,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cdgj ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #ah1 #bjah,mr4 ,cardin 7for himself and ,mr4 ,sullivan7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to promote ,united ,states-,mongolia trade by authorizing duty-free treatment for certain imports from ,mongolia1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,mongolia ,third ,neighbor ,trade ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,in #aiib1 ,mongolia adopted a constitution establishing a parliamentary democracy1 becoming the only nation in ,asia to transition from communism to democracy4 7#b7 ,mongolia shares land borders with only the ,russian ,federation and the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 nations that the ,united ,states national security strategy states want to shape a world antithetical to ,u4,s4 values and interests4 ,with a large land area and a population of only #c1jjj1jjj1 ,mongolia is the most sparsely populated country in the world1 and the sovereignty of ,mongolia is thought to be at risk from the overwhelming influence of its much larger and more populous neighbors4 7#c7 ,mongolia has shown its commitment to a third neighbor relationship with the ,united ,states by sending troops to support ,united ,states combat operations in ,iraq and ,afghanistan1 and has a strong record of troop contributions to international peacekeeping missions4 7#d7 ,the success of ,mongolia as a democracy1 the strategic location1 sovereignty1 and territorial integrity of ,mongolia1 and the ability of ,mongolia to pursue an independent foreign policy are highly relevant to the national security of the ,united ,states4 7#e7 ,mongolia describes the ,united ,states as its most important third neighbor1 but ,united ,states-,mongolia trade is substantially lower than many other bilateral trading relationships and trade has declined in recent years4 ,total trade in #bjab measured #gjg1jjj1jjj1 but in #bjag the ,united ,states exported only #hb1bjj1jjj in goods to ,mongolia and imported only #i1djj1jjj in goods from ,mongolia4 7#f7 ,the cashmere trade is particularly important to the economy of ,mongolia1 but although ,mongolia produces more than a third of raw cashmere in the world1 it produces few finished cashmere products4 ,most ,mongolian raw cashmere is exported to ,china1 and the ,united ,states buys nearly all of its cashmere products from ,china4 ,preferential treatment for ,united ,states imports of certain ,mongolian products1 including cashmere products1 would benefit the ,united ,states by facilitating increased trade with ,mongolia and reducing ,united ,states imports of ,chinese cashmere products4 7#g7 ,preferential treatment for ,united ,states imports of such ,mongolian products would benefit ,mongolia by reducing the economic dependence of ,mongolia on ,china and promoting the development of the garment industry of ,mongolia4 ,experts have expressed concern that ,mongolia is unduly economically reliant on ,china1 with more than #hj percent of exports from ,mongolia flowing to ,china annually1 largely from extractive industries4 ,industry leaders believe that the trade practices of ,china hinder the diversification of the economy of ,mongolia and the emergence of a domestic ,mongolian garment industry1 because ,chinese buyers only purchase raw ,mongolian cashmere1 not finished garments4 7#h7 ,the development of the garment industry in ,mongolia would also promote employment and empowerment of women in ,mongolia4 ,women have historically participated in the garment industry in ,mongolia at high rates1 and the garment industry has historically provided safe and stable employment for women in ,mongolia4 #c4 ,duty-free treatment for certain imports from ,mongolia 7a7 ,in general ,the ,president may provide duty-free treatment for any article described in subsection 7b7 that is imported directly from ,mongolia into the customs territory of the ,united ,states4 7b7 ,article described 7#a7 ,in general ,an article is described in this subsection if-- 7,a7 the article is the growth1 product1 or manufacture of ,mongolia2 7,b7 the article is classified under chapter #ea1 #eg1 #fj1 #fa1 #fb1 #fc1 or #id of the ,harmonized ,tariff ,schedule of the ,united ,states2 7,c7 7i7 the article is an apparel or textile article made of fabrics or fibers containing not less than #bc percent by weight of cashmere2 or 7ii7 the sum of the cost or value of cashmere components of the article is not less than #ea percent of the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered2 7,d7 in the case of an article that is a textile or apparel article1 the yarn and fabric used to manufacture the article are produced in ,mongolia2 7,e7 the sum of the cost or value of the materials produced in1 and the direct costs of processing operations performed in1 ,mongolia or the customs territory of the ,united ,states is not less than #ce percent of the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered2 and 7,f7 the ,president determines that the article is not import-sensitive1 after receiving the advice of the ,united ,states ,international ,trade ,commission in accordance with section #ejc7;e7 of the ,trade ,act of #aigd 7#ai ,u4,s4,c4 #bdfc7;e774 7#b7 ,exclusions ,an article shall not be treated as the growth1 product1 or manufacture of ,mongolia for purposes of paragraph 7#a77;,a7 by virtue of having merely undergone-- 7,a7 simple combining or packaging operations2 or 7,b7 mere dilution with water or mere dilution with another substance that does not materially alter the characteristics of the article4 7c7 ,verification with respect to transshipment for textile and apparel articles 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than ,april #a1 ,july #a1 ,october #a1 and ,january #a of each year1 the ,commissioner of ,u4,s4 ,customs and ,border ,protection shall verify that textile and apparel articles imported from ,mongolia to which duty-free treatment is extended under this ,act are not being unlawfully transshipped into the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,report to ,president ,if the ,commissioner determines pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 that textile and apparel articles imported from ,mongolia to which duty-free treatment is extended under this ,act are being unlawfully transshipped into the ,united ,states1 the ,commissioner shall report that determination to the ,president4 7d7 ,eligibility requirements ,duty-free treatment may be provided under this ,act only if the ,president determines and certifies to ,congress that-- 7#a7 ,mongolia meets the requirements set forth in paragraphs 7#a71 7#b71 and 7#c7 of section #ajd of the ,african ,growth and ,opportunity ,act 7#ai ,u4,s4,c4 #cgjc72 and 7#b7 after taking into account the factors set forth in paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#g7 of subsection 7c7 of section #ejb of the ,trade ,act of #aigd 7#ai ,u4,s4,c4 #bdfb71 ,mongolia meets the eligibility requirements of such section #ejb4 7e7 ,withdrawal1 suspension1 or limitation of preferential treatment2 mandatory graduation ,the provisions of subsections 7d7 and 7e7 of section #ejb of the ,trade ,act of #aigd 7#ai ,u4,s4,c4 #bdfb7 shall apply with respect to ,mongolia to the same extent and in the same manner as such provisions apply with respect to beneficiary developing countries under title ,v of that ,act 7#ai ,u4,s4,c4 #bdfa et seq474 7f7 ,termination of duty-,free treatment ,no duty-free treatment extended under this ,act shall remain in effect after ,december #ca1 #bjbe4 7g7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,customs territory of the ,united ,states ,the term customs territory of the ,united ,states has the meaning given the term in ,general ,note #b of the ,harmonized ,tariff ,schedule of the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,cashmere ,the term cashmere means fine hair obtained from a cashmere goat 7capra hircus laniger74 #d4 ,briefing requirement 7a7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and periodically thereafter1 the ,president shall monitor1 review1 and provide a briefing to the appropriate congressional committees on-- 7#a7 the implementation of this ,act2 7#b7 compliance of ,mongolia with the eligibility requirements described in section #c7;d72 and 7#c7 the trade and investment policy of the ,united ,states with respect to ,mongolia4 7b7 ,appropriate congressional committees defined ,in this section1 the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7#a7 the ,committee on ,finance and the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate2 and 7#b7 the ,committee on ,ways and ,means and the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives4