. SHORT TITLE.
16 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Haitian Hemispheric
17 Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of
18 2006’’
. TRADE BENEFITS FOR HAITI.
20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Caribbean Basin Economic
21 Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) is amended by in22
serting after section 213 the following new section:
‘‘(2) ENTER; ENTRY.—The terms ‘enter’ and
7 ‘entry’ refer to the entry, or withdrawal from ware8
house for consumption, in the customs territory of
9 the United States.
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other
12 preferential treatment under this title, apparel arti13
cles described in paragraph (2) of a producer or en14
tity controlling production that are imported directly
15 from Haiti shall enter the United States free of duty
16 during an applicable 1-year period, subject to the
17 limitations set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3), if
18 Haiti has met the requirements of subsections (d)
19 and (e).
only if, for each entry in the
13 preceding applicable 1-year period, the sum
14 of—
15 ‘‘(I) the cost or value of the ma16
terials produced in Haiti or one or
17 more countries described in subpara18
graph (C), or any combination there19
of, plus
20 ‘‘(II) the direct costs of proc21
essing operations (as defined in sec22
tion 213(a)(3)) performed in Haiti or
23 one or more countries described in
24 subparagraph (C), or any combination
25 thereof,
‘‘(ii) DEDUCTIONS.—In calculating
6 cost or value under clause (i)(I), there
7 shall be deducted the cost or value of—
8 ‘‘(I) any foreign materials that
9 are used in the production of the ap10
parel articles in Haiti; and
11 ‘‘(II) any foreign materials that
12 are used in the production of the ma13
terials described in clause (i)(I).
‘‘(C) COUNTRIES DESCRIBED.—The coun15
tries referred to in subparagraph (B) are the
16 following:
17 ‘‘(i) The United States.
18 ‘‘(ii) Any country that is a party to a
19 free trade agreement with the United
20 States that is in effect on the date of the
21 enactment of the Haitian Hemispheric Op22
portunity through Partnership Encourage23
ment Act of 2006, or that enters into force
24 under the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Au-
F:\M9\THOMAS\THOMAS.176
F:\V9\092106\092106.009
September 21, 2006 (10:07 AM)
44
H.L.C.
1 thority Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 3801 et
2 seq.).
3 ‘‘(iii) Any country designated as a
4 beneficiary country under section
5 213(b)(5)(B) of this Act.
6 ‘‘(iv) Any country designated as a
7 beneficiary country under section
8 506A(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19
9 U.S.C. 2466a(a)(1)), if a finding has been
10 made by the President or the President’s
11 designee, and published in the Federal
12 Register, that the country has satisfied the
13 requirements of section 113 of the African
14 Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C.
15 3722).
16 ‘‘(v) Any country designated as a ben17
eficiary country under section
18 204(b)(6)(B) of the Andean Trade Pref19
erence Act (19 U.S.C. 3203(b)(6)(B)).
F:\M9\THOMAS\THOMAS.176
F:\V9\092106\092106.009
September 21, 2006 (10:07 AM)
43
H.L.C.
1 is not less than the applicable percentage
2 (as defined in subparagraph (E)(i)) of the
3 declared customs value of such apparel ar4
ticles.
‘‘(i) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—The
2 term ‘‘applicable percentage’’ means—
3 ‘‘(I) 50 percent or more during
4 the initial applicable 1-year period,
5 the second applicable 1-year period,
6 and the third applicable 1-year period;
7 ‘‘(II) 55 percent or more during
8 the fourth applicable 1-year period;
9 and
10 ‘‘(III) 60 percent or more during
11 the fifth applicable 1-year period.
‘‘(ii) FOREIGN MATERIAL.—The term
13 ‘foreign material’ means a material pro14
duced in a country other than Haiti or any
15 country described in subparagraph (C).
WIRE HARNESS AUTOMOTIVE COMPO14
NENT.—For purposes of this subsection, the term
15 ‘‘wire harness automotive component’’ means any ar16
ticle provided for in subheading 8544.30.00 of the
17 HTS, as in effect on the date of the enactment of
18 the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Part19
nership Encouragement Act of 2006.
IN GENERAL.—Haiti shall be eligible for
22 preferential treatment under this section if the
23 President determines and certifies to Congress that
24 Haiti—
F:\M9\THOMAS\THOMAS.176
F:\V9\092106\092106.009
September 21, 2006 (10:07 AM)
56
H.L.C.
