§ 1592a. Special provisions regarding certain violations

(a) Publication of names of certain violators

(1) Publication

The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to publish in the Federal Register a list of the name of any producer, manufacturer, supplier, seller, exporter, or other person located outside the customs territory of the United States—

(A) against whom the Customs Service has issued a penalty claim under section 1592 of this title, and

(B) if a petition with respect to that claim has been filed under section 1618 of this title, against whom a final decision has been issued under such section after exhaustion of administrative remedies,

citing any of the violations of the customs laws referred to in paragraph (2). Such list shall be published not later than March 31 and September 30 of each year.

(2) Violations

The violations of the customs laws referred to in paragraph (1) are the following:

(A) Using documentation, or providing documentation subsequently used by the importer of record, which indicates a false or fraudulent country of origin or source of textile or apparel products.

(B) Using counterfeit visas, licenses, permits, bills of lading, or similar documentation, or providing counterfeit visas, licenses, permits, bills of lading, or similar documentation that is subsequently used by the importer of record, with respect to the entry into the customs territory of the United States of textile or apparel products.

(C) Manufacturing, producing, supplying, or selling textile or apparel products which are falsely or fraudulently labelled as to country of origin or source.

(D) Engaging in practices which aid or abet the transshipment, through a country other than the country of origin, of textile or apparel products in a manner which conceals the true origin of the textile or apparel products or permits the evasion of quotas on, or voluntary restraint agreements with respect to, imports of textile or apparel products.

(3) Removal from list

Any person whose name has been included in a list published under paragraph (1) may petition the Secretary to be removed from such list. If the Secretary finds that such person has not committed any violations described in paragraph (2) for a period of not less than 3 years after the date on which the person’s name was so published, the Secretary shall remove such person from the list as of the next publication of the list under paragraph (1).

(4) Reasonable care required for subsequent imports

(A) Responsibility of importers and others

After the name of a person has been published under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury shall require any importer of record entering, introducing, or attempting to introduce into the commerce of the United States textile or apparel products that were either directly or indirectly produced, manufactured, supplied, sold, exported, or transported by such named person to show, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that such importer has exercised reasonable care to ensure that the textile or apparel products are accompanied by documentation, packaging, and labelling that are accurate as to its origin. Such reasonable care shall not include reliance solely on a source of information which is the named person.

(B) Failure to exercise reasonable care

If the Customs Service determines that merchandise is not from the country claimed on the documentation accompanying the merchandise, the failure to exercise reasonable care described in subparagraph (A) shall be considered when the Customs Service determines whether the importer of record is in violation of section 1484 (a) of this title.

(b) List of high risk countries

(1) List

The President or his designee, upon the advice of the Secretaries of Commerce and Treasury, and the heads of other appropriate departments and agencies, is authorized to publish a list of countries in which illegal activities have occurred involving transshipped textile or apparel products or activities designed to evade quotas of the United States on textile or apparel products, if those countries fail to demonstrate a good faith effort to cooperate with United States authorities in ceasing such activities. Such list shall be published in the Federal Register not later than March 31 of each year. Any country that is on the list and that subsequently demonstrates a good faith effort to cooperate with United States authorities in ceasing illegal activities described in the first sentence shall be removed from the list, and such removal shall be published in the Federal Register as soon as practicable.

(2) Reasonable care required for subsequent imports

(A) Responsibility of importers of record

The Secretary of the Treasury shall require any importer of record entering, introducing, or attempting to introduce into the commerce of the United States textile or apparel products indicated, on the documentation, packaging, or labelling accompanying such products, to be from any country on the list published under paragraph (1) to show, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that such importer, consignee, or purchaser has exercised reasonable care to ascertain the true country of origin of the textile or apparel products.

(B) Failure to exercise reasonable care

(3) “Country” defined

For purposes of this subsection, the term “country” means a foreign country or territory, including any overseas dependent territory or possession of a foreign country.

U.S. Code

§ 1592a. Special provisions regarding certain violations