                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES
 
                      CHAPTER 4--TARIFF ACT OF 1930
 
                     SUBTITLE II--SPECIAL PROVISIONS
 
                  Part III--Promotion of Foreign Trade
 
Sec. 1360. Investigation before trade negotiations


(a) Report by International Trade Commission

    Before entering into negotiations concerning any proposed foreign 
trade agreement under section 1351 of this title, the President shall 
furnish the United States International Trade Commission (hereinafter in 
sections 1352(a), (c), 1354, and 1360 to 1367 of this title, and section 
624(b) of title 7, referred to as the ``Commission'') with a list of all 
articles imported into the United States to be considered for possible 
modification of duties and other import restrictions, imposition of 
additional import restrictions, or continuance of existing customs or 
excise treatment. Upon receipt of such list the Commission shall make an 
investigation and report to the President the findings of the Commission 
with respect to each such article as to (1) the limit to which such 
modification, imposition, or continuance may be extended in order to 
carry out the purpose of said section without causing or threatening 
serious injury to the domestic industry producing like or directly 
competitive articles; and (2) if increases in duties or additional 
import restrictions are required to avoid serious injury to the domestic 
industry producing like or directly competitive articles the minimum 
increases in duties or additional import restrictions required. Such 
report shall be made by the Commission to the President not later than 
six months after the receipt of such list by the Commission. No such 
foreign trade agreement shall be entered into until the Commission has 
made its report to the President or until the expiration of the six-
month period.

(b) Procedures and determinations

    (1) In the course of any investigation pursuant to this section the 
Commission shall hold hearings and give reasonable public notice 
thereof, and shall afford reasonable opportunity for parties interested 
to be present, to produce evidence, and to be heard at such hearings. If 
in the course of any such investigation the Commission shall find with 
respect to any article on the list upon which a tariff concession has 
been granted that an increase in duty or additional import restriction 
is required to avoid serious injury to the domestic industry producing 
like or directly competitive articles, the Commission shall promptly 
institute an investigation with respect to that article pursuant to 
section 1364 of this title.
    (2) In each such investigation the Commission shall, to the extent 
practicable and without excluding other factors, ascertain for the last 
calendar year preceding the investigation the average invoice price on a 
country-of-origin basis (converted into currency of the United States in 
accordance with the provisions of section 5151 of title 31) at which the 
foreign article was sold for export to the United States, and the 
average prices at which the like or directly competitive domestic 
articles were sold at wholesale in the principal markets of the United 
States. The Commission shall also, to the extent practicable, estimate 
for each article on the list the maximum increase in annual imports 
which may occur without causing serious injury to the domestic industry 
producing like or directly competitive articles. The Commission shall 
request the executive departments and agencies for information in their 
possession concerning prices and other economic data from the principal 
supplier foreign country of each such article.

(June 16, 1951, ch. 141, Sec. 3(a), (b), 65 Stat. 72; Pub. L. 85-686, 
Sec. 4, Aug. 20, 1958, 72 Stat. 675; Pub. L. 93-618, title I, 
Sec. 171(b), Jan. 3, 1975, 88 Stat. 2009.)

                       References in Text

    Sections 1362 to 1365 of this title, included in the reference in 
subsec. (a) to sections 1360 to 1367 of this title, were repealed by 
Pub. L. 87-749, title II, Sec. 257(e)(1), Oct. 11, 1962, 76 Stat. 882; 
section 1367 of this title was repealed by Pub. L. 87-456, title III, 
Sec. 303(c), May 24, 1962, 76 Stat. 78.

                          Codification

    Section was not enacted as part of the Tariff Act of 1930 which 
comprises this chapter.
    Section is comprised of subsecs. (a) and (b) of section 3 of act 
June 16, 1951. Subsec. (c) of the 1951 act amended section 1354 of this 
title.
    In subsec. (b)(2), ``section 5151 of title 31'' was substituted for 
``section 522 of the Tariff Act of 1930 [31 U.S.C. 372]'' on authority 
of Pub. L. 97-258, Sec. 4(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1067, the first 
section of which enacted Title 31, Money and Finance.


                               Amendments

    1975--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93-618 substituted ``United States 
International Trade Commission'' for ``United States Trade Commission''.
    1958--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 85-686, Sec. 4(a), substituted ``six 
months'' for ``120 days'', and ``six-month'' for ``120-day''.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 85-686, Sec. 4(b), (c), redesignated existing 
provisions as par. (1), inserted provision to require the Commission to 
promptly institute an investigation pursuant to section 1364 of this 
title when the Commission finds with respect to any article on the list 
upon which a tariff concession has been granted that an increase in duty 
or additional import restriction is required to avoid serious injury to 
the domestic industry producing like or directly competitive articles, 
and added par. (2).

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 1354, 1361, 1366 of this 
title.
