zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Nepal Trade Preferences Act - Authorizes the President to give preferential treatment to certain articles imported directly from Nepal into the U.S. customs territory if that country meets certain requirements under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, including a market-based economy and the rule of law, the protection of human rights and internationally-recognized worker rights, elimination of trade barriers to the United States, and non-engagement in activities that undermine U.S. national security or foreign policy interests or support acts of international terrorism. Requires Nepal also to meet certain eligibility criteria for designation as a beneficiary developing country under the Trade Act of 1974.

Authorizes certain import-sensitive articles (watches, electronic articles, steel articles, footwear and certain other apparel, and glass products) imported directly from Nepal to enter the U.S. customs territory duty-free if: (1) the article is the growth, product, or manufacture of Nepal; (2) the President determines, after receiving advice from the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), that the article is not import-sensitive; and (3) the sum of the cost or value of the materials produced in, and the manufacturing costs performed in, Nepal or the U.S. customs territory is at least 35% of the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered. Limits to 15% of the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered the cost or value of the materials produced in, and the manufacturing costs performed in, the U.S. customs territory, and attributed to the 35% requirement.

Grants duty-free treatment to certain textile or apparel articles: (1) wholly assembled in Nepal, without regard to the country of origin of the yarn or fabric used to make them; and (2) imported directly from Nepal into the U.S. customs territory.

Prescribes requirements for handloomed, handmade, folklore articles or ethnic printed fabrics.

Terminates the extension of preferential treatment to Nepal after December 31, 2023.

Date: 2013-02-28
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Low Value Shipment Regulatory Modernization Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) should encourage other countries, through bilateral, regional, and multilateral fora, to establish commercially meaningful de minimis values for express and postal shipments of articles that are exempt from customs duties and certain entry documentation requirements, as appropriate.

Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase from $200 to $800 for 2014, and to $800 adjusted annually for inflation after 2014, the aggregate retail value in the country of shipment of articles that may be imported duty-free into the United States by one person on one day.

Date: 2013-03-07
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Nicaraguan Tariff Preference Level Extension Act of 2013 - Directs the President to proclaim an extension through December 31, 2024, of the preferential tariff treatment provided certain apparel goods imported into the United States from Nicaragua.

Date: 2013-06-11
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

All-American Flag Act - Requires any flags of the United States acquired for use by the federal government to be entirely manufactured in the United States from articles, materials, or supplies entirely grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States. Allows the head of an executive agency to waive such requirement upon determining that it would cause unreasonable costs or delays or would adversely affect a U.S. company.

Requires this Act to be applied in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international agreements.

Date: 2013-06-24
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend temporarily the duty on certain footwear, and for other purposes.

Date: 2013-10-31
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Level the Playing Field in Global Trade Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty laws provide targeted, effective relief against unfair trade practices and must be protected and enhanced; and (2) the failure to include within antidumping duty calculations the real costs of inadequate wages and insufficient workplace safety conditions and environmental controls has a substantial negative effect on U.S. manufacturing and the U.S. economy and fails to support efforts to improve conditions for working families and the environment in the United States and around the world.

Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 with respect to a fair comparison, for purposes of an antidumping investigation or review, between the actual or constructed export price of subject merchandise and its normal value. Requires an increase in the normal value price determination by the difference, if any, between the actual cost of producing the merchandise and the estimated cost of producing that merchandise if the producer paid its employees adequate wages and maintained sustainable production methods.

Requires the administering authority, at the request of an exporter or producer of subject merchandise, to reduce the amount of that increase (credit) by an amount that reflects the extent to which the merchandise was produced under conditions under which all employees receive adequate wages and sustainable production methods are maintained.

Authorizes an exporter or producer seeking to import merchandise into the United States to request the administering authority to issue a precertification that the merchandise is eligible for credits before an investigation is initiated.

Allows the administering authority to issue a precertification for all merchandise imported from a country if that country's government maintains and enforces laws requiring all producers of such merchandise in that country to pay its employees adequate wages and to maintain sustainable production methods.

Authorizes the administering authority, the Secretary of Labor, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish jointly procedures pursuant to which obtaining certification from an independent, third-party, standards-setting organization may demonstrate the eligibility for a precertification of an exporter or producer or of a country.

Date: 2013-12-11
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
GSP Update for Production Diversification and Trade Enhancement Act or GSP UPDATE Act - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to designate certain luggage and travel articles as eligible for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).

