19 U.S.C. § 2492 : US Code - Section 2492: Tariff treatment of products of uncooperative major drug producing or drug-transit countries

Search 19 U.S.C. § 2492 : US Code - Section 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.