[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1910 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1910
To require foreign manufacturers of products imported into the United
States to establish registered agents in the United States who are
authorized to accept service of process against such manufacturers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 9, 2013
Mr. Cartwright (for himself, Mr. Turner, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Mr.
Braley of Iowa, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Ellison,
Mr. Enyart, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Jones, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Ms. Norton,
Mr. Peters of Michigan, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of
California, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Vela, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr.
Michaud, Mr. Grayson, Mr. Joyce, Mr. Keating, Mr. Perlmutter, Mr.
Cohen, Mr. Andrews, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Kuster, Ms. Edwards, and Mr.
Pocan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on
Ways and Means and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require foreign manufacturers of products imported into the United
States to establish registered agents in the United States who are
authorized to accept service of process against such manufacturers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Foreign Manufacturers Legal
Accountability Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Each year, many people in the United States are injured
by defective products manufactured or produced by foreign
entities and imported into the United States.
(2) Both consumers and businesses in the United States have
been harmed by injuries to people in the United States caused
by defective products manufactured or produced by foreign
entities.
(3) People in the United States injured by defective
products manufactured or produced by foreign entities often
have difficulty recovering damages from the foreign
manufacturers and producers responsible for such injuries.
(4) The difficulty described in paragraph (3) is caused by
the obstacles in bringing a foreign manufacturer or producer
into a United States court and subsequently enforcing a
judgment against that manufacturer or producer.
(5) Obstacles to holding a responsible foreign manufacturer
or producer liable for an injury to a person in the United
States undermine the purpose of the tort laws of the United
States.
(6) The difficulty of applying the tort laws of the United
States to foreign manufacturers and producers puts United
States manufacturers and producers at a competitive
disadvantage because United States manufacturers and producers
must--
(A) abide by common law and statutory safety
standards; and
(B) invest substantial resources to ensure that
they do so.
(7) Foreign manufacturers and producers can avoid the
expenses necessary to make their products safe if they know
that they will not be held liable for violations of United
States product safety laws.
(8) Businesses in the United States undertake numerous
commercial relationships with foreign manufacturers, exposing
the businesses to additional tort liability when foreign
manufacturers or producers evade United States courts.
(9) Businesses in the United States engaged in commercial
relationships with foreign manufacturers or producers often
cannot vindicate their contractual rights if such manufacturers
or producers seek to avoid responsibility in United States
courts.
(10) One of the major obstacles facing businesses and
individuals in the United States who are injured and who seek
compensation for economic or personal injuries caused by
foreign manufacturers and producers is the challenge of serving
process on such manufacturers and producers.
(11) An individual or business injured in the United States
by a foreign company must rely on a foreign government to serve
process when that company is located in a country that is a
signatory to the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial
and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters done
at The Hague November 15, 1965 (20 UST 361; TIAS 6638).
(12) An injured person in the United States must rely on
the cumbersome system of letters rogatory to effect service in
a country that did not sign the Convention on the Service
Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or
Commercial Matters. These countries do not have an enforceable
obligation to serve process as requested.
(13) The procedures described in paragraphs (11) and (12)
add time and expense to litigation in the United States,
thereby discouraging or frustrating meritorious lawsuits
brought by persons injured in the United States against foreign
manufacturers and producers.
(14) Foreign manufacturers and producers often seek to
avoid judicial consideration of their actions by asserting that
United States courts lack personal jurisdiction over them.
(15) The due process clauses of the fifth amendment to and
section 1 of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution
govern United States courts' personal jurisdiction over
defendants.
(16) The due process clauses described in paragraph (15)
are satisfied when a defendant consents to the jurisdiction of
a court.
(17) United States markets present many opportunities for
foreign manufacturers.
(18) In choosing to export products to the United States, a
foreign manufacturer or producer subjects itself to the laws of
the United States. Such a foreign manufacturer or producer
thereby acknowledges that it is subject to the personal
jurisdiction of the State and Federal courts in at least one
State.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) foreign manufacturers and producers whose products are
sold in the United States should not be able to avoid liability
simply because of difficulties relating to serving process upon
them;
(2) to avoid such lack of accountability, foreign
manufacturers and producers of foreign products distributed in
the United States should be required, by regulation, to
register an agent in the United States who is authorized to
accept service of process for such manufacturer or producer;
(3) it is unfair to United States consumers and businesses
that foreign manufacturers and producers often seek to avoid
judicial consideration of their actions by asserting that
United States courts lack personal jurisdiction over them;
(4) those who benefit from exporting products to United
States markets should expect to be subject to the jurisdiction
of at least one court within the United States;
(5) exporting products to the United States should be
understood as consent to the accountability that the legal
system of the United States ensures for all manufacturers and
producers, foreign, and domestic;
(6) exporters recognize the scope of opportunities
presented to them by United States markets but also should
recognize that products imported into the United States must
satisfy Federal and State safety standards established by
statute, regulation, and common law;
(7) foreign manufacturers should recognize that they are
responsible for the contracts they enter into with United
States companies;
(8) foreign manufacturers should act responsibly and
recognize that they operate within the constraints of the
United States legal system when they export products to the
United States;
(9) United States laws and the laws of United States
trading partners should not put burdens on foreign
manufacturers and producers that do not apply to domestic
companies;
(10) it is fair to ensure that foreign manufacturers, whose
products are distributed in commerce in the United States, are
subject to the jurisdiction of State and Federal courts in at
least one State because all United States manufacturers are
subject to the jurisdiction of the State and Federal courts in
at least one State; and
(11) it should be understood that, by registering an agent
for service of process in the United States, the foreign
manufacturer or producer acknowledges consent to the
jurisdiction of the State in which the registered agent is
located.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Applicable agency.--The term ``applicable agency''
means, with respect to covered products--
(A) described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
paragraph (4), the Food and Drug Administration;
(B) described in paragraph (4)(C), the Consumer
Product Safety Commission;
(C) described in subparagraphs (D) and (E) of
paragraph (4), the Environmental Protection Agency; and
(D) described in subparagraph (F) of paragraph
(4)--
(i) the Food and Drug Administration, if
the item is intended to be a component part of
a product described in subparagraphs (A) and
(B) of paragraph (4);
(ii) the Consumer Product Safety
Commission, if the item is intended to be a
component part of a product described in
paragraph (4)(C); and
(iii) the Environmental Protection Agency,
if the item is intended to be a component part
of a product described in subparagraphs (D) and
(E) of paragraph (4).
(2) Commerce.--The term ``commerce'' means trade, traffic,
commerce, or transportation--
(A) between a place in a State and any place
outside of the State; or
(B) which affects trade, traffic, commerce, or
transportation described in subparagraph (A).
(3) Commissioner of u.s. customs and border protection.--
The term ``Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection''
means the Commissioner responsible for U.S. Customs and Border
Protection of the Department of Homeland Security.
(4) Covered product.--The term ``covered product'' means
any of the following:
(A) Drugs, devices, and cosmetics, as such terms
are defined in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321).
(B) A biological product, as such term is defined
in section 351(i) of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 262(i)).
(C) A consumer product, as such term is used in
section 3(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15
U.S.C. 2052).
(D) A chemical substance or new chemical substance,
as such terms are defined in section 3 of the Toxic
Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2602).
(E) A pesticide, as such term is defined in section
2 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136).
(F) An item that is intended to be a component part
of a product described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C),
(D), or (E) but is not yet a component part of such
product.
(5) Distribute in commerce.--The term ``distribute in
commerce'' means to sell in commerce, to introduce or deliver
for introduction into commerce, or to hold for sale or
distribution after introduction into commerce.
SEC. 5. REGISTRATION OF AGENTS OF FOREIGN MANUFACTURERS AUTHORIZED TO
ACCEPT SERVICE OF PROCESS IN THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Registration.--
(1) In general.--Beginning on the date that is 180 days
after the date on which the regulations are prescribed pursuant
to subsection (e)(1) and except as otherwise provided in this
subsection, the head of each applicable agency shall require
foreign manufacturers and producers of covered products
distributed in commerce to establish a registered agent in the
United States who is authorized to accept service of process on
behalf of such manufacturer or producer for the purpose of any
State or Federal regulatory proceeding or any civil action in
any State or Federal court relating to such covered product, if
such service is made in accord with the State or Federal rules
for service of process in the State in which the regulatory
action or case is brought.
(2) Location.--The head of each applicable agency shall
require that an agent of a foreign manufacturer or producer
registered under this subsection with respect to a covered
product be located in a State with a substantial connection to
the importation, distribution, or sale of the covered product.
(3) Designation and acceptance.--
(A) Designation by foreign manufacturers and
producers.--The head of each applicable agency shall
require each foreign manufacturer and producer
described in paragraph (1) to provide to the applicable
agency a written designation of the agent established
by the foreign manufacturer or producer pursuant to
paragraph (1) that--
(i) is signed by an official or employee of
the foreign manufacturer or producer who has
authority to appoint an agent;
(ii) contains the full legal name,
principal place of business, and mailing
address of the foreign manufacturer or
producer; and
(iii) contains a statement that the
designation is valid and binding on the foreign
manufacturer or producer for the purposes of
this section.
(B) Acceptance by agents.--The head of each
applicable agency shall require each agent established
pursuant to paragraph (1) with respect to a foreign
manufacturer or producer to provide to the applicable
agency a written acceptance of such establishment
that--
(i) is signed by the agent or, in the case
in which a domestic firm or domestic
corporation is designated as an agent, an
official or employee of the firm or corporation
with authority to sign for the firm or
corporation;
(ii) contains the agent's full legal name,
physical address, mailing address, and
telephone number;
(iii) contains a statement that the agent
accepts such establishment and the designation
by the foreign manufacturer or producer under
subparagraph (A); and
(iv) contains a statement that the agent
acknowledges that the duties of the agent--
(I) may not be assigned to another
person; and
(II) remain in effect until
withdrawn or replaced by the foreign
manufacturer or producer.