Date: 2013-12-17
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Extending Incentives for Exporting American Textiles Act of 2013 - Extends duty-free treatment, subject to specified quantitative limitations, for certain imported Nicaraguan woven trousers, breeches, or shorts.

Requires those articles to be accompanied by an earned import allowance certificate indicating the use of fabric and yarns wholly formed in the United States.

Extends such duty-free treatment for 10 years beginning on January 1, 2015.

Date: 2013-12-20
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Wear American Act of 2014 - Directs the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to require federal agencies to procure textiles and apparel articles, including components for such articles, that are manufactured in the United States wholly from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced or manufactured in the United States.

Date: 2014-02-06
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Buy it in America Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish the America Star Program as a voluntary program under which manufacturers may have products certified as meeting the standards of a label (i.e., America Star label) that indicates to consumers the extent to which such products are manufactured in the United States.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a new tax credit (angel investment tax credit) for up to 25% of equity investment in a small business entity that is located in the United States and engages in a qualified high technology trade or business; (2) make permanent the 100% exclusion from gross income of gain from the sale or exchange of qualified small business stock; and (3) establish tax-exempt small business startup savings accounts to make distributions for small business operating capital, the purchase of equipment or facilities, marketing, training, incorporation, and accounting fees.

Date: 2014-07-29
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Commerce
United States Optimal Use of Trade to Develop Outerwear and Outdoor Recreation Act or the U.S. OUTDOOR Act - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to provide for the duty-free treatment of certain recreational performance outerwear.

Establishes the Sustainable Textile and Apparel Research Fund (STAR Fund).

Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to impose and collect, with specified exceptions, a fee of 1.5% of the appraised value of imported recreational performance outerwear and to deposit amounts collected into the STAR Fund.

Requires the Secretary of Commerce to make quarterly distributions from the STAR Fund to one or more appropriate organizations to conduct applied research, development, and education activities to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. businesses in clean, eco-friendly apparel, other textile and apparel products, and sewn-product design and manufacturing.

Date: 2014-09-17
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
GSP Update for Production Diversification and Trade Enhancement Act or the GSP UPDATE Act 

 Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to designate certain luggage and travel articles as eligible for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).

Date: 2015-02-03
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
All-American Flag Act

Requires any flags of the United States acquired for use by the federal government to be entirely manufactured in the United States from articles, materials, or supplies entirely grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Elimination of Tariffs on Education for Children's Act or the ETEACH Act

 Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to grant duty-free treatment to electronic educational devices designed or intended primarily for children.

Date: 2015-02-25
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Immigration
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend, through July 31, 2026, the duty-free treatment on specified quantities of certain cotton and man-made fiber, fabric, apparel, and made-up goods imported into the United States from Bahrain under the United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement.

Date: 2015-03-26
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Residue Entries and Streamlining Trade Act

This bill amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to exempt from duty treatment the residue of bulk cargo contained in instruments of international traffic previously exported from the United States.

The following terms are defined:

 "residue" means material of bulk cargo, of no or de minimis value, that remains in an instrument of international traffic after a certain amount of the bulk cargo is removed; "bulk cargo" means cargo that is unpackaged and is in either solid, liquid, or gaseous form; and "instruments of international traffic" means certain reusable containers or holders (i.e. lift vans, cargo vans, shipping tanks, skids, pallets, caul boards, and cores for textile fabrics) arriving (whether loaded or empty) for use in the shipment of merchandise in international traffic, as well as any additional articles that the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection designates as instruments of international traffic.

Date: 2015-04-14
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
This bill amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend for 2016 through 2025 duty-free treatment of certain textile goods imported into the United States from Morocco.

Annual quantitative limitations are prescribed for the preferential tariff treatment of such goods imported into the United States during that period.

Date: 2015-04-20
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to eliminate the consumptive demand exception to the prohibition on the importation of goods made with convict labor, forced labor, or indentured labor.

Date: 2015-04-21
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend through 2027 the production certificate program requiring the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior to jointly issue to producers of watches and watch movements in the U.S. insular possessions production certificates entitling the certificate holders to a refund of duties paid on such articles imported into the United States.

Date: 2015-04-29
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
American Trade Enforcement Effectiveness Act

 This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 with respect to the administration and enforcement of antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders.

