U.S. Code > Title 19 Customs Duties > CHAPTER 12—TRADE ACT OF 1974 (§§ 2101—2497b) > SUBCHAPTER VII—TARIFF TREATMENT OF PRODUCTS OF, AND OTHER SANCTIONS AGAINST, UNCOOPERATIVE MAJOR DRUG PRODUCING OR DRUG-TRANSIT COUNTRIES (§§ 2491—2495) > § 2492. Tariff treatment of products of uncooperative major drug producing or drug-transit countries

§ 2492. Tariff treatment of products of uncooperative major drug producing or drug-transit countries

(a) Required action by President
Subject to subsection (b) of this section, for every major drug producing country and every major drug-transit country, the President shall, on or after March 1, 1987, and March 1 of each succeeding year, to the extent considered necessary by the President to achieve the purposes of this subchapter—
(1) deny to any or all of the products of that country tariff treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences, the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act [19 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.], or any other law providing preferential tariff treatment;
(2) apply to any or all of the dutiable products of that country an additional duty at a rate not to exceed 50 percent ad valorem or the specific rate equivalent;
(3) apply to one or more duty-free products of that country a duty at a rate not to exceed 50 percent ad valorem;
(4) take the steps described in subsection (d)(1) or (d)(2) of this section, or both, to curtail air transportation between the United States and that country;
(5) withdraw the personnel and resources of the United States from participation in any arrangement with that country for the pre-clearance of customs by visitors between the United States and that country; or
(6) take any combination of the actions described in paragraphs (1) through (5).
(b) Certifications; Congressional action
(1)
(A) Subject to paragraph (3), subsection (a) of this section shall not apply with respect to a country if the President determines and certifies to the Congress, at the time of the submission of the report required by section 2291h of title 22, that—
(i) during the previous year the country has cooperated fully with the United States, or has taken adequate steps on its own—
(I) in satisfying the goals agreed to in an applicable bilateral narcotics agreement with the United States (as described in paragraph (B)) or a multilateral agreement which achieves the objectives of paragraph (B),
(II) in preventing narcotic and psychotropic drugs and other controlled substances produced or processed, in whole or in part, in such country or transported through such country, from being sold illegally within the jurisdiction of such country to United States Government personnel or their dependents or from being transported, directly or indirectly, into the United States,
(III) in preventing and punishing the laundering in that country of drug-related profits or drug-related moneys, and
(IV) in preventing and punishing bribery and other forms of public corruption which facilitate the illicit production, processing, or shipment of narcotic and psychotropic drugs and other controlled substances, or which discourage the investigation and prosecution of such acts; or
(ii) for a country that would not otherwise qualify for certification under clause (i), the vital national interests of the United States require that subsection (a) of this section not be applied with respect to that country.
(B) A bilateral narcotics agreement referred to in subparagraph (A)(i)(I) is an agreement between the United States and a foreign country in which the foreign country agrees to take specific activities, including, where applicable, efforts to—
(i) reduce drug production, drug consumption, and drug trafficking within its territory, including activities to address illicit crop eradication and crop substitution;
(ii) increase drug interdiction and enforcement;
(iii) increase drug education and treatment programs;
(iv) increase the identification of and elimination of illicit drug laboratories;
(v) increase the identification and elimination of the trafficking of essential precursor chemicals for the use in production of illegal drugs;
(vi) increase cooperation with United States drug enforcement officials; and
(vii) where applicable, increase participation in extradition treaties, mutual legal assistance provisions directed at money laundering, sharing of evidence, and other initiatives for cooperative drug enforcement.
(C) A country which in the previous year was designated as a major drug producing country or a major drug-transit country may not be determined to be cooperating fully under subparagraph (A)(i) unless it has in place a bilateral narcotics agreement with the United States or a multilateral agreement which achieves the objectives of subparagraph (B).
(D) If the President makes a certification with respect to a country pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii), he shall include in such certification—
(i) a full and complete description of the vital national interests placed at risk if action is taken pursuant to subsection (a) of this section with respect to that country; and
(ii) a statement weighing the risk described in clause (i) against the risks posed to the vital national interests of the United States by the failure of such country to cooperate fully with the United States in combating narcotics or to take adequate steps to combat narcotics on its own.
(E) The President may make a certification under subparagraph (A)(i) with respect to a major drug producing country or drug-transit country which is also a producer of licit opium only if the President determines that such country has taken steps to prevent significant diversion of its licit cultivation and production into the illicit market, maintains production and stockpiles at levels no higher than those consistent with licit market demand, and prevents illicit cultivation and production.
(2) In determining whether to make the certification required by paragraph (1) with respect to a country, the President shall consider the following:
(A) Have the actions of the government of that country resulted in the maximum reductions in illicit drug production which were determined to be achievable pursuant to section 2291 (e)(4) [1] of title 22? In the case of a major drug producing country, the President shall give foremost consideration, in determining whether to make the certification required by paragraph (1), to whether the government of that country has taken actions which have resulted in such reductions.
(B) Has that government taken the legal and law enforcement measures to enforce in its territory, to the maximum extent possible, the elimination of illicit cultivation and the suppression of illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in narcotic and psychotropic drugs and other controlled substances, as evidenced by seizures of such drugs and substances and of illicit laboratories and the arrest and prosecution of violators involved in the traffic in such drugs and substances significantly affecting the United States?
(C) Has that government taken the legal and law enforcement steps necessary to eliminate, to the maximum extent possible, the laundering in that country of drug-related profits or drug-related moneys, as evidenced by—