(4) Minimum size.--This subsection shall only apply to
foreign manufacturers and producers that manufacture or produce
covered products in excess of a minimum value or quantity the
head of the applicable agency shall prescribe by rule for
purposes of this section. Such rules may include different
minimum values or quantities for different subcategories of
covered products prescribed by the head of the applicable
agency for purposes of this section.
(b) Registry of Agents of Foreign Manufacturers.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce shall, in
cooperation with each head of an applicable agency, establish
and keep up to date a registry of agents registered under
subsection (a).
(2) Availability.--The Secretary of Commerce shall make the
registry established under paragraph (1) available--
(A) to the public through the Internet website of
the Department of Commerce; and
(B) to the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection.
(c) Consent to Jurisdiction.--
(1) In general.--A foreign manufacturer or producer of a
covered product that registers an agent under this section
thereby consents to the personal jurisdiction of the State or
Federal courts of the State in which the registered agent is
located for the purpose of any regulatory proceeding or civil
action relating to such covered product.
(2) Rule of construction.--Paragraph (1) shall not be
construed to apply to actions brought by foreign plaintiffs in
which the alleged injury or damage occurred outside the United
States.
(d) Declarations.--
(1) In general.--Beginning on the date that is 180 days
after the date on which the regulations are prescribed pursuant
to subsection (e), any person importing a covered product
manufactured or produced outside the United States shall
provide to U.S. Customs and Border Protection a declaration
that--
(A) the person has made appropriate inquiry as to
whether the manufacturer or producer of the covered
product has complied with the requirements of this
section, including by seeking appropriate documentation
from the exporter of the covered product and by
consulting the registry established pursuant to
subsection (b); and
(B) to the best of the person's knowledge, with
respect to each importation of a covered product, the
foreign manufacturer or producer of the product has
registered an agent in the United States as required
under subsection (a).
(2) Electronic submission.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of U.S.
Customs and Border Protection shall establish a mechanism
whereby declarations made pursuant to paragraph (1) may be
submitted electronically and maintained as an electronic record
within the data management systems of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection.
(3) Regulations.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of
U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall prescribe
regulations to carry out this subsection.
(B) Summary declaration.--The regulations required
by subparagraph (A) shall require that each declaration
of an importer made pursuant to paragraph (1) with
respect to a covered product shall accompany the entry
summary documentation for such product or, in the case
of repeated transactions, may be submitted on an annual
basis.
(4) Penalties.--Any person who fails to provide a
declaration required under paragraph (1), or files a false
declaration, shall be subject to any appropriate penalty under
section 592 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592) or title
18, United States Code, with respect to importation of a
covered product.
(e) Regulations.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce, the
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and each
head of an applicable agency shall prescribe regulations to
carry out this section, including the establishment of minimum
values and quantities under subsection (a)(4).
(2) Interagency cooperation.--The Secretary of Commerce,
the Commissioner responsible for U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, and each head of an applicable agency shall
cooperate and consult with one another for the purpose of--
(A) prescribing consistent regulations to the
extent necessary for the effective and efficient
sharing of information and establishment of systems and
procedures necessary to carry out this section; and
(B) establishing minimum values and quantities
under subsection (a)(4), and to the extent advisable
and practicable for the purpose of establishing
consistent minimum requirements.
SEC. 6. STUDY ON REGISTRATION OF AGENTS OF FOREIGN FOOD PRODUCERS
AUTHORIZED TO ACCEPT SERVICE OF PROCESS IN THE UNITED
STATES.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs
shall jointly--
(1) complete a study on the feasibility and advisability of
requiring foreign producers of food distributed in commerce to
establish a registered agent in the United States who is
authorized to accept service of process on behalf of such
producers for the purpose of all civil and regulatory actions
in State and Federal courts; and
(2) submit to Congress a report on the findings of the
Secretary with respect to such study.
SEC. 7. STUDY ON REGISTRATION OF AGENTS OF FOREIGN MANUFACTURERS AND
PRODUCERS OF COMPONENT PARTS WITHIN COVERED PRODUCTS.
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the head of each applicable agency shall--
(1) complete a study on determining feasible and advisable
methods of requiring manufacturers or producers of component
parts within covered products manufactured or produced outside
the United States and distributed in commerce to establish
registered agents in the United States who are authorized to
accept service of process on behalf of such manufacturers or
producers for the purpose of all civil and regulatory actions
in State and Federal courts; and
(2) submit to Congress a report on the findings of the head
of the applicable agency with respect to the study.
SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER LAWS.
Nothing in this Act shall affect the authority of any State to
establish or continue in effect a provision of State law relating to
service of process or personal jurisdiction, except to the extent that
such provision of law is inconsistent with the provisions of this Act,
and then only to the extent of such inconsistency.
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