§ 4112. Earned import allowance program
(a)
Preferential treatment
(1)
In general
Eligible apparel articles wholly assembled in an eligible country and imported directly from an eligible country shall enter the United States free of duty, without regard to the source of the fabric or yarns from which the articles are made, if such apparel articles are accompanied by an earned import allowance certificate that reflects the amount of credits equal to the total square meter equivalents of fabric in such apparel articles, in accordance with the program established under subsection (b).
(2)
Determination of quantity of SME
For purposes of determining the quantity of square meter equivalents under paragraph (1), the conversion factors listed in “Correlation: U.S. Textile and Apparel Industry Category System with the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States of America, 2008”, or its successor publications, of the United States Department of Commerce, shall apply.
(b)
Earned import allowance program
(1)
Establishment
The Secretary of Commerce shall establish a program to provide earned import allowance certificates to any producer or entity controlling production of eligible apparel articles in an eligible country for purposes of subsection (a), based on the elements described in paragraph (2).
(2)
Elements
The elements referred to in paragraph (1) are the following:
(A)
One credit shall be issued to a producer or an entity controlling production for every two square meter equivalents of qualifying fabric that the producer or entity controlling production can demonstrate that it has purchased for the manufacture in an eligible country of articles like or similar to any article eligible for preferential treatment under subsection (a). The Secretary of Commerce shall, if requested by a producer or entity controlling production, create and maintain an account for such producer or entity controlling production, into which such credits may be deposited.
(B)
Such producer or entity controlling production may redeem credits issued under subparagraph (A) for earned import allowance certificates reflecting such number of earned credits as the producer or entity may request and has available.
(C)
Any textile mill or other entity located in the United States that exports qualifying fabric to an eligible country may submit, upon such export or upon request, the Shipper’s Export Declaration, or successor documentation, to the Secretary of Commerce—
(D)
The Secretary of Commerce may require that a producer or entity controlling production submit documentation to verify purchases of qualifying fabric.
(E)
The Secretary of Commerce may make available to each person or entity identified in the documentation submitted under subparagraph (C) or (D) information contained in such documentation that relates to the purchase of qualifying fabric involving such person or entity.
(F)
The program shall be established so as to allow, to the extent feasible, the submission, storage, retrieval, and disclosure of information in electronic format, including information with respect to the earned import allowance certificates required under subsection (a)(1).
(c)
Definitions
For purposes of this section—
(1)
the term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate;
(2)
the term “eligible apparel articles” means the following articles classified in chapter 62 of the HTS (and meeting the requirements of the rules relating to chapter 62 of the HTS contained in general note 29(n) of the HTS) of cotton (but not of denim): trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts, skirts and divided skirts, and pants;
(4)
the term “qualifying fabric” means woven fabric of cotton wholly formed in the United States from yarns wholly formed in the United States and certified by the producer or entity controlling production as being suitable for use in the manufacture of apparel items such as trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts, skirts and divided skirts or pants, all the foregoing of cotton, except that—
(A)
fabric otherwise eligible as qualifying fabric shall not be ineligible as qualifying fabric because the fabric contains nylon filament yarn with respect to which section
2703
(b)(2)(A)(vii)(IV) of this title applies;
(B)
fabric that would otherwise be ineligible as qualifying fabric because the fabric contains yarns not wholly formed in the United States shall not be ineligible as qualifying fabric if the total weight of all such yarns is not more than 10 percent of the total weight of the fabric, except that any elastomeric yarn contained in an eligible apparel article must be wholly formed in the United States; and
(C)
fabric otherwise eligible as qualifying fabric shall not be ineligible as qualifying fabric because the fabric contains yarns or fibers that have been designated as not commercially available pursuant to—
(vi)
any other provision, relating to determining whether a textile or apparel article is an originating good eligible for preferential treatment, of a law that implements a free trade agreement entered into by the United States that is in effect at the time the claim for preferential treatment is made.
(d)
Review and report
(e)
Effective date and applicability
(1)
Effective date
The program under this section shall be in effect for the 10-year period beginning on the date on which the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that sections A, B, C, and D of the Annex to Presidential Proclamation 8213 (December 20, 2007) have taken effect.