International Trade Law News

Published by Jacobson Burton Kelley PLLC

On November 19, 2004, the U.S. Senate voted to pass H.R. 1047, the long-delayed Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004, which makes a number of significant changes to U.S. trade laws. The measure was passed by voice vote after the Senate earlier voted 88-5 to limit debate on the bill, which had been opposed by the Wisconsin delegation over allegations of Laotian human rights abuses. President Bush is expected to sign H.R. 1047 into law in the near future.

The version passed by the Senate was identical to the version passed by the House on October 8, 2004. Most of the 299 page bill comprises hundreds of tariff suspensions on imports of chemicals and other products that are not produced domestically and traded in small volumes. However, the bill also contains language repealing the antidumping provision of the Revenue Act of 1916, which was deemed to be illegal by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2000.

H.R. 1047 includes the following provisions:

--Grants permanent normal trade relations (NTR) to Armenia, which has had temporary NTR approved on an annual basis by the president.

--Grants normal trade relations to Laos (Laos is one of only four countries and the only least-developed country to which the U.S. does not now extend NTR).

--Grants a large number of requests for reliquidation of entries for a number of products, ranging from subway cars to tomato sauce. The Conference Committee's joint explanatory statement in the Conference Report noted the Conferees' "great concern" over the large number of requests for reliquidation of imported entries. While the Conferees accepted the proposed reliquidation requests, they noted that "in future legislation" Congress should "authorize reliquidation of import entries only when there is clear government error" . . . and that the "Conferees intend that the test for 'clear government error' for future reliquidations be strictly construed."

--Modifies provisions related to the making of duty drawback claims.

--Corrects a mistake in the Trade Act of 2002 that inadvertently raised duties on Andean handbags, luggage, flat goods, work gloves and leather wearing apparel under the Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATPA).

--Prohibits U.S. imports of archaeological, cultural and other rare items from Iraq to prevent illegal shipment of such antiquities.

--Requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to establish integrated border inspection areas along the U.S.-Canadian border so that U.S. customs officers could inspect vehicles before they entered the United States from Canada, and Canadian customs officials could inspect vehicles before they entered Canada from the United States.

The entire text of H.R. 1047can be found at the following link:
waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/hr1047/HR1047confreptlegtext.pdf.