I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1708 
To suspend temporarily the duty on certain footwear, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 24, 2013 
Ms. JENKINS (for herself, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. 
FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. MULVANEY, Mr. SMITH of Nebraska, Mr. CON-
AWAY, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. POLIS, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. 
MEEKS, Mr. TURNER, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. MORAN, Ms. BROWN of Florida, 
Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan, Mr. MATHESON, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. SCHRA-
DER, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. SCHOCK, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 
Mr. PAULSEN, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. GRIFFIN of Arkansas, 
and Mr. LONG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To suspend temporarily the duty on certain footwear, 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 ‘‘Affordable Footwear 
Act of 2013’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Average collected duties on imported foot-
wear are among the highest of any product sector, 
totaling approximately $2,300,000,000 in 2011 and 
approximately $2,500,000,000 in 2012. 
(2) Duty rates on imported footwear are among 
the highest imposed by the United States Govern-
ment, with some as high as the equivalent of 67.5 
percent ad valorem. 
(3) The duties currently imposed by the United 
States were set in an era during which high rates of 
duty were intended to protect production of footwear 
in the United States. 
(4) Footwear produced in the United States 
supplies only about 1 percent of the total United 
States market for footwear. This production is con-
centrated in distinct product groupings, which are 
not affected by the provisions of this Act. 
(5) Footwear duties, which are higher on lower- 
price footwear, serve no purpose and are a hidden, 
regressive tax on those people in the United States 
least able to pay. 
(6) Low- and moderate-income families spend a 
larger share of their disposable income on footwear 
than higher-income families. 
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(7) The outdoor industry develops innovative 
and high performance footwear that promotes 
healthy and active lifestyles through outdoor recre-
ation. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) there is no production in the United States 
of many footwear articles; 
(2) the reduction or elimination of duties on 
such articles will not negatively affect manufacturing 
or employment in the United States; and 
(3) the reduction or elimination of duties on 
such articles will result in reduced retail prices for 
a wide range of consumers. 
SEC. 4. TEMPORARY ELIMINATION OR REDUCTION OF DU-
TIES ON CERTAIN FOOTWEAR. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—The U.S. Notes to subchapter II 
of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States are amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(20) For the purposes of headings 9902.64.25 
through 9902.64.59: 
‘‘(a) The term ‘footwear for men’ means 
footwear of American men’s size 6 and larger 
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for males, and does not include footwear com-
monly worn by both sexes. 
‘‘(b) The term ‘footwear for women’ means 
footwear of American women’s size 4 and larg-
er, whether for females or of types commonly 
worn by both sexes. 
‘‘(c)(i) The term ‘work footwear’ means, in 
addition to footwear for men or footwear for 
women having a metal toe-cap, footwear for 
men or for women that— 
‘‘(A) has outer soles of rubber or plas-
tics; 
‘‘(B) is of a kind designed for use by 
persons employed in occupations, such as 
those related to the agricultural, construc-
tion, industrial, public safety or transpor-
tation sectors, that are not conducive to 
the use of casual, dress, or similar light-
weight footwear; and 
‘‘(C) has special features to protect 
against hazards in the workplace (such as 
resistance 
to 
chemicals, 
compression, 
grease, oil, penetration, slippage, or static 
build-up). 
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‘‘(ii) The term ‘work footwear’ does not in-
clude— 
‘‘(A) sports footwear, tennis shoes, 
basketball shoes, gym shoes, training shoes 
and the like; 
‘‘(B) footwear designed to be worn 
over other footwear; 
‘‘(C) footwear with open toes or open 
heels; or 
‘‘(D) footwear (except footwear cov-
ered by heading 6401) of the slip-on type 
or other footwear that is held to the foot 
without the use of laces or a combination 
of laces and hooks or other fasteners. 
‘‘(d) The term ‘house slippers’ means footwear 
of the slip-on type designed solely for casual indoor 
use. The term ‘house slippers’ includes— 
‘‘(i) footwear with outer soles not over 3.5 
mm in thickness, consisting of cellular rubber, 
non-grain leather, or textile material; 
‘‘(ii) footwear with outer soles not over 2 
mm in thickness consisting of polyvinyl chlo-
ride, whether or not backed; and 
‘‘(iii) footwear which, when measured at 
the ball of the foot, has sole components (in-
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9902.64.28 
Footwear (other than work 
footwear) with outer soles 
and uppers of rubber or plas-
tics, covering the ankle, for 
men or women, such footwear 
which from the bottom of the 
outer sole to the top of the 
upper does not exceed 13 cm 
or which exceeds 21 cm, or 
regardless of height is slip-on 
footwear (provided for in sub-
heading 6402.91.90) .............