1 ‘‘(A) has established, or is making con2
tinual progress toward establishing—
3 ‘‘(i) a market-based economy that pro4
tects private property rights, incorporates
5 an open rules-based trading system, and
6 minimizes government interference in the
7 economy through measures such as price
8 controls, subsidies, and government owner9
ship of economic assets;
10 ‘‘(ii) the rule of law, political plu11
ralism, and the right to due process, a fair
12 trial, and equal protection under the law;
13 ‘‘(iii) the elimination of barriers to
14 United States trade and investment, in15
cluding by—
16 ‘‘(I) the provision of national
17 treatment and measures to create an
18 environment conducive to domestic
19 and foreign investment;
20 ‘‘(II) the protection of intellectual
21 property; and
22 ‘‘(III) the resolution of bilateral
23 trade and investment disputes;
24 ‘‘(iv) economic policies to reduce pov25
erty, increase the availability of health care
F:\M9\THOMAS\THOMAS.176
F:\V9\092106\092106.009
September 21, 2006 (10:07 AM)
and educational opportunities, expand
2 physical infrastructure, promote the devel3
opment of private enterprise, and encour4
age the formation of capital markets
5 through microcredit or other programs;
6 ‘‘(v) a system to combat corruption
7 and bribery, such as signing and imple8
menting the Convention on Combating
9 Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in
10 International Business Transactions; and
11 ‘‘(vi) protection of internationally rec12
ognized worker rights, including the right
13 of association, the right to organize and
14 bargain collectively, a prohibition on the
15 use of any form of forced or compulsory
16 labor, a minimum age for the employment
17 of children, and acceptable conditions of
18 work with respect to minimum wages,
19 hours of work, and occupational safety and
20 health;
21 ‘‘(B) does not engage in activities that un22
dermine United States national security or for23
eign policy interests; and
24 ‘‘(C) does not engage in gross violations of
25 internationally recognized human rights or pro-
F:\M9\THOMAS\THOMAS.176
F:\V9\092106\092106.009
September 21, 2006 (10:07 AM)vide support for acts of international terrorism
2 and cooperates in international efforts to elimi3
nate human rights violations and terrorist ac4
tivities.
The preferential treatment under subsection (b)(1) shall not apply unless the President certifies to Congress that Haiti is meeting the following conditions:
(A) Haiti has adopted an effective visa system, domestic laws, and enforcement procedures applicable to articles described in subsection (b) to prevent unlawful transshipment of the articles and the use of counterfeit documents relating to the importation of the articles into the United States.
(B) Haiti has enacted legislation or promulgated regulations that would permit the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection verification teams to have the access necessary to investigate thoroughly allegations of transshipment through such country.
(C) Haiti agrees to report, on a timely basis, at the request of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, on the total exports from and imports into that country of articles described in subsection (b), consistent with the manner in which the records are kept by Haiti.
(D) Haiti agrees to cooperate fully with the United States to address and take action necessary to prevent circumvention as provided in Article 5 of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing.
(E) Haiti agrees to require all producers and exporters of articles described in subsection (b) in that country to maintain complete records of the production and the export of such articles, including materials used in the production, for at least 5 years after the production or export (as the case may be).
(F) Haiti agrees to report, on a timely basis, at the request of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, documentation establishing the country of origin of articles described in subsection (b) as used by that country in implementing an effective visa system.
9 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF TRANSSHIPMENT.—Trans10
shipment within the meaning of this subsection has
11 occurred when preferential treatment for a textile or
12 apparel article under this section has been claimed
13 on the basis of material false information concerning
14 the country of origin, manufacture, processing, or
15 assembly of the article or any of its components. For
16 purposes of this paragraph, false information is ma17
terial if disclosure of the true information would
18 mean or would have meant that the article is or was
19 ineligible for preferential treatment under this sec20
tion.
SEC. 303. ITC STUDY.
5 The International Trade Commission shall, not later
6 than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this
7 Act, submit a report to Congress on the effects of the
8 amendments made by this Act on the trade markets and
9 industries, involving textile and apparel articles, of Haiti,
10 the countries described in clauses (ii) and (iii) of section
11 213A(b)(2)(C) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery
12 Act (as added by section 302 of this Act), and the United
13 States.
ATPA.—Section 204(b)(3)(B) of the Andean
17 Trade Preference Act (19 U.S.C. 3202(b)(3)(B)) is
18 amended by adding at the end the following new clause:
CBI.—Section 213(b)(2)(A)(v) of the Caribbean
5 Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C.
6 2703(b)(2)(A)(v)) is amended by adding at the end the
7 following new subclause: