PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Secretary of Commerce must not give a contract to build, repair (except for emergency repairs), or change any NOAA ship at a shipyard if that yard gets or would get significant subsidies for those activities. A "significant subsidy" means many kinds of government help. It covers eight types, for example: officially backed export loans; direct operating or investment aid like grants, loans or loan guarantees not available on the commercial market, debt forgiveness, unfair equity investments, or preferred goods and services (except public aid tied directly to social costs of yard closures); R&D funding not open equally to all firms; tax breaks that favor shipbuilding (including accelerated depreciation) when not generally available; rules that allow anticompetitive deals; indirect aid to shipowners or suppliers that helps domestic yards; and export subsidies listed in the Illustrative List in the Annex to the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures referred to in section 3511(d)(12) of title 19, or other export subsidies the agreement bans.

Title 33, §891e

Navigation and Navigable Waters, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

The Secretary of Commerce may not award a contract for the construction, repair (except emergency repairs), or alteration of any vessel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a shipyard, if that vessel benefits or would benefit from significant subsidies for the construction, repair, or alteration of vessels in that shipyard.

(b)“Significant subsidy” defined

In this section, the term “significant subsidy” includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:

(1)Officially supported export credits.

(2)Direct official operating support to the commercial shipbuilding and repair industry, or to a related entity that favors the operation of shipbuilding and repair, including but not limited to—

(A)grants;

(B)loans and loan guarantees other than those available on the commercial market;

(C)forgiveness of debt;

(D)equity infusions on terms inconsistent with commercially reasonable investment practices; and

(E)preferential provision of goods and services.

(3)Direct official support for investment in the commercial shipbuilding and repair industry, or to a related entity that favors the operation of shipbuilding and repair, including but not limited to the kinds of support listed in paragraph (2)(A) through (E), and any restructuring support, except public support for social purposes directly and effectively linked to shipyard closures.

(4)Assistance in the form of grants, preferential loans, preferential tax treatment, or otherwise, that benefits or is directly related to shipbuilding and repair for purposes of research and development that is not equally open to domestic and foreign enterprises.

(5)Tax policies and practices that favor the shipbuilding and repair industry, directly or indirectly, such as tax credits, deductions, exemptions, and preferences, including accelerated depreciation, if such benefits are not generally available to persons or firms not engaged in shipbuilding or repair.

(6)Any official regulation or practice that authorizes or encourages persons or firms engaged in shipbuilding or repair to enter into anticompetitive arrangements.

(7)Any indirect support directly related, in law or in fact, to shipbuilding and repair at national yards, including any public assistance favoring shipowners with an indirect effect on shipbuilding or repair activities, and any assistance provided to suppliers of significant inputs to shipbuilding, which results in benefits to domestic shipbuilders.

(8)Any export subsidy identified in the Illustrative List of Export Subsidies in the Annex to the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures referred to in section 3511(d)(12) of title 19, or any other export subsidy prohibited by that agreement.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1999—Subsec. (b)(8). Pub. L. 106–36 substituted “Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures referred to in section 3511(d)(12) of title 19, or any other export subsidy prohibited by that agreement” for “Agreement on Interpretation and Application of Articles VI, XVI, and XXIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade or any other export subsidy that may be prohibited as a result of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Fisheries Research Vessel Procurement Pub. L. 106–450, title IV, § 401, Nov. 7, 2000, 114 Stat. 1945, provided that: “Notwithstanding section 644 of title 15, United States Code, and section 19.502–2 of title 48, Code of Federal

Regulations

, the Secretary of Commerce shall seek to procure Fisheries Research Vessels through full and open competition from responsible United States shipbuilding companies irrespective of size.”

§891e Restriction with Respect to Certain Shipyard Subsidies