IV
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 51
Expressing the sense of the Congress that there should be parity among
the countries that are parties to the North American Free Trade Agree-
ment (NAFTA) with respect to the personal allowance for duty-free
merchandise purchased abroad by returning residents.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 20, 1997
Mr. BONILLA (for himself, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. SKEEN, Mr. BALDACCI, and Mr.
REYES) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Ways and Means
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress that there should be
parity among the countries that are parties to the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with respect
to the personal allowance for duty-free merchandise pur-
chased abroad by returning residents.
Whereas the duty-free allowance for returning residents is an
important element of trade and tourism;
Whereas the United States provides each United States resi-
dent who is returning from Mexico after a stay of any
duration a personal exemption from duty on merchandise
valued at up to $400 once every 30 days (or up to $200
if the individual has claimed an exemption within 30 days
before his or her arrival in the United States), including
•HCON 51 IH
in both instances one liter of liquor or wine and 200 ciga-
rettes or 100 cigars;
Whereas Mexico has a 2-tiered duty-free allowance for its re-
turning residents, set at the equivalent of $50 for ‘‘fron-
tier’’ residents of a 25 kilometer strip along Mexico’s
northern border and the equivalent of $300 for residents
who live in the interior of Mexico;
Whereas interior residents of Mexico are also permitted up to
3 liters of wine, beer, or liquor and up to 20 individual
boxes of cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 grams of
tobacco;
Whereas Canada provides each returning Canadian resident
absent for more than 7 days a duty-free allowance on
merchandise valued at up to the equivalent of $350; after
an absence of 48 hours, a returning Canadian resident
has a duty-free allowance of the equivalent of $140 and
after an absence of 24 hours the Canadian allowance is
the equivalent of $35; and Canadian residents returning
after an absence of at least 48 hours are also provided
a duty-free allowance for 1.14 liters of liquor or wine or
24 12-ounce bottles of beer or ale, and 50 cigars, 200
cigarettes, 200 grams of manufactured tobacco, or 200
tobacco sticks;
Whereas in 1995 Mexico announced that duty-free stores will
be established at multiple locations on the Mexican side
of the United States-Mexico border, which will sell their
merchandise to United States residents traveling to Mex-
ico and will benefit from the generous United States
duty-free allowance afforded to its residents;
Whereas with the advent of duty-free stores on the Mexican
side of the border serving United States residents, the in-
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equity between the duty-free allowances of the 2 coun-
tries is further exacerbated, placing United States retail
establishments who service Mexican residents at an un-
fair competitive advantage;
Whereas the United States entered into the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Can-
ada with the intent of phasing out tariff barriers among
the 3 countries; and
Whereas it violates the spirit of the NAFTA for the countries
to maintain restrictive duty-free allowance policies which
are not reciprocal: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That—
(1) the United States Trade Representative and
the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with
the Secretary of Commerce, should initiate discus-
sions with officials of the Governments of Mexico
and Canada to achieve parity in the duty-free allow-
ance structure of the United States, Mexico, and
Canada; and
(2) in the event that parity in the duty-free al-
lowances of the 3 countries is not reached within 1
year after the date on which this concurrent resolu-
tion is adopted, the United States Trade Represent-
ative and the Secretary of the Treasury should sub-
mit recommendations to the Congress on whether
legislative changes are necessary to bring the United
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States duty-free allowance to a lower amount to con-
form to the allowance levels established in the other
countries that are parties to the NAFTA.
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