19 U.S.C. § 3391 (CUSTOMS DUTIES)
§ 3391. Agriculture
(a) Omitted
(b) Section 624 of title 7
(1) In general
The President may, pursuant to article 309 and Annex 703.2 of the Agreement, exempt from any quantitative limitation or fee imposed pursuant to section 624 of title 7 any article which originates in Mexico, if Mexico is a NAFTA country.
(2) Qualification of articles
The determination of whether an article originates in Mexico shall be made in accordance with section 3332 of this title, except that operations performed in, or materials obtained from, any country other than the United States or Mexico shall be treated as if performed in or obtained from a country other than a NAFTA country.
(c) Tariff rate quotas
In implementing the tariff rate quotas set out in the United States Schedule to Annex 302.2 of the Agreement, the President shall take such action as may be necessary to ensure that imports of agricultural goods do not disrupt the orderly marketing of commodities in the United States.
(d) Peanuts
(1) Effect of the Agreement
(A) In general
Nothing in the Agreement or this Act reduces or eliminates—
(i) any penalty required under section 1359a(d) 1 of title 7; or
(ii) any requirement under Marketing Agreement No. 146, Regulating the Quality of Domestically Produced Peanuts, on peanuts in the domestic market, pursuant to section 1445c–3(f) 1 of title 7.
(B) Omitted
(2) Consultations on imports
It is the sense of Congress that the United States should request consultations in the Working Group on Emergency Action, established in the Understanding Between the Parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement Concerning Chapter Eight—Emergency Action, if imports of peanuts exceed the in-quota quantity under a tariff rate quota set out in the United States Schedule to Annex 302.2 of the Agreement concerning whether—
(A) the increased imports of peanuts constitute a substantial cause of, or contribute importantly to, serious injury, or threat of serious injury, to the domestic peanut industry; and
(B) recourse under Chapter Eight of the Agreement or Article XIX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is appropriate.
(e) Fresh fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers
(1) In general
The Secretary of Agriculture shall collect and compile the information specified under paragraph (3), if reasonably available, from appropriate Federal departments and agencies and the relevant counterpart ministries of the Government of Mexico.
(2) Designation of an office
The Secretary of Agriculture shall designate an office within the United States Department of Agriculture to be responsible for maintaining and disseminating, in a timely manner, the data accumulated for verifying citrus, fruit, vegetable, and cut flower trade between the United States and Mexico. The information shall be made available to the public and the NAFTA Agriculture Committee Working Groups.
(3) Information collected
The information to be collected, if reasonably available, includes—
(A) monthly fresh fruit, fresh vegetable, fresh citrus, and processed citrus product import and export data;
(B) monthly citrus juice production and export data;
(C) data on inspections of shipments of citrus, vegetables, and cut flowers entering the United States from Mexico; and
(D) in the case of fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers entering the United States from Mexico, data regarding—
(i) planted and harvested acreage; and
(ii) wholesale prices, quality, and grades.
(f) End-use certificates
(1) In general
The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this subsection as the “Secretary”) shall implement, in coordination with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a program requiring that end-use certificates be included in the documentation covering the entry into, or the withdrawal from a warehouse for consumption in, the customs territory of the United States—
(A) of any wheat that is a product of any foreign country or instrumentality that requires, as of the effective date of this subsection, end-use certificates for imports of wheat that is a product of the United States (referred to in this subsection as “United States-produced wheat”); and
(B) of any barley that is a product of any foreign country or instrumentality that requires, as of the effective date of this subsection, end-use certificates for imports of barley that is a product of the United States (referred to in this subsection as “United States-produced barley”).
(2) Regulations
The Secretary shall prescribe by regulation such requirements regarding the information to be included in end-use certificates as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out this subsection.
(3) Producer protection determination
At any time after the effective date of the requirements established under paragraph (1), the Secretary may, subject to paragraph (5), suspend the requirements when making a determination, after consultation with domestic producers, that the program implemented under this subsection has directly resulted in—
(A) the reduction of income to the United States producers of agricultural commodities; or
(B) the reduction of the competitiveness of United States agricultural commodities in the world export markets.
(4) Suspension of requirements
(A) Wheat
If a foreign country or instrumentality that requires end-use certificates for imports of United States-produced wheat as of the effective date of the requirement under paragraph (1)(A) eliminates the requirement, the Secretary shall suspend the requirement under paragraph (1)(A) beginning 30 calendar days after suspension by the foreign country or instrumentality.
(B) Barley
If a foreign country or instrumentality that requires end-use certificates for imports of United States-produced barley as of the effective date of the requirement under paragraph (1)(B) eliminates the requirement, the Secretary shall suspend the requirement under paragraph (1)(B) beginning 30 calendar days after suspension by the foreign country or instrumentality.
(5) Report to Congress
The Secretary shall not suspend the requirements established under paragraph (1) under circumstances identified in paragraph (3) before the Secretary submits a report to Congress detailing the determination made under paragraph (3) and the reasons for making the determination.
(6) Compliance
It shall be a violation of section 1001 of title 18 for a person to engage in fraud or knowingly violate this subsection or a regulation implementing this subsection.
(7) Effective date
This subsection shall become effective on the date that is 120 days after December 8, 1993.
(g) Omitted
(h) Assistance for affected farmworkers
(1) In general
Subject to paragraph (3), if at any time the Secretary of Agriculture determines that the implementation of the Agreement has caused low-income migrant or seasonal farmworkers to lose income, the Secretary may make available grants, not to exceed $20,000,000 for any fiscal year, to public agencies or private organizations with tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of title 26, that have experience in providing emergency services to low-income migrant or seasonal farmworkers. Emergency services to be provided with assistance received under this subsection may include such types of assistance as the Secretary determines to be necessary and appropriate.
(2) “Low-income migrant or seasonal farmworker” defined
As used in this subsection, the term “low-income migrant or seasonal farmworker” shall have the same meaning as provided in section 5177a(b) of title 42.
(3) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each fiscal year to carry out this subsection.
(i) Biennial report on effects of Agreement on American agriculture
(1) In general
The Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare a biennial report on the effects of the Agreement on United States producers of agricultural commodities and on rural communities located in the United States.
(2) Contents of report
The report required under this subsection shall include—
(A) an assessment of the effects of implementing the Agreement on the various agricultural commodities affected by the Agreement, on a commodity-by-commodity basis;
(B) an assessment of the effects of implementing the Agreement on investments made in United States agriculture and on rural communities located in the United States;
(C) an assessment of the effects of implementing the Agreement on employment in United States agriculture, including any gains or losses of jobs in businesses directly or indirectly related to United States agriculture; and
(D) such other information and data as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(3) Submission of report
The Secretary shall furnish the report required under this subsection to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives. The report shall be due every 2 years and shall be submitted by March 1 of the year in which the report is due. The first report shall be due by March 1, 1997, and the final report shall be due by March 1, 2011.
(Pub. L. 103–182, title III, § 321, Dec. 8, 1993, 107 Stat. 2108; Pub. L. 114–125, title VIII, § 802(d)(2), Feb. 24, 2016, 130 Stat. 210.)
heading: Repeal of Section
text: Pub. L. 116–113, title VI, § 601, Jan. 29, 2020, 134 Stat. 78, provided that, effective on the date the USMCA enters into force, this section is repealed.
heading: References in Text
text: This Act, referred to in subsec. (d)(1)(A), is Pub. L. 103–182, Dec. 8, 1993, 107 Stat. 2057, known as the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3301 of this title and Tables.
Section 1359a of title 7, referred to in subsec. (d)(1)(A)(i), was repealed by Pub. L. 107–171, title I, § 1309(a)(1), May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 179.
Section 1445c–3(f) of title 7, referred to in subsec. (d)(1)(A)(ii), was repealed by Pub. L. 104–127, title I, § 171(b)(2)(E), Apr. 4, 1996, 110 Stat. 938.
heading: Codification
text: Section is comprised of section 321 of Pub. L. 103–182. Subsec. (a) of section 321 of Pub. L. 103–182 amended provisions set out as a note under section 2253 of this title. Subsec. (d)(1)(B) of section 321 of Pub. L. 103–182 amended section 1359a of Title 7, Agriculture. Subsec. (g) of section 321 of Pub. L. 103–182 amended provisions set out as a note under section 5622 of Title 7.
heading: Change of Name
text: “Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection” substituted for “Commissioner of Customs” in subsec. (f)(1) on authority of section 802(d)(2) of Pub. L. 114–125, set out as a note under section 211 of Title 6, Domestic Security.
heading: Effective Date of Repeal
text: Repeal effective on the date on which the USMCA enters into force, see section 601 of Pub. L. 116–113, set out as a note under section 3301 of this title.
heading: Transfer of Functions
text: For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the United States Customs Service of the Department of the Treasury, including functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 203(1), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6. For establishment of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Security, treated as if included in Pub. L. 107–296 as of Nov. 25, 2002, see section 211 of Title 6, as amended generally by Pub. L. 114–125, and section 802(b) of Pub. L. 114–125, set out as a note under section 211 of Title 6.