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.29 
Tennis shoes, basketball 
shoes, gym shoes, training 
shoes and the like (provided 
for in subheading 
6402.91.90) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.30 
Footwear with outer soles 
and uppers of rubber or plas-
tic, not covering the ankle, 
other than work footwear or 
house slippers (provided for 
in subheading 6402.99.31) ...
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.31 
Footwear (other than vulcan-
ized footwear and footwear 
with waterproof molded bot-
toms, including bottoms com-
prising an outer sole and all 
or part of the upper), with 
outer soles and uppers of 
rubber or plastics, valued 
over the dollar amount speci-
fied in U.S. note 20(e) of this 
subchapter, designed to be 
used in lieu of, but not over, 
other footwear, and where 
protection against water is 
imparted by the use of a 
coated or laminated textile 
fabric (provided for in sub-
heading 6402.99.33) .............
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.32 
Footwear with uppers and 
outer soles of rubber or plas-
tics, other than house slip-
pers (provided for in sub-
heading 6402.99.41 or 
6402.99.49) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.33 
Footwear with outer soles 
and uppers of rubber or plas-
tics, other than house slip-
pers (provided for in sub-
heading 6402.99.71 or 
6402.99.79) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.34 
Footwear with outer soles 
and uppers of leather, cov-
ering the ankle, other than 
footwear for women (provided 
for in subheading 
6403.51.90) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
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9902.64.35 
Footwear for men, and foot-
wear for youths and boys, 
covering the ankle, valued not 
over $12/pair, such footwear 
which from the bottom of the 
outer sole to the top of the 
upper does not exceed 13 cm 
or which exceeds 21 cm, or 
regardless of height is water-
proof footwear, other than 
work footwear, tennis shoes, 
basketball shoes, gym shoes, 
training shoes and the like, 
slip-on footwear, and other 
than footwear with water-
proof bottoms, including bot-
toms comprising an outer 
sole and all or part of the 
upper (provided for in sub-
heading 6403.91.60) .............
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.36 
Slip-on footwear for men and 
footwear for youths and boys, 
covering the ankle and incor-
porating waterproof footwear 
bottoms including bottoms 
comprising an outer sole and 
part of the upper; such foot-
wear with sole components, 
including any mid-soles but 
excluding any inner soles, 
which when measured at the 
ball of the foot have a com-
bined thickness less than 
13.5 mm, the foregoing val-
ued not over $20/pair (pro-
vided for in subheading 
6403.91.60) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.37 
Footwear for men, other than 
slip-on footwear, work foot-
wear, tennis shoes, basketball 
shoes, gym shoes, training 
shoes and the like, valued not 
over $12/pair (provided for in 
subheading 6403.91.60) ........
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.38 
Footwear for youth and boys, 
incorporating a waterproof 
footwear bottom including 
bottoms comprising an outer 
sole and part of the upper, 
other than tennis shoes, bas-
ketball shoes, gym shoes, 
training shoes and the like, 
and other than slip-on foot-
wear (provided for in sub-
heading 6403.91.60) .............
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
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9902.64.39 
Footwear (other than foot-
wear for men or footwear for 
youths and boys) covering the 
ankle, valued over $12/pair, 
such footwear of a height 
which from the bottom of the 
outer sole to the top of the 
upper does not exceed 13 cm, 
or which exceeds 21 cm, or 
regardless of height, is water-
proof footwear, or footwear 
where the difference in height 
between the bottom of the 
sole at the ball of the foot to 
the top of the midsole and 
from the bottom of the heel 
to the top of the midsole is 
over 30 mm, other than work 
footwear and other than slip- 
on footwear (provided for in 
subheading 6403.91.90) ........
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.40 
Slip-on footwear (other than 
footwear for men or footwear 
for youths or boys) covering 
the ankle; such footwear with 
a heel over 15 mm in height 
as measured from the bottom 
of the sole, or sole compo-
nents (including any mid- 
soles but excluding any inner 
soles) which when measured 
at the ball of the foot have a 
combined thickness less than 
13.5 mm, the foregoing val-
ued not over $20/pair (pro-
vided for in subheading 
6403.91.90) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.41 
Footwear for women, cov-
ering the ankle, valued not 
over $12/pair, such footwear 
which from the bottom of the 
outer sole to the top of the 
upper does not exceed 13 cm 
or which exceeds 21 cm, or 
regardless of height is water-
proof footwear, other than 
work footwear, tennis shoes, 
basketball shoes, gym shoes, 
training shoes and the like, 
slip-on footwear, and other 
than footwear with only wa-
terproof bottoms, including 
bottoms comprising an outer 
sole and all or part of the 
upper (provided for in sub-
heading 6403.91.90) .............
