I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5147
To prohibit the importation of diamonds mined in certain countries, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 12, 2000
Mr. HALL of Ohio (for himself, Mr. WOLF, and Ms. MCKINNEY) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To prohibit the importation of diamonds mined in certain
countries, 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 ‘‘Consumer Access to
a Responsible Accounting of Trade Act of 2000’’.
TITLE I—PROHIBITION ON
IMPORTS
SEC. 101. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTS.
No diamonds that have been mined in or exported
from the Republic of Sierra Leone, the Republic of Libe-
ria, Burkina Faso, the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, the Re-
public of Angola, Guinea, Togo, or Ukraine may be im-
ported into the United States, except for diamonds—
(1) the country of origin of which has been cer-
tified as the Republic of Sierra Leone by the inter-
nationally recognized government of that country, in
accordance with United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1306 July 5, 2000; or
(2) the country of origin of which has been cer-
tified as the Republic of Angola by the internation-
ally recognized government of that country, in ac-
cordance with United Nations Security Council Res-
olution 1173 of June 12, 1998.
SEC. 102. WAIVERS.
(a) CERTIFICATION OF NO TRANSSHIPMENT.—The
Secretary of the Treasury may waive the prohibition under
section 101 with respect to a country listed in that section
if the Secretary certifies to the Congress that diamonds
mined in Sierra Leone or Angola are not being trans-
shipped through that country for the purpose of evading
any prohibition on trade in diamonds exported from Sierra
Leone or Angola.
(b) NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS.—The Presi-
dent may waive the prohibition under section 101 with re-
spect to a country listed in that section if the President—
(1) determines that it is in the national security
interests of the United States to exercise the waiver;
and
(2) transmits that determination, together with
reasons for the determination, to the Congress.
TITLE II—CERTIFICATES OF
ORIGIN
SEC. 201. CERTIFICATES AND STATEMENTS INDICATING
COUNTRY OF MINING.
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treas-
ury, in concurrence with the Special Representative
on Conflict Diamonds appointed under section 401,
and after consultation with appropriate organiza-
tions, Federal agencies, and members of the public,
shall issue regulations requiring—
(A) diamonds, and
(B) products made in whole or in part
from diamonds,
which enter, or are withdrawn from warehouse for
consumption, into the customs territory of the
United States to be accompanied by a certificate
stating the English name (or unmistakable abbrevia-
tion) of the country in which the diamonds were
mined. Such certificate shall be legible and reason-
ably conspicuous on the outermost container in
which the diamonds or diamond products ordinarily
are sold to the ultimate purchaser in the United
States.
(2) The importer of record of diamonds or dia-
mond products shall be responsible for the certificate
required by paragraph (1).
(b) REQUIREMENT APPLICABLE
TO PARCELS
OF
DIAMONDS.—The Secretary of the Treasury may by regu-
lation provide that the requirements of subsection (a)
apply to parcels of diamonds that are imported, rather
than individual diamonds.
SEC. 202. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the Secretary of the
Treasury determines that a person has violated section
201 or regulations issued thereunder, the Secretary may
issue an order assessing a civil penalty of not more than
$50,000 for each violation or requiring compliance with
such section, or the Secretary may commence in the
United States district court for the district in which the
violation occurred a civil action for appropriate relief, in-
cluding a preliminary or permanent injunction.
(b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Any person who willfully
or with the intent to defraud violates subsection (a) or
(b) of section 201, or any regulation issued thereunder,
shall—
(1) upon conviction for the first violation under
this subsection, be fined not more than $100,000, or
imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both; and
(2) upon conviction for the second or any subse-
quent violation under this subsection, be fined not
more than $250,000, or imprisoned for not more
than 1 year, or both.
(c) EXEMPTION.—If diamonds or diamond products
do not comply with any requirement of subsection (a) or
(b) of section 201 or any regulation issued thereunder,
and the Secretary determines that no fraud or willful ne-
glect was involved in the failure to so comply, the Sec-
retary shall afford the person responsible for complying
with such requirement a reasonable opportunity to provide
the certificate required by section 201(a) or the statement
required by section 201(b), as the case may be.
SEC. 203. EXEMPTION AND WAIVERS.
(a) EXEMPTION.—The Secretary of the Treasury, in
concurrence with the Special Representative on Conflict
Diamonds appointed under section 401, may exempt from
the requirements of section 201 diamonds and diamond
products that are valued below a minimum dollar amount
determined by the Secretary.
