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106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3188
To provide for the disclosure of the source of gem-quality diamonds and
gem-quality diamond products imported into and sold in the United States.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 1, 1999
Mr. HALL of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To provide for the disclosure of the source of gem-quality
diamonds and gem-quality diamond products imported
into and sold in the United States.
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’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) more than half of the world’s gem-quality
diamonds are imported by the United States; and
(2) consumers increasingly want to know the
country in which gem-quality diamonds are mined in
order to avoid purchases from countries in which
war or human rights abuses are funded through the
sales of these diamonds and other resources.
SEC. 3. 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, after consultation with appropriate organiza-
tions, Federal agencies, and members of the public,
shall issue regulations requiring—
(A) gem-quality diamonds; and
(B) products made in whole or in part
from gem-quality diamonds,
and which are sold in the United States to be ac-
companied by a certificate stating the English name
(or unmistakable abbreviation) of the country in
which the diamonds were mined. Such certificate
shall be legible and reasonably conspicuous on the
outermost container in which the diamonds or dia-
mond products ordinarily are sold to the ultimate
purchaser.
(2) The importer of record of a gem-quality dia-
mond or gem-quality diamond product shall be re-
sponsible for the certificate required by paragraph
(1).
(b) SALES THROUGH CATALOGS
OR COMMUNICA-
TIONS MEDIA.—If a gem-quality diamond or gem-quality
diamond product that is imported into the United States
and is sold in the United States through a catalog or com-
munications media, the entity which prepares the diamond
or diamond product for retail sale shall provide in the de-
scription of such diamond or diamond product a con-
spicuous statement indicating the country in which the di-
amond was mined.
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the Secretary of the
Treasury determines that a person has violated section 3
or regulations issued thereunder, the Secretary may issue
an order assessing a civil penalty of not more than $5,000
for each violation or requiring compliance with such sec-
tion, or the Secretary may commence in the United States
district court for the district in which the violation oc-
curred a civil action for appropriate relief, including a pre-
liminary or permanent injunction.
(b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Any person who willfully
or with the intent to defraud violates subsection (a) or
(b) of section 3, 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 a gem-quality diamond or gem-
quality diamond product does not comply with any re-
quirement of subsection (a) or (b) of section 3 or any regu-
lation issued thereunder, and the Secretary determines
that no fraud or willful neglect was involved in the failure
to so comply, the Secretary shall afford the person respon-
sible for complying with such requirement a reasonable op-
portunity to provide the certificate required by section
3(a) or the statement required by section 3(b), as the case
may be.
SEC. 5. REPORT BY SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall, not later than
6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, sub-
mit to the Congress a report on the feasibility of marking
gem-quality diamonds with the country in which they were
mined.
SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORTS BY SECRETARY OF STATE.
The Secretary of State shall submit to the Congress,
not later than June 1 of each year, a report on efforts
by the United States, other countries, and international
organizations, to prevent revenues derived from the sale
of diamonds mined in war-torn regions from funding con-
tinued conflict in those regions.
SEC. 7. DEFINITION.
For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘gem-quality dia-
mond’’ means any diamond whose retail sale is valued at
100 United States dollars or such other value as is deter-
mined by the Secretary of the Treasury on the basis of
changes in the Consumer Price Index or other factors af-
fecting pricing of diamonds.
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