apparel 
articles shall be subject to any applicable civil or criminal 
penalty, including seizure and forfeiture that may be im-
posed under such customs law, including section 592 of 
the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592). 
SEC. 204. NONRESIDENT IMPORTER DECLARATION PRO-
GRAM FOR TEXTILE OR APPAREL ARTICLES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Commissioner shall establish and maintain a nonresident 
importer declaration program with respect to the importa-
tion of textile or apparel articles. The program shall re-
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cles, including the name, address, and contact infor-
mation for each person in the transaction, such as 
the trading house, the freight forwarder, and the ul-
timate purchaser of the goods. 
(c) DECLARATIONS REQUIRED.—Pursuant to proce-
dures prescribed by the Commissioner, any nonresident 
importer seeking to import textile or apparel articles shall 
declare the following: 
(1) The nonresident importer has secured a 
bond in connection with the importation of the tex-
tile or apparel articles as required by paragraph (5) 
of section 623(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 
U.S.C. 1623(b)) (as added by section 203(c) of this 
Act). 
(2) The nonresident importer has established a 
power of attorney in connection with the importation 
of the textile or apparel articles. 
(d) AUTHORITY.—A resident agent under this section 
shall accept service of process on behalf of the nonresident 
importer of such agent for the purpose of duties, penalties, 
or other fines issued by the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity or the Commissioner if the Secretary or the Commis-
sioner is unable to collect duties, penalties, or other fines 
from such nonresident importer. 
(e) PENALTIES.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any 
person to import into the United States any textile 
or apparel article in violation of this section. 
(2) CIVIL
PENALTIES.—Any person who vio-
lates paragraph (1) shall be liable for a civil penalty 
of $50,000 for each such violation. 
(3) OTHER
PENALTIES.—In addition to the 
penalties specified in paragraph (2), any violation of 
this section that violates any other customs or trade 
law of the United States shall be subject to any ap-
plicable civil and criminal penalty, including seizure 
and forfeiture, that may be imposed under such cus-
toms or trade law or title 18, United States Code, 
with respect to the importation of textile or apparel 
articles. 
TITLE III—ESTABLISHMENT OF 
TEXTILE AND APPAREL MAN-
UFACTURING AND SUPPLIER 
REGISTRY 
SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF TEXTILE AND APPAREL MAN-
UFACTURING AND SUPPLIER REGISTRY. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the President, acting through the Commis-
sioner and in coordination with the head of the Office of 
Textiles and Apparel of the Department of Commerce, 
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shall establish an electronic Textile and Apparel Manufac-
turing Supplier Registry pilot program to serve as a cen-
tralized database of United States producers and manu-
facturers of thread, yarn, fabric, and apparel that supply 
products to companies in the United States, countries that 
are parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement, 
the Central American Free Trade Agreement, and other 
free trade or preference regions in the Western Hemi-
sphere. 
TITLE IV—IMPLEMENTATION 
REPORT 
SEC. 401. IMPLEMENTATION REPORT. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Commissioner shall submit to the 
Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on 
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Finance and the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the 
co-chairs of the Congressional Textile Caucus a report on 
the implementation of this Act. 
Æ 
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