Neither the administering authority (the Secretary of Commerce, or another U.S. officer given the responsibility by law) nor the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), as the case may be, is required to determine, or make any adjustments to, a countervailable subsidy rate or weighted average dumping margin based on any assumptions about information the interested party would have provided if it had complied with a request for information.

 The USITC shall not determine that there is no material injury or threat of material injury to a domestic industry from imports merely because that industry is profitable or its performance has recently improved.

This bill includes gross profits, operating profits, net profits, and ability to service debt among the relevant economic factors the USITC must evaluate in examining the impact of imports of merchandise on a domestic industry in material injury determinations.

The administering authority may use another calculation methodology than the ordinary one in determining the constructed value of subject merchandise being imported at less than fair value if a particular market situation exists where the cost of materials and fabrication or other processing of any kind does not accurately reflect the cost production in the ordinary course of trade.

 This bill revises requirements regarding administering authority determinations as to whether there are reasonable grounds to believe or suspect that a foreign like product is being sold at less than cost of production in AD investigations or reviews. The administering authority in making its determinations, however, shall request information necessary to calculate the constructed value and cost of production of subject merchandise in such investigations or reviews.

The administering authority, in valuing the factors of production to determine the normal value of merchandise exported from a nonmarket economy country, may disregard price or cost values without further investigation if it determines that broadly available export subsidies existed or instances of subsidization occurred with respect to those price or cost values or if they were subject to an AD order.

 Certain factors are specified for the administering authority to consider when deciding whether it would be unduly burdensome in CVD or AD investigations and reviews to examine voluntary responses from exporters or producers which are not the subjects of the investigation or review.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Nepal Trade Preferences Act

It is the sense of Congress that it should be an objective of the United States to use trade policies and trade agreements to reduce poverty and eliminate hunger.

The President may give preferential treatment to certain articles imported directly from Nepal into the U.S. customs territory if that country meets certain requirements under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, including a market-based economy and the rule of law, the protection of human rights and internationally-recognized worker rights, elimination of trade barriers to the United States, and non-engagement in activities that undermine U.S. national security or foreign policy interests or support acts of international terrorism. Nepal must also meet certain eligibility criteria for designation as a beneficiary developing country under the Trade Act of 1974.

Certain leather articles (trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases, briefcases, school satchels and similar containers) and textile or apparel articles imported directly from Nepal may enter the U.S. customs territory duty-free if:

 the article is the growth, product, or manufacture of Nepal; Nepal is the country of origin of the textile or apparel article; the President determines, after receiving advice from the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), that the article is not import-sensitive; and the sum of the cost or value of the materials produced in, and the manufacturing costs performed in, Nepal or the U.S. customs territory is at least 35% of the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered. Limits to 15% of the appraised value of an article at the time it is entered the cost or value of the materials produced in, and the manufacturing costs performed in, the U.S. customs territory and attributed to the 35% requirement. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection must verify annually that textile and apparel articles imported duty-free into the United States from Nepal are not being unlawfully transshipped into the United States.

The President shall establish a trade facilitation and capacity building program to assist Nepal in the export of goods.

The extension of preferential treatment to Nepal shall terminate after December 31, 2025.

Date: 2015-06-04
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Directs the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to report to Congress annually on the estimated annual loss of revenue to holders of U.S. intellectual property rights as a result of intellectual property rights violations in China.

Requires the USTR to: (1) impose duties on merchandise from China in an amount equivalent to the estimated annual loss of revenue to holders of U.S. intellectual property rights as a result of such violations, and (2) distribute the proceeds of such duties to such U.S. intellectual property rights holders on a proportional basis.

Date: 2015-06-09
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Fairness in Respondent Selection Act of 2015

This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the administering authority (i.e., the Secretary of Commerce, or any other officer of the United States to whom the responsibility for carrying out duties under such Act regarding countervailing and antidumping duties are transferred by law) to determine an individual countervailable subsidy rate for an exporter or producer, upon the request of such exporter or producer, if four or fewer exporters and producers are involved in the investigation or review.

The bill shall apply to any investigation or review initiated by such authority on or after March 1, 2015.

