                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES
 
                      CHAPTER 4--TARIFF ACT OF 1930
 
                 SUBTITLE III--ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
 
                     Part V--Enforcement Provisions
 
Sec. 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

            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.

                       (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.

(June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, Sec. 592A, as added Pub. L. 103-465, 
title III, Sec. 333, Dec. 8, 1994, 108 Stat. 4947; amended Pub. L. 104-
295, Sec. 20(c)(3), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3528.)

                       References in Text

    The customs laws, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), (2), are classified 
generally to this title.


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 104-295 substituted ``list under 
paragraph (1)'' for ``list under paragraph (2)''.


                             Effective Date

    Section effective on the date on which the WTO Agreement enters into 
force with respect to the United States [Jan. 1, 1995], see section 335 
of Pub. L. 103-465, set out as a note under section 3591 of this title.