(i) the enactment and enforcement by that government of laws prohibiting such conduct,
(ii) that government entering into, and cooperating under the terms of, mutual legal assistance agreements with the United States governing (but not limited to) money laundering, and
(iii) the degree to which that government otherwise cooperates with United States law enforcement authorities on anti-money laundering efforts?
(D) Has that government taken the legal and law enforcement steps necessary to eliminate, to the maximum extent possible, bribery and other forms of public corruption which facilitate the illicit production, processing, or shipment of narcotic and psychotropic drugs and other controlled substances, or which discourage the investigation and prosecution of such acts, as evidenced by the enactment and enforcement of laws prohibiting such conduct?
(E) Has that government, as a matter of government policy, encouraged or facilitated the production or distribution of illicit narcotic and psychotropic drugs and other controlled substances?
(F) Does any senior official of that government engage in, encourage, or facilitate the production or distribution of illicit narcotic and psychotropic drugs and other controlled substances?
(G) Has that government investigated aggressively all cases in which any member of an agency of the United States Government engaged in drug enforcement activities since January 1, 1985, has been the victim of acts or threats of violence, inflicted by or with the complicity of any law enforcement or other officer of such country or any political subdivision thereof, and has energetically sought to bring the perpetrators of such offense or offenses to justice?
(H) Having been requested to do so by the United States Government, does that government fail to provide reasonable cooperation to lawful activities of United States drug enforcement agents, including the refusal of permission to such agents engaged in interdiction of aerial smuggling into the United States to pursue suspected aerial smugglers a reasonable distance into the airspace of the requested country?
(I) Has that government made necessary changes in legal codes in order to enable law enforcement officials to move more effectively against narcotics traffickers, such as new conspiracy laws and new asset seizure laws?
(J) Has that government expeditiously processed United States extradition requests relating to narcotics trafficking?
(K) Has that government refused to protect or give haven to any known drug traffickers, and has it expeditiously processed extradition requests relating to narcotics trafficking made by other countries?
(3) Subsection (a) of this section shall apply to a country without regard to paragraph (1) of this subsection if the Congress enacts, within 45 days of continuous session after receipt of a certification under paragraph (1), a joint resolution disapproving the determination of the President contained in that certification.
(4) If the President takes action under subsection (a) of this section, that action shall remain in effect until—
(A) the President makes the certification under paragraph (1), a period of 45 days of continuous session of Congress elapses, and during that period the Congress does not enact a joint resolution of disapproval; or
(B) the President submits at any other time a certification of the matters described in paragraph (1) with respect to that country, a period of 45 days of continuous session of Congress elapses, and during that period the Congress does not enact a joint resolution of disapproving the determination contained in that certification.
(5) For the purpose of expediting the consideration and enactment of joint resolutions under paragraphs (3) and (4)—
(A) a motion to proceed to the consideration of any such joint resolution after it has been reported by the Committee on Ways and Means shall be treated as highly privileged in the House of Representatives; and
(B) a motion to proceed to the consideration of any such joint resolution after it has been reported by the Committee on Finance shall be treated as privileged in the Senate.
(c) Duration of action
The action taken by the President under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) of this section shall apply to the products of a foreign country that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, during the period that such action is in effect.
(d) Presidential action regarding aviation
(1)
(A) The President is authorized to notify the government of a country against which is imposed the sanction described in subsection (a)(4) of this section of his intention to suspend the authority of foreign air carriers owned or controlled by the government or nationals of that country to engage in foreign air transportation to or from the United States.
(B) Within 10 days after the date of notification of a government under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Transportation shall take all steps necessary to suspend at the earliest possible date the authority of any foreign air carrier owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the government or nationals of that country to engage in foreign air transportation to or from the United States, notwithstanding any agreement relating to air services.
(C) The President may also direct the Secretary of Transportation to take such steps as may be necessary to suspend the authority of any air carrier to engage in foreign air transportation between the United States and that country.
(2)
(A) The President may direct the Secretary of State to terminate any air service agreement between the United States and a country against which the sanction described in subsection (a)(4) of this section is imposed in accordance with the provisions of that agreement.
(B) Upon termination of an agreement under this paragraph, the Secretary of Transportation shall take such steps as may be necessary to revoke at the earliest possible date the right of any foreign air carrier owned, or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the government or nationals of that country to engage in foreign air transportation to or from the United States.
(C) Upon termination of an agreement under this paragraph, the Secretary of Transportation may also revoke the authority of any air carrier to engage in foreign air transportation between the United States and that country.
(3) The Secretary of Transportation may provide for such exceptions from paragraphs (1) and (2) as the Secretary considers necessary to provide for emergencies in which the safety of an aircraft or its crew or passengers is threatened.
(4) For purposes of this subsection, the terms “air transportation”, “air carrier”, “foreign air carrier” and “foreign air transportation” have the meanings such terms have under section 40102 (a) of title 49.
(e) Standards and guidelines for determining major drug-transit countries
For each calendar year, the Secretary of State, after consultation with the appropriate committees of the Congress, shall establish numerical standards and other guidelines for determining which countries will be considered to be major drug-transit countries under section 2495 (3)(A) and (B) of this title.

[1] See References in Text note below.