Date: 2015-06-25
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Cuba Digital and Telecommunications Advancement Act of 2015 or the Cuba DATA Act

This bill authorizes the President to permit any person subject to U.S. jurisdiction to:

 export consumer communication devices and other telecommunications equipment to Cuba; provide telecommunications services involving Cuba or persons in Cuba; establish facilities to provide telecommunications services connecting Cuba with another country, or to provide telecommunications services in Cuba; conduct any transaction incident to carrying out such activities; and enter into, perform, and make and receive payments under a contract with any individual or entity in Cuba regarding the provision of telecommunications services involving Cuba or persons in Cuba. Repeals or amends specified requirements and prohibitions of: (1) the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, and (2) the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996.

Date: 2015-07-14
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: International affairs
Promote Opportunities With Energy Resources for Cuba Act or the POWER Cuba Act

This bill declares that oil and gas export restrictions under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act and the Natural Gas Act shall not apply to Cuba.

The President may permit any person subject to U.S. jurisdiction to: (1) export energy resources, energy technologies, and related services to Cuba; (2) establish energy resource- and technology-related facilities there; (3) conduct related transactions; and (4) enter into and make and receive payments under a contract with any individual or entity in Cuba regarding the provision of energy resources and energy technologies.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Authorizes the President to extend nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to the products of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
21st Century Buy American Act

This bill amends the Buy American Act to define the term "substantially all" to mean that articles, materials, or supplies shall be treated as made substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States if the cost of the domestic components of such articles, materials, or supplies exceeds 60% of the total cost of all such components.

The bill prohibits the use of the overseas exception to Buy American requirements unless one of the following criteria is met: (1) the articles, materials, or supplies are needed urgently for national security reasons; or (2) a cost analysis demonstrates that the articles, materials, or supplies to be acquired would be more than 50% more expensive if made in the United States.

The bill requires the head of a federal agency, in determining whether to apply the public interest exception to Buy American requirements, to: (1) consider the short-term and long-term effects on employment in the United States, and (2) determine that preserving or increasing employment in the United States is consistent with the public interest.

The bill requires each federal agency that applies an exception or grants a waiver to Buy American requirements to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a notification of such exception or waiver and post such notification on the OMB website.

The bill: (1) authorizes the Department of Defense to establish and carry out a program to make or guarantee loans to certain business entities, up to $500,000 per entity, under the Defense Production Act; and (2) sets forth eligibility requirements for such entities, including requirements that such an entity is a manufacturer in the United States, is certified as eligible to apply for trade adjustment assistance, and meets criteria relating to the availability of an item.

Date: 2015-10-01
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Government operations and politics
This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to repeal the deferral until sale of the duty on large yachts imported for sale at U.S. boat shows.

Any used yacht with a valid U.S. cruising license, instead, may enter, may be offered for sale in, and may remain in, the U.S. customs territory without the payment of duty, but subject to certain conditions.

If the used yacht, while in the U.S. customs territory, is sold to a U.S. resident:

 entry of the used yacht shall be completed and duty shall be deposited with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) within 15 days after completion of the sale, and by the same deadline any yacht broker or dealer involved in the sale must collect and remit that duty to the CBP. The duty on the sale of that yacht shall be:

 calculated at the applicable rate under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, and based upon the yacht's value at the time of sale. No posting of bond for this duty may be required upon the used yacht's entry into the U.S. customs territory.

Date: 2015-11-18
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Support Our Steelworkers Act of 2015

This bill prohibits, for a specified period, the importation of certain iron and steel articles into the customs territory of the United States.

Date: 2015-11-30
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
This bill authorizes the President to extend nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to the products of Kazakhstan.

Date: 2015-12-10
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Fair Treatment of Israel in Product Labeling Act of 2016

This bill requires that, for goods produced or originating in the areas known as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, proper markings for country of origin include: (1) Israel, (2) West Bank, (3) Gaza, (4) Gaza Strip, (5) West Bank/Gaza, or (6) West Bank/Gaza Strip.

Neither the Department of the Treasury, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, nor any competent official of another federal department or agency shall prohibit the use of any such markings for purposes of country of origin marking requirements.

Date: 2016-02-09
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Trade Protection Not Troll Protection Act

This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930, with respect to unfair practices in the import trade, to consider an industry in the United States to exist if there is in the United States substantial investment in licensing activities that leads to the adoption and development of articles that incorporate the patent, copyright, trademark, mask work, or design.

If the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), at the beginning of an investigation of an alleged unfair practice, identifies a domestic industry as the dispositive issue in question, it shall direct the assigned administrative law judge (ALJ) to:

 expedite fact finding on the domestic industry requirement, and issue an initial determination on this matter within 100 days after the investigation begins. Any initial determination by the assigned ALJ shall stay the investigation pending ITC action.

The ITC may determine during an investigation that exclusion of the articles concerned from entry into the United States would not be in the public interest, and terminate the investigation, in whole or in part, without any further determination, after considering the nature of the articles concerned and the effect of exclusion upon:

 the public health and welfare, the U.S. economy (including competitive conditions), the production of like or directly competitive articles by the complainant and its licensees, and U.S. consumers. Any person adversely affected by an ITC ruling that identifies a domestic industry as the dispositive issue in question may appeal that ruling, within 60 days after all administrative remedies are exhausted, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

ITC discretion not to exclude any articles concerned, even though an importer has violated the ban on unfair competition, is repealed. If the ITC also determines that exclusion would be in the public interest, it shall direct exclusion of the articles.

During an investigation, if the ITC determines there is reason to believe that an unfair import practice has occurred, and exclusion of the articles concerned would be in the public interest, the ITC may direct the exclusion the articles concerned, after considering the factors mentioned above. (Currently the ITC may not direct an exclusion until an investigation concludes and it determines, as a result of the investigation, that an unfair import trade practice has occurred.)

Date: 2016-03-22
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on April 25, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill declares the sense of Congress that it should consider a miscellaneous tariff bill.

(Sec. 3) The U.S. International Trade Commission shall:

 conduct a process, meeting specified requirements, for the submission and consideration of petitions for duty suspensions and reductions; and report to Congress on the effects of duty suspensions and reductions enacted pursuant to this Act on producers, purchasers, and consumers in the United States. (Sec. 5) The bill prescribes requirements for publication by specified congressional committees of a list of limited tariff benefits contained in a miscellaneous tariff bill.

Date: 2016-04-13
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
China Market Economy Status Congressional Review Act

This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to bar revocation of a determination by the administering authority (the Secretary of Commerce or any other U.S. officer) that the People's Republic of China is a nonmarket economy country unless:

 the administering authority determines and reports to Congress that China no longer meets the requirements of a nonmarket economy country; and Congress, within 45 days after the receipt of such a report, enacts a joint resolution of approval.

Date: 2016-04-13
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
American Manufacturing and Worker Protection Act of 2016

 This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to direct the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to distribute semiannually all funds (including any interest earned) from duties assessed pursuant to a countervailing duty order or antidumping duty order or finding (antidumping and subsidy protection amount) to affected domestic producers for qualifying expenditures and cash to eligible employees.

The term "affected domestic producer" means a currently operating manufacturer or producer that was a petitioner or interested party in support of a petition for which an antidumping duty order, finding, or countervailing duty order has been entered.

The term "eligible employee" of an affected domestic producer means an individual who: (1) has been totally or partially separated from employment with that producer because of dumping or a subsidy for which an antidumping duty order, finding, or countervailing duty order has been entered; or (2) is an employee of the affected domestic producer at the time a distribution is made.

The term "qualifying expenditures" means certain expenditures incurred by an affected domestic producer after the issuance of an antidumping duty order, finding, or countervailing duty order.

The CBP shall establish in the Treasury a special account for each such order or finding and to deposit in those accounts all funds (including any interest earned) from antidumping or countervailing duties assessed on or after October 1, 2016.

The requirements of this bill shall apply with respect to goods from Canada and Mexico.

Date: 2016-05-12
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Fishing Equipment Tax Relief Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce from 10% to 3% the excise tax rate that applies to the sale of portable, electronically-aerated bait containers by the manufacturer, producer, or importer.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Taxation
Nepal Trade Preferences Act

 Authorizes the President to give preferential treatment to certain articles imported directly from Nepal into the U.S. customs territory if that country meets certain requirements under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, including a market-based economy and the rule of law, the protection of human rights and internationally-recognized worker rights, elimination of trade barriers to the United States, and non-engagement in activities that undermine U.S. national security or foreign policy interests or support acts of international terrorism. Requires Nepal also to meet certain eligibility criteria for designation as a beneficiary developing country under the Trade Act of 1974.