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.42 
Footwear for persons other 
than women, other than slip- 
on footwear, tennis shoes, 
basketball shoes, gym shoes, 
training shoes and the like 
and other than footwear in-
corporating waterproof foot-
wear bottoms comprising an 
outer sole and part of the 
upper (provided for in sub-
heading 6403.91.90) .............
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
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9902.64.43 
Footwear for men, valued not 
over $20/pair, having uppers 
of leather other than pigskin, 
and other than house slip-
pers, work footwear, tennis 
shoes, basketball shoes, gym 
shoes, training shoes and the 
like, and other than footwear 
with uppers having a toe part 
or thong (provided for in sub-
heading 6403.99.60) .............
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.44 
Footwear for men, having up-
pers of pigskin, other than 
house slippers, work foot-
wear, tennis shoes, basketball 
shoes, gym shoes, training 
shoes and the like (provided 
for in subheading 
6403.99.60) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.45 
Tennis shoes, basketball 
shoes, gym shoes, training 
shoes and the like for youths 
and boys (provided for in 
subheading 6403.99.60) ........
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.46 
Footwear valued over $2.50/ 
pair (other than footwear for 
women; house slippers; and 
tennis shoes, basketball 
shoes, gym shoes, training 
shoes and the like) (provided 
for in subheading 
6403.99.90) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.47 
Sports footwear, tennis shoes, 
basketball shoes, gym shoes, 
training shoes and the like 
with outer soles of rubber or 
plastics and uppers of textile 
materials (provided for in 
subheading 6404.11.51, 
6404.11.59, 6404.11.61, 
6404.11.69, 6404.11.71, 
6404.11.79, 6404.11.81 or 
6404.11.89) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.48 
Sports footwear (other than 
ski boots, cross country ski 
footwear and snowboard 
boots) for persons other than 
men or women (provided for 
in subheading 6404.11.90) ...
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.49 
Ski boots, cross country ski 
footwear and snowboard 
boots for men or women (pro-
vided for in subheading 
6404.11.90) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.50 
Tennis shoes, basketball 
shoes, gym shoes, training 
shoes and the like, covering 
the ankle, for men and 
women (provided for in sub-
heading 6404.11.90) .............
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
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9902.64.51 
Footwear with outer soles of 
rubber or plastics and uppers 
of textile materials, having 
uppers of which over 50 per-
cent of the external surface 
area is leather (provided for 
in subheading 6404.19.15) ...
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.52 
Footwear (except vulcanized 
footwear and footwear with 
waterproof molded bottoms, 
including bottoms comprising 
an outer sole and all or part 
of the upper) with outer soles 
of rubber or plastics and up-
pers of textile materials, val-
ued over the dollar amount 
specified in U.S. note 20(e) 
to this subchapter, whose 
height from the bottom of the 
outer sole to the top of the 
upper does not exceed 20.32 
cm if for men or women or 
does not exceed 17.78 cm for 
persons other than men or 
women, designed to be used 
in lieu of, but not over, other 
footwear as a protection 
against water, oil, grease or 
chemicals or cold or inclem-
ent weather, and where pro-
tection against water is im-
parted by the use of a coated 
or laminated textile fabric 
(provided for in subheading 
6404.19.20) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.53 
Footwear for men, with outer 
soles of rubber or plastics 
and uppers of vegetable fi-
bers, other than house slip-
pers (provided for in sub-
heading 6404.19.25) .............
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.54 
Footwear with outer soles of 
rubber or plastics and uppers 
of textile materials (except 
footwear with uppers having 
a toe part or thong) (pro-
vided for in subheading 
6404.19.36, 6404.19.37 or 
6404.19.39) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.55 
Footwear for women, with 
outer soles of rubber or plas-
tics and uppers of textile ma-
terials, other than house slip-
pers (provided for in sub-
heading 6404.19.52, 
6404.19.57 or 6404.19.59) ...
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.56 
Footwear with outer soles of 
rubber or plastics and uppers 
of textile materials (provided 
for in subheading 
6404.19.61, 6404.19.69, 
6404.19.72, 6404.19.77, 
6404.19.79, 6404.19.82, 
6404.19.87, 6404.19.89 or 
6404.19.90) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
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9902.64.57 
Footwear with uppers of 
leather or composition leath-
er, for men (provided for in 
subheading 6405.10.00) ........
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.58 
Footwear with uppers of tex-
tile materials, other than with 
soles and uppers of wool felt 
(provided for in subheading 
6405.20.90) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
9902.64.59 
Footwear not elsewhere pro-
vided for in chapter 64 (pro-
vided for in subheading 
6405.90.90) ...........................
Free 
No change 
No change 
On or before 
12/31/2015
’’. 
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act 
shall— 
(1) take effect on the 15th day after the date 
of the enactment of this Act; and 
(2) apply to articles entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse for consumption, on or after such 15th 
day. 
Æ 
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