Sec. 254. Near-shoring of strategic supply chains and transformational energy investments
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It is the policy of the United States— to advance United States national security goals and hemispheric foreign policy and development goals by assisting countries in the Western Hemisphere to establish the ecosystems necessary to host strategic industries in order to reduce vulnerabilities of the United States, in particular with respect to supply chains based, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, in the People's Republic of China; to the maximum extent practicable, to seek to identify development opportunities and engage in early-stage project support to promote transformational energy projects to increase competitiveness in the energy sector in the Western Hemisphere; and to reduce the influence of the People's Republic of China in the Western Hemisphere.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State, through the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Americas Partnership established under section 203(c)(1), and in coordination with the United States Trade Representative, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, and other appropriate officials, shall submit to Congress a report identifying— supply chains identified under Executive Order 14017 (86 Fed. Reg. 11849; relating to America's supply chains), as amended on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, located in the Western Hemisphere (in this section referred to as strategic supply chains ); products produced by such supply chains; entities that are part of such supply chains; and opportunities for transformational energy investments in Americas partner countries.
The report required by paragraph
(1)shall list— opportunities for— near-shoring of products within strategic supply chains; and transformational energy investments in Americas partner countries; and support for such near-shoring and energy investments identified under subsection (c). In identifying opportunities for near-shoring and energy investments under this subsection, the Secretary— shall consult with United States industry to obtain feasibility studies, viability plans, and letters of commitment relating to such opportunities; and may issue requests for information relating to such opportunities to determine the needs of industry with respect to near-shoring strategic supply chains. The report required by paragraph
(1)shall include a work plan setting forth a prioritization for the near-shoring of products within strategic supply chains and for transformational energy investments, including the tools to be used and the authorities to be exercised in the implementation of such near-shoring and energy investments as part of a special economic initiative under subsection (d). The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies— shall, in partnership with industry and stakeholders, identify opportunities that would be appropriate for near-shoring or for transformational energy investments; and may provide funding to support such opportunities as provided in this title. In selecting among opportunities that will receive funding under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall give preference to opportunities that— have the support of the government of the country in which the production of the product or energy investment will take place; and can attract private investment. The Secretary of Commerce may provide funding under this subsection to near-shore the production of a product identified under subsection (b)(1)(B) to a country that is not an Americas partner country if the Secretary determines and certifies to Congress that there are no opportunities appropriate for re-shoring or near-shoring to Americas partner countries. The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, may provide funding for a transformational energy project in a country that is not an Americas partner country if the Secretary notifies Congress of the intention of the Secretary to provide the funding before providing the funding. The President shall establish a special economic initiative for strategic supply chains and transformational energy investments, to be administered by the Department of Commerce, under which the tools described in the provisions of and amendments made by this subtitle and subtitle D are made available to Americas partner countries and such other countries as the President considers appropriate. Not less than 15 days before exercising the authority provided by paragraph
(1)to establish a special economic initiative with respect to a country, the President shall— notify Congress of the intention of the President to exercise that authority; and submit to Congress a plan for the initiative, which shall include a description of— the sector involved; the projects involved; an analysis, including environmental analysis, available with respect to the initiative; the agreement with the government of the country with respect to the initiative; and the cost of the initiative. The President may enter into agreements using authorities of Federal agencies, including the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, or any other authorities the President considers appropriate, to advance a special economic initiative under paragraph (1). The President may waive the requirements of title 41, United States Code, relating to competition in the awarding of Government contracts in the case of a contract related to the near-shoring of strategic supply chains or transformational energy investments through a special economic initiative under paragraph
