§ 3391. Agriculture

(a) Omitted

(b) Section 624 of title 7

(1) In general

The President may, pursuant to article 309 and Annex 703.2 of the Agreement, exempt from any quantitative limitation or fee imposed pursuant to section 624 of title 7 any article which originates in Mexico, if Mexico is a NAFTA country.

(2) Qualification of articles

The determination of whether an article originates in Mexico shall be made in accordance with section 3332 of this title, except that operations performed in, or materials obtained from, any country other than the United States or Mexico shall be treated as if performed in or obtained from a country other than a NAFTA country.

In implementing the tariff rate quotas set out in the United States Schedule to Annex 302.2 of the Agreement, the President shall take such action as may be necessary to ensure that imports of agricultural goods do not disrupt the orderly marketing of commodities in the United States.

(d) Peanuts

(1) Effect of the Agreement

(A) In general

Nothing in the Agreement or this Act reduces or eliminates—

(i) any penalty required under section 1359a (d) ^[1] of title 7; or

(ii) any requirement under Marketing Agreement No. 146, Regulating the Quality of Domestically Produced Peanuts, on peanuts in the domestic market, pursuant to section 1445c–3 (f) ^[1] of title 7.

(B) Omitted

(2) Consultations on imports

It is the sense of Congress that the United States should request consultations in the Working Group on Emergency Action, established in the Understanding Between the Parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement Concerning Chapter Eight—Emergency Action, if imports of peanuts exceed the in-quota quantity under a tariff rate quota set out in the United States Schedule to Annex 302.2 of the Agreement concerning whether—

(A) the increased imports of peanuts constitute a substantial cause of, or contribute importantly to, serious injury, or threat of serious injury, to the domestic peanut industry; and

(B) recourse under Chapter Eight of the Agreement or Article XIX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is appropriate.

(e) Fresh fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers

(1) In general

The Secretary of Agriculture shall collect and compile the information specified under paragraph (3), if reasonably available, from appropriate Federal departments and agencies and the relevant counterpart ministries of the Government of Mexico.

(2) Designation of an office

The Secretary of Agriculture shall designate an office within the United States Department of Agriculture to be responsible for maintaining and disseminating, in a timely manner, the data accumulated for verifying citrus, fruit, vegetable, and cut flower trade between the United States and Mexico. The information shall be made available to the public and the NAFTA Agriculture Committee Working Groups.

(3) Information collected

The information to be collected, if reasonably available, includes—

(A) monthly fresh fruit, fresh vegetable, fresh citrus, and processed citrus product import and export data;

(B) monthly citrus juice production and export data;

(D) in the case of fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers entering the United States from Mexico, data regarding—

(i) planted and harvested acreage; and

(ii) wholesale prices, quality, and grades.

(f) End-use certificates

(1) In general

The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this subsection as the “Secretary”) shall implement, in coordination with the Commissioner of Customs, a program requiring that end-use certificates be included in the documentation covering the entry into, or the withdrawal from a warehouse for consumption in, the customs territory of the United States—

(A) of any wheat that is a product of any foreign country or instrumentality that requires, as of the effective date of this subsection, end-use certificates for imports of wheat that is a product of the United States (referred to in this subsection as “United States-produced wheat”); and

(B) of any barley that is a product of any foreign country or instrumentality that requires, as of the effective date of this subsection, end-use certificates for imports of barley that is a product of the United States (referred to in this subsection as “United States-produced barley”).

(2) Regulations

The Secretary shall prescribe by regulation such requirements regarding the information to be included in end-use certificates as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out this subsection.

(3) Producer protection determination

At any time after the effective date of the requirements established under paragraph (1), the Secretary may, subject to paragraph (5), suspend the requirements when making a determination, after consultation with domestic producers, that the program implemented under this subsection has directly resulted in—

(A) the reduction of income to the United States producers of agricultural commodities; or

(B) the reduction of the competitiveness of United States agricultural commodities in the world export markets.

(4) Suspension of requirements

(A) Wheat

If a foreign country or instrumentality that requires end-use certificates for imports of United States-produced wheat as of the effective date of the requirement under paragraph (1)(A) eliminates the requirement, the Secretary shall suspend the requirement under paragraph (1)(A) beginning 30 calendar days after suspension by the foreign country or instrumentality.

(B) Barley

If a foreign country or instrumentality that requires end-use certificates for imports of United States-produced barley as of the effective date of the requirement under paragraph (1)(B) eliminates the requirement, the Secretary shall suspend the requirement under paragraph (1)(B) beginning 30 calendar days after suspension by the foreign country or instrumentality.

(5) Report to Congress

The Secretary shall not suspend the requirements established under paragraph (1) under circumstances identified in paragraph (3) before the Secretary submits a report to Congress detailing the determination made under paragraph (3) and the reasons for making the determination.

(6) Compliance

It shall be a violation of section 1001 of title 18 for a person to engage in fraud or knowingly violate this subsection or a regulation implementing this subsection.

(7) Effective date

This subsection shall become effective on the date that is 120 days after December 8, 1993.

(g) Omitted

(h) Assistance for affected farmworkers

(1) In general

Subject to paragraph (3), if at any time the Secretary of Agriculture determines that the implementation of the Agreement has caused low-income migrant or seasonal farmworkers to lose income, the Secretary may make available grants, not to exceed $20,000,000 for any fiscal year, to public agencies or private organizations with tax-exempt status under section 501 (c)(3) of title 26, that have experience in providing emergency services to low-income migrant or seasonal farmworkers. Emergency services to be provided with assistance received under this subsection may include such types of assistance as the Secretary determines to be necessary and appropriate.

(2) “Low-income migrant or seasonal farmworker” defined

As used in this subsection, the term “low-income migrant or seasonal farmworker” shall have the same meaning as provided in section 5177a (b) of title 42.

(3) Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each fiscal year to carry out this subsection.

(i) Biennial report on effects of Agreement on American agriculture

(1) In general

The Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare a biennial report on the effects of the Agreement on United States producers of agricultural commodities and on rural communities located in the United States.

(2) Contents of report

The report required under this subsection shall include—

(A) an assessment of the effects of implementing the Agreement on the various agricultural commodities affected by the Agreement, on a commodity-by-commodity basis;

(B) an assessment of the effects of implementing the Agreement on investments made in United States agriculture and on rural communities located in the United States;

(C) an assessment of the effects of implementing the Agreement on employment in United States agriculture, including any gains or losses of jobs in businesses directly or indirectly related to United States agriculture; and

(D) such other information and data as the Secretary determines appropriate.

(3) Submission of report

The Secretary shall furnish the report required under this subsection to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives. The report shall be due every 2 years and shall be submitted by March 1 of the year in which the report is due. The first report shall be due by March 1, 1997, and the final report shall be due by March 1, 2011.

[1] See References in Text note below.

U.S. Code

§ 3391. Agriculture