
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 49USC32304]

 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
             SUBTITLE VI--MOTOR VEHICLE AND DRIVER PROGRAMS
 
            PART C--INFORMATION, STANDARDS, AND REQUIREMENTS
 
                    CHAPTER 323--CONSUMER INFORMATION
 
Sec. 32304. Passenger motor vehicle country of origin labeling

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
        (1) ``allied supplier'' means a supplier of passenger motor 
    vehicle equipment that is wholly owned by the manufacturer, or if a 
    joint venture vehicle assembly arrangement, a supplier that is 
    wholly owned by one member of the joint venture arrangement.
        (2)(A) ``carline''--
            (i) means a name given a group of passenger motor vehicles 
        that has a degree of commonality in construction such as body 
        and chassis;
            (ii) does not consider a level of decor or opulence; and
            (iii) except for light duty trucks, is not generally 
        distinguished by characteristics such as roof line, number of 
        doors, seats, or windows; and

        (B) light duty trucks are different carlines than passenger 
    motor vehicles.
        (3) ``country of origin'', when referring to the origin of an 
    engine or transmission, means the country from which the largest 
    share of the dollar value added to an engine or transmission has 
    originated--
            (A) with the United States and Canada treated as separate 
        countries; and
            (B) the estimate of the percentage of the dollar value shall 
        be based on the purchase price of direct materials, as received 
        at individual engine or transmission plants, of engines of the 
        same displacement and transmissions of the same transmission 
        type, plus the assembly and labor costs incurred for the final 
        assembly of such engines and transmissions.

        (4) ``dealer'' means a person residing or located in the United 
    States, including the District of Columbia or a territory or 
    possession of the United States, and engaged in selling or 
    distributing new passenger motor vehicles to the ultimate purchaser.
        (5) ``final assembly place'' means the plant, factory, or other 
    place at which a new passenger motor vehicle is produced or 
    assembled by a manufacturer, and from which the vehicle is delivered 
    to a dealer or importer with all component parts necessary for the 
    mechanical operation of the vehicle included with the vehicle, 
    whether or not the component parts are permanently installed in or 
    on the vehicle. Such term does not include facilities for engine and 
    transmission fabrication and assembly and the facilities for 
    fabrication of motor vehicle equipment component parts which are 
    produced at the same final assembly place using forming processes 
    such as stamping, machining, or molding processes.
        (6) ``foreign content'' means passenger motor vehicle equipment 
    that is not of United States/Canadian origin.
        (7) ``manufacturer'' means a person--
            (A) engaged in manufacturing or assembling new passenger 
        motor vehicles;
            (B) importing new passenger motor vehicles for resale; or
            (C) acting for and under the control of such a manufacturer, 
        assembler, or importer in connection with the distribution of 
        new passenger motor vehicles.

        (8) ``new passenger motor vehicle'' means a passenger motor 
    vehicle for which a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer has never 
    transferred the equitable or legal title to the vehicle to an 
    ultimate purchaser.
        (9) ``of United States/Canadian origin'', when referring to 
    passenger motor vehicle equipment, means--
            (A) for an outside supplier--
                (i) the full purchase price of passenger motor vehicle 
            equipment whose purchase price contains at least 70 percent 
            value added in the United States and Canada; or
                (ii) that portion of the purchase price of passenger 
            motor vehicle equipment containing less than 70 percent 
            value added in the United States and Canada that is 
            attributable to the percent value added in the United States 
            and Canada when such percent is expressed to the nearest 5 
            percent; and

            (B) for an allied supplier, that part of the individual 
        passenger motor vehicle equipment whose purchase price the 
        manufacturer determines remains after subtracting the total of 
        the purchase prices of all material of foreign content purchased 
        from outside suppliers, with the determination of the United 
        States/Canadian origin or of the foreign content from outside 
        suppliers being consistent with subclause (A) of this clause.

