Politics
Hemp Imports Would Face New Tariffs And Testing Requirements Under Congressional Bill
A Democratic congresswoman has filed a new bill that would impose a substantial tariff on hemp products being imported into the U.S. from China while also adding new testing requirements for cannabinoid products coming into the country.
The Protecting American Hemp Farmers Act, filed on Thursday by Rep. Val Hoyle (D-OR), would “impose an additional duty of 50 percent of the customs value of any article originating from China” that is a hemp-derived cannabinoid product or other specified cannabinoid when imported into the U.S.’s customs territory.
The legislation directs the U.S. International Trade Commission to add new categories to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule for cannabinoid isolates, cannabinoid distillates, naturally derived cannabinoids, synthetic cannabinoids and chemically altered cannabinoids.
The measure defines the term hemp-derived cannabinoid products as meaning “any product containing cannabinoids derived or synthesized from Cannabis sativa L., or any extract, isolate, or derivative thereof, regardless of whether such product meets the definition of hemp” under federal law.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would be directed under the bill to require “such additional information or certifications from any person importing hemp or related products as may be necessary to ensure that articles subject to the additional tariff…do not evade such tariff through transshipment or other repackaging, blending, or minimal processing in third countries.”
CBP would also need to coordinate with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement mandatory testing requirements for cannabinoid products being imported into the U.S. for human consumption.
The testing would need to measure the presence of:
(1) heavy metal content, such as lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, molds, and mycotoxins;
(2) pesticide residues;
(3) microbial contamination;
(4) residual solvents; and
(5) synthetic byproducts and unknown compounds.
CBP and the International Trade Commission would need to publish annual reports that track import data for cannabinoid products disaggregated by country of origin, cannabinoid classification, quantity and customs value. The reports would also need to include information about product testing and the extent to which imports were refused due to the results.
The bill comes at a crucial time for the hemp industry.
Hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill that President Donald Trump signed during his first term in office. But late last year, the president signed new legislation containing provisions that redefined hemp to make it so only products with 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container would remain legal after November 12.
Now, however, under provisions included in a funding bill Trump signed last month, the effective date of the ban for most products is being pushed back to December 11 to give lawmakers more time to craft regulations for hemp derivatives. There is a carve-out, however, to allow the recriminalization on November 12 of synthetic cannabinoids “that are not capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant.”
Meanwhile, a Republican congressman is raising the possibility that provisions to reverse the still-planned federal recriminalization of hemp THC products could be included in a broader budget reconciliation bill during the lame-duck session of Congress following next week’s midterm elections.
Read the full text of the new hemp bill below:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28859798-protecting-american-hemp-farmers-act-xml-4/