(b) WAIVERS.—The Secretary of the Treasury may
waive the requirements of section 201 for periods of not
more than 1 year each if, for each waiver—
(1) the Secretary determines that—
(A) it is not possible to determine, in a
cost-effective manner, the country in which the
diamonds imported into the United States were
mined; or
(B) an effective system, such as the system
described in title III, is otherwise being imple-
mented that prevents the importation of dia-
monds, revenues from the sale of which would
be used to support continued conflict in the re-
gions in which the diamonds were mined; and
(2) the Secretary submits that determination,
and the basis for the determination, to the Congress.
SEC. 204. REPORTS BY SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.
The Secretary of the Treasury and the Special Rep-
resentative on Conflict Diamonds shall, not later than 6
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, and
not later than the end of each 12-month period thereafter,
submit to the Congress a joint report on the feasibility
of identifying the country in which diamonds, both rough
and cut, were mined.
TITLE III—INTERNATIONAL
EFFORTS
SEC. 301. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) the use of funds from the illegitimate dia-
mond trade to support conflicts in Africa has dev-
astating effects on the peoples of the regions in-
volved in the conflicts;
(2) United Nations Security Council Resolu-
tions 1306 and 1237 prohibit the importation of
rough diamonds from Sierra Leone and Angola, ex-
cept those accompanied by a certificate of origin
issued by the government of that country; and
(3) the initiative of the diamond industry, as
presented in the Resolution of the World Federation
of Diamond Bourses and the International Diamond
Manufacturers Association in Antwerp on July 19,
2000, as well as the progress of the South African
led Working Group on African Diamonds, in devel-
oping proposals for a global certification and moni-
toring system for diamonds, are important steps to-
ward international controls on ‘‘conflict’’ diamonds.
SEC. 302. ACTION BY EXECUTIVE BRANCH.
The Congress urges the President—
(1) to take immediate action to develop and im-
plement, together with other governments and orga-
nizations, an effective international system for con-
trolling trade in rough diamonds and to direct the
appropriate Federal departments and agencies to
begin planning for implementation of such a system;
and
(2) once a global certificate of origin system for
rough diamonds is in place, including forgery-proof
certificates of exports, secure packaging, import and
export controls, and an international diamond data-
base, to take appropriate steps to fully adhere to
this system, and to actively promote international
compliance.
TITLE IV—SPECIAL REPRESENT-
ATIVE 
ON 
CONFLICT 
DIA-
MONDS
SEC. 401. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE ON CONFLICT DIA-
MONDS.
(a) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall, not later
than 3 months after the date of the enactment of this Act,
appoint a Special Representative on Conflict Diamonds.
The Special Representatives on Conflict Diamonds shall
hold office at the pleasure of the President and shall have
the rank of Ambassador.
(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Special Representative on
Conflict Diamonds shall have the following functions:
(1) To serve as chairperson of an interagency
working group established by the President to ad-
dress the issues relating to the use of proceeds from
the sale of diamonds mined in certain regions in Af-
rica to support armed conflict in the countries in
these regions. The interagency group shall include
representatives of the Department of the Treasury
(including the Customs Service), the Policy and
Planning Staff and the Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labor of the Department of
State, the Office of the United States Trade Rep-
resentative, and the Department of Commerce.
(2) To represent the United States at inter-
national meetings on the issues described in para-
graph (1).
(c) REPORTS
TO CONGRESS.—The Special Rep-
resentative on Conflict Diamonds shall submit to the Con-
gress, not later than 6 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and not later than the end of each 6-
month period thereafter, a report on the following:
(1) In consultation with the intelligence commu-
nity, on the export of diamonds—
(A) from countries subject to an embargo
imposed by the United Nations on imports of
diamonds from those countries; and
(B) from countries through which dia-
monds subject to such an embargo are trans-
shipped in order to evade the embargo, includ-
ing Liberia, Burkina Faso, Togo, Cote D’Ivoire,
and Ukraine.
(2) On the development of the proposals relat-
ing to the commercial importation of rough dia-
monds that were adopted in the resolution of the
World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the
International Diamond Manufacturers Association in
Antwerp on July 19, 2000, including the status of—
(A) regulations of the countries that are
the major exporters and importers of diamonds,
relating to exports and imports of diamonds;
(B) international monitoring and inspec-
tion of diamonds that are traded; and
(C) an international computer registry of
diamonds, and a means of determining the in-
digenous mining resources of exporting coun-
tries.
(3) On the development of technologies to mark
diamonds and technologies to identify the source of
diamonds after they are polished.
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