        (10) ``outside supplier'' means a supplier of passenger motor 
    vehicle equipment to a manufacturer's allied supplier, or a person 
    other than an allied supplier, who ships directly to the 
    manufacturer's final assembly place.
        (11) ``passenger motor vehicle'' has the same meaning given that 
    term in section 32101(10) of this title, except that it includes any 
    multi-purpose vehicle or light duty truck when that vehicle or truck 
    is rated at not more than 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight.
        (12) ``passenger motor vehicle equipment''--
            (A) means a system, subassembly, or component received at 
        the final vehicle assembly place for installation on, or 
        attachment to, a passenger motor vehicle at the time of its 
        first shipment by the manufacturer to a dealer for sale to an 
        ultimate purchaser; but
            (B) does not include minor parts (including nuts, bolts, 
        clips, screws, pins, braces, and other attachment hardware) and 
        other similar items the Secretary of Transportation may 
        prescribe by regulation after consulting with manufacturers and 
        labor.

        (13) ``percentage (by value)'', when referring to passenger 
    motor vehicle equipment of United States/Canadian origin, means the 
    percentage remaining after subtracting the percentage (by value) of 
    passenger motor vehicle equipment that is not of United States/
    Canadian origin that will be installed or included on those vehicles 
    produced in a carline, from 100 percent--
            (A) with value being expressed in terms of the purchase 
        price; and
            (B) for outside suppliers and allied suppliers, the value 
        used is the purchase price of the equipment paid at the final 
        assembly place.

        (14) ``State'' means a State of the United States, the District 
    of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, 
    American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands.
        (15) ``value added in the United States and Canada'' means a 
    percentage determined by subtracting the total purchase price of 
    foreign content from the total purchase price, and dividing the 
    remainder by the total purchase price, excluding costs incurred or 
    profits made at the final assembly place and beyond (including 
    advertising, assembly, labor, interest payments, and profits), with 
    the following groupings being used:
            (A) engines of same displacement produced at the same plant.
            (B) transmissions of the same type produced at the same 
        plant.

    (b) Manufacturer Requirement.--(1) Each manufacturer of a new 
passenger motor vehicle manufactured after September 30, 1994, and 
distributed in commerce for sale in the United States, shall establish 
each year for each model year and cause to be attached in a prominent 
place on each of those vehicles, at least one label. The label shall 
contain the following information:
        (A) the percentage (by value) of passenger motor vehicle 
    equipment of United States/Canadian origin installed on vehicles in 
    the carline to which that vehicle belongs, identified by the words 
    ``U.S./Canadian content''.
        (B) the final assembly place for that vehicle by city, State 
    (where appropriate) and country.
        (C) if at least 15 percent (by value) of equipment installed on 
    passenger motor vehicles in a carline originated in any country 
    other than the United States and Canada, the names of at least the 2 
    countries in which the greatest amount (by value) of that equipment 
    originated and the percentage (by value) of the equipment 
    originating in each country.
        (D) the country of origin of the engine and the transmission for 
    each vehicle.

    (2) At the beginning of each model year, each manufacturer shall 
establish the percentages required for each carline to be indicated on 
the label under this subsection. Those percentages are applicable to 
that carline for the entire model year. A manufacturer may round those 
percentages to the nearest 5 percent.
    (3) A manufacturer complying with the requirement of paragraph 
(1)(B) of this subsection satisfies the disclosure requirement of 
section 3(b) of the Automobile Information Disclosure Act (15 U.S.C. 
1232(b)).
    (c) Vehicle Content Percentage by Assembly Plant.--A manufacturer 
may display separately on the label required by subsection (b) the 
domestic content of a vehicle based on the assembly plant. Such display 
shall occur after the matter required to be in the label by subsection 
(b)(1)(A).
    (d) Value Added Determination.--If a manufacturer or allied supplier 
requests information in a timely manner from one or more of its outside 
suppliers concerning the United States/Canadian content of particular 
equipment, but does not receive that information despite a good faith 
effort to obtain it, the manufacturer or allied supplier may make its 
own good faith value added determinations, subject to the following:
        (1) The manufacturer or allied supplier shall make the same 
    value added determinations as would be made by the outside supplier, 
    that is, whether 70 percent or more of the value of equipment is 
    added in the United States and/or Canada.
        (2) The manufacturer or allied supplier shall consider the 
    amount of value added and the location in which the value was added 
    for all of the stages that the outside supplier would be required to 
    consider.
        (3) The manufacturer or allied supplier may determine that the 
    value added in the United States and/or Canada is 70 percent or more 
    only if it has a good faith basis to make that determination.
        (4) A manufacturer and its allied suppliers may, on a combined 
    basis, make value added determinations for no more than 10 percent, 
    by value, of a carline's total parts content from outside suppliers.
        (5) Value added determinations made by a manufacturer or allied 
    supplier under this paragraph shall have the same effect as if they 
    were made by the outside supplier.
        (6) This provision does not affect the obligation of outside 
    suppliers to provide the requested information.