(1)if the ethics officer of the agency seeking to enter into the contract evaluates the contract and the certifies that there are no conflicts of interest. An ethics officer shall have not less than 20 business days to conduct an evaluation described in subparagraph (A). The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretary of State and the heads of other agencies that operate under the foreign policy guidance of the Secretary of State, shall, as appropriate, prioritize and expedite the efforts of the Department of Commerce, the Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Energy, and such other agencies in supporting the efforts of the United States Government to incentivize near-shoring and transformational energy investments through financial and nonfinancial methods, including methods described in this subsection, and Americas partner countries to support near-shoring and increase investment in entities identified under subsection (b)(1)(C) by— providing diplomatic, political, and economic support to such entities in Americas partner countries or other countries in the Western Hemisphere identified by the Secretary of Commerce as necessary; facilitating negotiations concerning cross-border infrastructure, such as electric grids, ports, trains, or other infrastructure that crosses borders; providing technical and grant assistance to enhance the regulatory and labor environments of Americas partner countries and other such other countries to facilitate United States business investments; and facilitating both early-stage project support and late-stage project support to such entities with respect to near-shoring. An entity identified under subparagraph
(C)of subsection (b)(1) that receives assistance with re-shoring or near-shoring production of a product identified under subparagraph
(B)of that subsection is eligible to receive export protection as described in clause (iii). If the application of an entity submitted under clause
(i)is approved, the entity shall submit to the Secretary of Commerce a report specifying the average production level of the product described in that clause in the United States for the 3 calendar years preceding submission of the report. If the quantity of production in the United States of a product described in clause
(i)exceeds the level specified under clause (ii), the quantity in excess of that level may be exported without being subject to export controls or any other restrictions on exportation (subject to such exceptions as the President may declare are in the national security interests of the United States). Funding for a special economic initiative under paragraph
(1)shall be taken from the Re-shoring and Near-shoring Account established under section 301. The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Americas Partnership business advisory board established by the Americas Partnership Secretariat under section 202, and with support from appropriate officials of the United States Government, such as the Assistant United States Trade Representative for the Americas Partnership established under section 203(b) and the official of the Trade and Development Agency with lead responsibility for the implementation of this title, shall begin a process of regulatory alignment with respect to supply chains, energy investments, and products identified under subsection (b)(1) with— Americas partner countries; and any other country that benefits from the near-shoring of the production of a product identified under subsection (b)(1)(B) to the country or transformational energy investments. In carrying out the process described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall begin with regulatory alignment with respect to pharmaceuticals. The Secretary shall submit to Congress and make available to the public reports on the success of efforts under paragraph
(1)on a continuous basis. An entity organized under the laws of an Americas partner country or another country, as the President considers appropriate, that is part of a strategic supply chain shall be treated not less favorably than a United States person with respect to duties, subsidies, and other related issues. The Millennium Challenge Corporation may provide assistance under the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 ( 22 U.S.C. 7701 et seq. ) to an Americas partner country or another country, as the President considers appropriate, for purposes of supporting the near-shoring of strategic supply chains and transformational energy investments without regard to— any requirement of that Act relating to competitive procedures; or the requirement to enter into a Compact under section 609 of that Act ( 22 U.S.C. 7708 ). The Trade and Development Agency may provide assistance under the section 661 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2421 ) to all Americas partner countries, without regard to the limitation under subsection
(a)of that section, for purposes of supporting the near-shoring of strategic supply chains. The United States Agency for International Development, the United States International Development Finance Corporation, the Trade and Development Agency, and other relevant agencies shall provide technical assistance with respect to the near-shoring of strategic supply chains. In this section: The term early-stage project support includes the following: Feasibility studies. Long-term strategic supply chain planning. Resource evaluations. Project appraisal and costing. Pilot projects. Commercial support, such as trade missions, reverse trade missions, technical workshops, international buyer programs, and international partner searchers to link suppliers to projects. Technical assistance and other guidance to improve the local regulatory environment and market frameworks to encourage transparent competition. The term late-stage project support includes support of the type provided by the BUILD Americas Unit.
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- 86 FR 11849
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Sec. 254
Near-shoring of strategic supply chains and transformational energy investments
Fed. Reg.86 FR 11849
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