12.151—Prohibitions and conditions on importations of jadeite, rubies, and articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies.

(a) General. The importation into the United States of jadeite, rubies, and articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies is prohibited or conditioned as described in this section pursuant to the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-286). For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) Jadeite. “Jadeite” means any jadeite classifiable under heading 7103 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS);

(2) Rubies. “Rubies” means any rubies classifiable under heading 7103 of the HTSUS;

(3) Articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies. “Articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies” means any article of jewelry classifiable under heading 7113 of the HTSUS that contains jadeite or rubies, or any article of jadeite or rubies classifiable under heading 7116 of the HTSUS; and

(4) United States. “United States” means the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

(b) Prohibited Articles. The following articles are prohibited from importation into the United States (see 31 CFR part 537 ):

(1) Jadeite mined or extracted from Burma;

(2) Rubies mined or extracted from Burma; and

(3) Articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies mined or extracted from Burma.

(c) Regulated Articles. Jadeite, rubies, or articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies may not be imported into the United States unless the importer certifies (see paragraph (d) of this section) that those jadeite or rubies were mined or extracted from a country other than Burma and possesses the documents described in paragraph (e) of this section.

(d) Certification of importer. Pursuant to Additional U.S. Note 4(a), Chapter 71, HTSUS, if an importer enters any good (or withdraws any good from warehouse for consumption) under heading 7103, 7113, or 7116 of the HTSUS, the presentation of the entry serves as a certification by the importer that any jadeite or rubies contained in such good were not mined or extracted from Burma.

(e) Certification of exporter. If an importer enters (or withdraws from warehouse for consumption) jadeite, rubies, or jewelry containing jadeite or rubies:

(1) The importer must have in his possession a certification from the exporter (exporter certification) certifying that the jadeite or rubies were not mined or extracted from Burma, with verifiable evidence from the exporter that tracks the jadeite or rubies: In rough form, from mine to exportation; and for finished jadeite, polished rubies, and articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies, to the place of final finishing; and

(2) The importer must maintain, for a period of not less than 5 years from the date of entry of the good, a full record of, in the form of reports or otherwise, complete information relating to any act or transaction related to the purchase, manufacture, or shipment of the good.

(f) Requirement to provide information. An importer who enters any good (or withdraws any good from warehouse for consumption) under heading 7103, 7113, or 7116 of the HTSUS must provide all documentation to support the certifications described in paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section to CBP upon request or be subject to recordkeeping penalties under part 163 of the chapter.

(g) Inapplicability. This section does not apply to the following articles:

(1) Jadeite, rubies, and articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies that are reimported into the United States after having been previously exported from the United States, including those that accompanied an individual outside the United States for personal use, if they are reimported into the United States by the same person who exported them, without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by any process or other means while outside the United States; and

(2) Jadeite or rubies mined or extracted from a country other than Burma, and articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies mined or extracted from a country other than Burma that are imported by or on behalf of an individual for personal use and accompanying an individual upon entry into the United States.

Code of Federal Regulations

[CBP Dec. 09-01, 74 FR 2846, Jan. 16, 2009]