    (e) Small Parts.--The country of origin of nuts, bolts, clips, 
screws, pins, braces, gasoline, oil, blackout, phosphate rinse, 
windshield washer fluid, fasteners, tire assembly fluid, rivets, 
adhesives, and grommets, of any system, subassembly, or component 
installed in a vehicle shall be considered to be the country in which 
such parts were included in the final assembly of such vehicle.
    (f) Dealer Requirement.--Each dealer engaged in the sale or 
distribution of a new passenger motor vehicle manufactured after 
September 30, 1994, shall cause to be maintained on that vehicle the 
label required to be attached to that vehicle under subsection (b) of 
this section.
    (g) Form and Content of Label.--The Secretary of Transportation 
shall prescribe by regulation the form and content of the label required 
under subsection (b) of this section and the manner and location in 
which the label is attached. The Secretary shall permit a manufacturer 
to comply with this section by allowing the manufacturer to disclose the 
information required under subsection (b)(1) on the label required by 
section 3 of the Automobile Information Disclosure Act (15 U.S.C. 1232), 
on the label required by section 32908 of this title, or on a separate 
label that is readily visible. A manufacturer may add to the label 
required under subsection (b) a line stating the country in which 
vehicle assembly was completed.
    (h) Regulations.--In consultation with the Secretaries of Commerce 
and the Treasury, the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe 
regulations necessary to carry out this section, including regulations 
establishing a procedure to verify the label information required under 
subsection (b)(1) of this section. Those regulations shall provide the 
ultimate purchaser of a new passenger motor vehicle with the best and 
most understandable information possible about the foreign content and 
United States/Canadian origin of the equipment of the vehicles without 
imposing costly and unnecessary burdens on the manufacturers. The 
Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe the regulations promptly to 
provide adequate lead time for each manufacturer to comply with this 
section. The regulations shall include provisions applicable to outside 
suppliers and allied suppliers to require those suppliers to certify 
whether passenger motor vehicle equipment provided by those suppliers is 
of United States origin, of United States/Canadian origin, or of foreign 
content and to provide other information the Secretary of Transportation 
decides is necessary to allow each manufacturer to comply reasonably 
with this section and to rely on that certification and information.
    (i) Preemption.--(1) When a label content requirement prescribed 
under this section is in effect, a State or a political subdivision of a 
State may not adopt or enforce a law or regulation related to the 
content of vehicles covered by a requirement under this section.
    (2) A State or a political subdivision of a State may prescribe 
requirements related to the content of passenger motor vehicles obtained 
for its own use.

(Pub. L. 103-272, Sec. 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1036; Pub. L. 103-
429, Sec. 6(29), (30), Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4380; Pub. L. 105-178, 
title VII, Sec. 7106(d), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 467.)