Authorizes certain import-sensitive articles (watches, electronic articles, steel articles, footwear and certain other apparel, and glass products) imported directly from Nepal to enter the U.S. customs territory duty-free if: (1) the article is the growth, product, or manufacture of Nepal; (2) the President determines, after receiving advice from the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), that the article is not import-sensitive; and (3) the sum of the cost or value of the materials produced in, and the manufacturing costs performed in, Nepal or the U.S. customs territory is at least 35% of the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered. Limits to 15% of the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered the cost or value of the materials produced in, and the manufacturing costs performed in, the U.S. customs territory, and attributed to the 35% requirement.

Grants duty-free treatment to certain textile or apparel articles: (1) wholly assembled in Nepal, without regard to the country of origin of the yarn or fabric used to make them; and (2) imported directly from Nepal into the U.S. customs territory.

Prescribes requirements for handloomed, handmade, folklore articles or ethnic printed fabrics.

Terminates the extension of preferential treatment to Nepal after December 31, 2025.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Temporary Duty Suspension Process Act of 2015

 Directs the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to establish a process in which it will: (1) review each article in which a temporary duty suspension or reduction has been recommended at its own initiative or pursuant to a petition, and (2) submit a draft bill to the appropriate congressional committees containing each duty suspension or reduction that meets certain requirements.

Requires the USITC to report to Congress on: (1) recommendations with respect to sectors of the U.S. economy that could benefit from duty suspensions or reductions without causing harm to other domestic interests, and (2) the feasibility of suspending or reducing duties on a sectoral basis rather than on individual articles.

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Low Value Shipment Regulatory Modernization Act of 2015

 Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States Trade Representative should encourage other countries, through bilateral, regional, and multilateral fora, to establish commercially meaningful de minimis values for express and postal shipments of articles that are exempt from customs duties and certain entry documentation requirements, as appropriate.

Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase from $200 to $800 the aggregate retail value in the country of shipment of articles that may be imported duty-free into the United States by one person on one day.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
United States Optimal Use of Trade to Develop Outerwear and Outdoor Recreation Act or the U.S. OUTDOOR Act

 Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to provide for the duty-free treatment of certain recreational performance outerwear.

Establishes the Sustainable Textile and Apparel Research Fund (STAR Fund).

Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to impose and collect, with specified exceptions, a fee of 1.5% of the appraised value of imported recreational performance outerwear and to deposit amounts collected into the STAR Fund.

Requires the Secretary of Commerce to make quarterly distributions from the STAR Fund to one or more appropriate organizations to conduct applied research, development, and education activities to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. businesses in clean, eco-friendly apparel, other textile and apparel products, and sewn-product design and manufacturing.

Date: 2015-04-15
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Residue Entries and Streamlining Trade Act

This bill amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to exempt from duty treatment the residue of bulk cargo contained in instruments of international traffic previously exported from the United States.

The following terms are defined:

 "residue" means material of bulk cargo, of no or de minimis value, that remains in an instrument of international traffic after a certain amount of the bulk cargo is removed; "bulk cargo" means cargo that is unpackaged and is in either solid, liquid, or gaseous form; and "instruments of international traffic" means certain reusable containers or holders (i.e. lift vans, cargo vans, shipping tanks, skids, pallets, caul boards, and cores for textile fabrics) arriving (whether loaded or empty) for use in the shipment of merchandise in international traffic, as well as any additional articles that the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection designates as instruments of international traffic.

Date: 2015-04-16
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2015 

 It is the sense of Congress that it should consider a miscellaneous tariff bill not later than 180 days after the USITC and the Department of Commerce issue reports on any proposed duty suspensions and reductions. The appropriate congressional committees shall establish, and publish on their publicly available websites, a process for the submission and consideration of legislation for proposed duty suspensions and reductions as well as a miscellaneous tariff bill including them, consistent with certain requirements. The USITC shall report to Congress, by May 1, 2018, and May 1, 2020, on the effects of such suspensions and reductions on the U.S. economy. The exercise of functions under this title shall not be subject to judicial review.

Date: 2015-04-16
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016

This bill declares the sense of Congress that it should consider a miscellaneous tariff bill.

The U.S. International Trade Commission shall:

 conduct a process, meeting specified requirements, for the submission and consideration of petitions for duty suspensions and reductions; and report to Congress on the effects of duty suspensions and reductions enacted pursuant to this Act on producers, purchasers, and consumers in the United States. The bill prescribes requirements for publication by specified congressional committees of a list of limited tariff benefits contained in a miscellaneous tariff bill.

