§4374 — Title 19 Customs Duties | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary must try to make one-on-one agreements with other countries’ customs or similar agencies so both sides can stop people from dodging U.S. trade laws and the other country’s trade laws. Each deal should say that, when the buying country asks, the selling country will share records about how goods are made, shipped, and moved (as its laws allow), will carry out checks if asked in writing, and may let the buying country join those checks, including site visits. If the selling country won’t let the buying country take part, the buying country can note that when it checks compliance. The Commissioner can consider whether a country has one of these agreements or is part of the USMCA (as defined in section 4502 of this title) and how well it cooperates when doing U.S. Customs enforcement about evasion by that country’s exports. By December 31 of each year starting after February 24, 2016, the Secretary must report to Congress on talks underway (naming the countries), the terms of finished agreements, and cooperation or actions taken under those agreements.

Title 19, §4374

Customs Duties — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Secretary shall seek to negotiate and enter into bilateral agreements with the customs authorities or other appropriate authorities of foreign countries for purposes of cooperation on preventing evasion of the trade remedy laws of the United States and the trade remedy laws of the other country.

(2)The Secretary shall seek to include in each such bilateral agreement the following provisions and authorities:

(A)On the request of the importing country, the exporting country shall provide, consistent with its laws, regulations, and procedures, production, trade, and transit documents and other information necessary to determine whether an entry or entries exported from the exporting country are subject to the importing country’s trade remedy laws.

(B)On the written request of the importing country, the exporting country shall conduct a verification for purposes of enabling the importing country to make a determination described in subparagraph (A).

(C)The exporting country may allow the importing country to participate in a verification described in subparagraph (B), including through a site visit.

(D)If the exporting country does not allow participation of the importing country in a verification described in subparagraph (B), the importing country may take this fact into consideration in its trade enforcement and compliance assessment activities regarding the compliance of the exporting country’s exports with the importing country’s trade remedy laws.

(b)The Commissioner is authorized to take into consideration whether a country is a signatory to a bilateral agreement described in subsection (a) or a party to the USMCA (as defined in section 4502 of this title) and the extent to which the country is cooperating under the bilateral agreement or the USMCA, as the case may be, for purposes of trade enforcement and compliance assessment activities of U.S. Customs and Border Protection that concern evasion by such country’s exports.

(c)Not later than December 31 of each calendar year beginning after February 24, 2016, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report summarizing—

(1)the status of any ongoing negotiations of bilateral agreements described in subsection (a), including the identities of the countries involved in such negotiations;

(2)the terms of any completed bilateral agreements described in subsection (a); and

(3)bilateral cooperation and other activities conducted pursuant to or enabled by any completed bilateral agreements described in subsection (a).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2020—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–113 inserted “or a party to the USMCA (as defined in section 4502 of this title)” after “subsection (a)” and “or the USMCA, as the case may be,” after “the bilateral agreement”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2020 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 116–113 effective on the date on which the USMCA enters into force (July 1, 2020), but not applicable to certain determinations under section 1516a of this title or binational panel reviews under NAFTA, see section 432 of Pub. L. 116–113, set out as a note under section 1516a of this title. Effect of Termination of USMCA Country StatusFor provisions relating to effect of termination of USMCA country status on sections 401 to 432 of Pub. L. 116–113, see section 4601 of this title.

§4374 Cooperation with Foreign Countries on Preventing Evasion of Trade Remedy Laws