                                          Historical and Revision Notes
                                                 Pub. L. 103-272
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
           Revised  Section                    Source (U.S. Code)              
 Source (Statutes at Large)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
32304(a)..............................  15:1950(f).                      Oct. 2
0, 1972, Pub. L. 92-513, 86 Stat.
                                                                          947, 
Sec.  210(b)-(d), (f), (g), added
                                                                          Oct. 
6, 1992, Pub. L. 102-388, Sec.
                                                                          355, 
106 Stat. 1556, 1557.
32304(b)(1), (2)......................  15:1950(b)(1) (less words
                                         between 1st and 2d commas),
                                         (2).
32304(b)(3)...........................  15:1950(b)(3).
32304(c)..............................  15:1950(b)(1) (words between
                                         1st and 2d commas).
32304(d)..............................  15:1950(c).
32304(e)..............................  15:1950(d).
32304(f)..............................  15:1950(g).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------

    In this section, the words ``passenger motor vehicle'' and 
``vehicle'' are substituted for ``automobile'' because the defined terms 
used in the operative provisions of the law being restated are 
``passenger motor vehicle'' and ``new passenger motor vehicle''. The 
words ``final assembly place'' are substituted for ``final assembly 
point'' for clarity and consistency in the revised title and with other 
titles of the United States Code.
    In subsection (a)(2)(A)(i), the word ``given'' is substituted for 
``denoting'' for clarity. The words ``passenger motor'' are added for 
clarity and consistency in the revised section.
    In section (a)(2)(A)(ii), the words ``decor or opulence'' are 
substituted for ``decor of opulence'' for clarity.
    In subsection (a)(3), before subclause (A), the words ``from which 
the largest share of the dollar value added to . . . has originated'' 
are substituted for ``in which 50 percent or more of the dollar value 
added of . . . originated. If no country accounts for 50 percent or more 
of the dollar value, then the country of origin is the country from 
which the largest share of the value added originated'' for clarity and 
to eliminate unnecessary words. In subclause (A), the word ``with'' is 
substituted for ``For the purpose of determining the country of origin 
for engines and transmissions'' are omitted as unnecessary.
    In subsection (a)(4), the word ``possession'' is added for clarity 
and consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code.
    In subsection (a)(5), the words ``in such a condition'' are omitted 
as surplus.
    In subsection (a)(6), the words ``United States/Canadian origin'' 
are substituted for ``U.S./Canadian origin'' for consistency with the 
defined term restated in the revised section. The word ``foreign'' is 
omitted as being included in ``foreign content''.
    In subsection (a)(9), before subclause (A), the words ``originated 
in the United States and Canada'' and ``U.S./Canadian origin'' are 
omitted as unnecessary because of the defined term ``of United States/
Canadian origin''. In subclause (A), the words ``passenger motor vehicle 
equipment whose purchase price contains'' are substituted for ``the 
purchase price of automotive equipment which contains'' for clarity. In 
subclause (B), the words ``that part of the individual passenger motor 
vehicle equipment whose purchase price the manufacturer determines 
remains after subtracting the total of the purchase price of all 
material of foreign content purchased from outside suppliers'' are 
substituted for ``the manufacturer shall determine the foreign content 
of any passenger motor vehicle equipment supplied by the allied supplier 
by adding up the purchase price of all foreign material purchased from 
outside suppliers that comprise the individual passenger motor vehicle 
equipment and subtracting such purchase price from the total purchase 
price of such equipment'' for clarity.
    In subsection (a)(10), the word ``person'' is substituted for 
``anyone'' for clarity and consistency in the revised title.
    In subsection (a)(11), the words ``a motor vehicle with motive 
power, manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and 
highways, and designed to carry not more than 12 individuals . . . not 
including . . . a motorcycle; or . . . a truck not designed primarily to 
carry its operator or passengers'' are substituted for ``has the meaning 
provided in section 1901(1) of this title'' for clarity.
    In subsection (a)(13), before subclause (A), the words ``the 
percentage remaining after subtracting'' are substituted for ``the 
resulting percentage when . . . is subtracted'' for clarity.
    In subsection (a)(15), before subclause (A), the words `` `Value 
added' equals'' are omitted as unnecessary because of the restatement.
    The text of 15:1950(f)(2) is omitted as unnecessary because of 1:1. 
The text of 15:1950(f)(8) is omitted because the complete title of the 
Secretary of Transportation is used the first time the term appears in a 
section.
    In subsection (b)(1)(A), the words ``to which that vehicle belongs'' 
are added for clarity.
    In subsection (b)(3), the text of 15:1950(b)(3) (1st sentence) is 
omitted as unnecessary because of the source provisions restated in this 
subsection.
    Subsection (c) is substituted for ``and each dealer shall cause to 
be maintained'' for clarity and because of the restatement.
    In subsection (e), the words ``passenger motor vehicle equipment'' 
are substituted for ``a component'' for clarity and for consistency with 
the defined term. The text of 15:1950(d) (last sentence) is omitted as 
unnecessary because of section 32308 of the revised title. The words 
``foreign content'' are substituted for ``foreign'' for clarity and 
consistency with the defined term.


                       Pub. L. 103-429, Sec. 6(29)

    This amends 32304(a)(11) to clarify the restatement of 15:1950(f)(3) 
by section 1 of the Act of July 5, 1994 (Public Law 103-272, 108 Stat. 
1038).


                       Pub. L. 103-429, Sec. 6(30)

    This amends 49:32304(a)(14) to reflect the inclusion of the Northern 
Mariana Islands and the exclusion of the Canal Zone. The words ``the 
Northern Mariana Islands'' are added because of section 502(a)(2) of the 
Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 
Political Union with the United States of America, as enacted by the Act 
of March 24, 1976 (Public Law 94-241, 90 Stat. 268), and as proclaimed 
to be in effect by the President on January 9, 1978 (Proc. No. 4534, 
Oct. 24, 1977, 42 F.R. 56593). The words ``the Canal Zone'' are omitted 
because of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977.


                               Amendments

    1998--Subsec. (a)(3)(B). Pub. L. 105-178, Sec. 7106(d)(1)(A), 
inserted before period at end ``, plus the assembly and labor costs 
incurred for the final assembly of such engines and transmissions''.
    Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 105-178, Sec. 7106(d)(1)(B), inserted at end 
``Such term does not include facilities for engine and transmission 
fabrication and assembly and the facilities for fabrication of motor 
vehicle equipment component parts which are produced at the same final 
assembly place using forming processes such as stamping, machining, or 
molding processes.''
    Subsec. (a)(9)(A). Pub. L. 105-178, Sec. 7106(d)(1)(C), amended 
subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (A) read as follows: 
``for an outside supplier, passenger motor vehicle equipment whose 
purchase price contains at least 70 percent value added in the United 
States and Canada; and''.
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 105-178, Sec. 7106(d)(3), added subsec. (c). 
Former subsec. (c) redesignated (f).
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105-178, Sec. 7106(d)(4), added subsec. (d). 
Former subsec. (d) redesignated (g).
    Pub. L. 105-178, Sec. 7106(d)(2), inserted at end ``A manufacturer 
may add to the label required under subsection (b) a line stating the 
country in which vehicle assembly was completed.''
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105-178, Sec. 7106(d)(5), added subsec. (e). 
Former subsec. (e) redesignated (h).
    Subsecs. (f) to (i). Pub. L. 105-178, Sec. 7106(d)(3), redesignated 
subsecs. (c) to (f) as (f) to (i), respectively.
    1994--Subsec. (a)(11). Pub. L. 103-429, Sec. 6(29), amended par. 
(11) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (11) read as follows: `` 
`passenger motor vehicle' means a motor vehicle with motive power, 
manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways, 
and designed to carry not more than 12 individuals--
        ``(A) including a multipurpose vehicle or light duty truck when 
    the vehicle or truck is rated at not more than 8,500 pounds gross 
    vehicle weight; but
        ``(B) not including--
            ``(i) a motorcycle;
            ``(ii) a truck not designed primarily to carry its operator 
        or passengers; or
            ``(iii) a vehicle operated only on a rail line.''
    Subsec. (a)(14). Pub. L. 103-429, Sec. 6(30), inserted ``the 
Northern Mariana Islands,'' after ``Puerto Rico,'' and struck out ``the 
Canal Zone,'' after ``Guam,''.


                    Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 103-429 effective July 5, 1994, see section 9 
of Pub. L. 103-429, set out as a note under section 321 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 32309 of this title.