Date: 2016-04-13
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
China Market Economy Status Congressional Review Act

This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to bar revocation of a determination by the administering authority (the Secretary of Commerce or any other U.S. officer) that the People's Republic of China is a nonmarket economy country unless:

 the administering authority determines and reports to Congress that China no longer meets the requirements of a nonmarket economy country; and Congress, within 45 days after the receipt of such a report, enacts a joint resolution of approval.

Date: 2016-05-09
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Fishing Equipment Tax Relief Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce from 10% to 3% the excise tax rate that applies to the sale of portable, electronically-aerated bait containers by the manufacturer, producer, or importer.

Date: 2016-09-21
Topic: Foreign Trade (Tariff & Imports)
Subject: Taxation
Informed Choice Act - Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to nonprofit community based pregnancy help medical clinics for the purchase of ultrasound equipment. Requires each grantee to: (1) provide free ultrasound examinations to pregnant women; (2) show the visual image of the fetus from the ultrasound examination to each pregnant woman with a general anatomical and physiological description of the fetus; (3) give each pregnant woman the approximate age of the embryo or fetus; (4) provide information on abortion and alternatives to abortion, such as childbirth and adoption, and information concerning public and private agencies that will assist in those alternatives; and (5) obtain medical malpractice insurance. Limits each grant to the lesser of 50% of the purchase price of the ultrasound machine involved or $20,000.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of items and services under a cardiac rehabilitation program and a pulmonary rehabilitation program.

Date: 2007-01-18
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility, and Excellence in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish standards to ensure the safety and accuracy of medical imaging studies and radiation therapy treatments. Imposes such standards on personnel who perform, plan, or evaluate, or verify patient doses for, medical imaging studies and radiation therapy procedures and not on the equipment used. Exempts physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Directs the Secretary to ensure that individuals demonstrate compliance with such standards. Requires the Secretary to provide a method for the recognition of individuals whose training and experience are determined to equal or exceed that of: (1) a graduate of an accredited educational program in that specialty; or (2) an individual who is regularly eligible to take the licensure or certification examination for that discipline. Directs the Secretary to certify qualified nonprofit organizations as approved bodies to provide accreditation to individuals that demonstrate compliance with such standards. Requires individuals who provide medical imaging services relating to mammograms to continue to meet standards under the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992. Deems state standards for licensure or certification of personnel, accreditation of educational programs, or administration of examinations to be in compliance with the standards under this Act unless the Secretary determines otherwise. Requires the Secretary to establish a process by which a state may appeal such a determination. Requires the Secretary to ensure that all programs under the authority of the Secretary meet such standards. Authorizes the Secretary to develop alternative standards for rural areas or health professional shortage areas as appropriate to assure access to quality medical imaging.

Date: 2007-01-19
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct during fiscal years 2007 and 2008 a pilot program to determine the effectiveness of contracting with private memory care facilities to provide services for veterans suffering from Alzheimer's disease as an alternative to the provision by the Secretary of inpatient or home health care for such veterans. Requires the pilot program to be conducted through five medical centers of the Veterans Health Administration selected by the Secretary.

Date: 2007-01-24
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Midwifery Care Access and Reimbursement Equity Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the coverage of and payment for certified midwife services. (Currently only certified nurse-midwife services are covered.)

Date: 2007-02-06
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Alzheimer's Treatment and Caregiver Support Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to public and nonprofit private health care providers to expand treatment services for patients with Alzheimer's disease and training and support services for families and caregivers of such patients.

Date: 2007-02-13
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Medicare Quality Improvement Organization Modernization Act of 2007 - Amends title XI of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require utilization and quality control peer review organizations to offer quality improvement assistance to providers, practitioners, Medicare Advantage organizations under part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare), and prescription drug sponsors under part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of such title. Requires the organization to establish a Medicare quality accountability program. Revises requirements for the quality improvement program (QIO), including program administration, data disclosure, use of evaluation and competition, quality improvement funding, and qualifications for QIOs under part B (Peer Review) of SSA title XI. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to require state medical assitance plans to provide for an alternative quality improvement program.

Date: 2007-02-14
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Physician Pathology Services Continuity Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with regard to a laboratory-furnished technical component of certain physician pathology services, to treat such component as a service for which payment shall be made to the laboratory, and not as an inpatient hospital or hospital outpatient service for which payment is made to the hospital.

Date: 2007-02-15
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health