ENFORCEMENT OF THE ACT

SEC. 6. (a) Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, this Act shall be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission under rules, regulations, and procedure provided for in the Federal Trade Commission Act.

The Commission is authorized and directed to prevent any person from violating the provisions of this Act in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated into and made a part of this Act; and any such person violating the provisions of this Act shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in said Federal Trade Commission Act, in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though the applicable terms and provisions of the said Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated into and made a part of this Act.

The Commission is authorized and directed to make rules and regulations for the manner and form of disclosing information required by this Act, and for segregation of such information for different portions of a wool product as may be necessary to avoid deception or confusion, and to make such further rules and regulations under and in pursuance of the terms of this Act as may be necessary and proper for administration and enforcement.

The Commission is also authorized to cause inspections, analyses, tests, and examinations to be made of any wool products subject to this Act; and to cooperate with any department or agency of the Government, with any State, Territory, or possession, or with the District of Columbia; or with any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or with any person.

(b) Every manufacturer of wool products shall maintain proper records showing the fiber content as required by this Act of all wool products made by him, and shall preserve such records for at least three years.

The neglect or refusal to maintain and so preserve such records is unlawful, and any such manufacturer who neglects or refuses to maintain and so preserve such records shall forfeit to the United States the sum of $100 for each day of such failure, which shall accrue to the United States and be recoverable in a civil action.

CONDEMNATION AND INJUNCTION PROCEEDINGS

SEC. 7. (a) Any wool products shall be liable to be proceeded against in the district court of the United States for the district in which found, and to be seized for confiscation by process of libel for condemnation, if the Commission has reasonable cause to believe such wool products are being manufactured or held for shipment, or shipped, or held for sale or exchange after shipment, in commerce in violation of the provisions of this Act, and if after notice from the Commission the provisions of this Act with respect to said products are not shown to be complied with. Proceedings in such libel cases shall conform as nearly as may be to suits in rem in admiralty, and may be brought by the Commission.

55-000 O-71-23

If such wool products are condemned by the court, they shall be disposed of, in the discretion of the court, by destruction; by sale; by delivery to the owner or claimant thereof upon payment of legal costs and charges and upon execution of good and sufficient bond to the effect that such wool products will not be disposed of until properly stamped, tagged, labeled, or otherwise identified under the provisions of this Act; or by such charitable disposition as the court may deem proper. If such wool products are disposed of by sale, the proceeds, less legal costs and charges, shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States.

(b) Whenever the Commission has reason to believe that

(1) Any person is violating, or is about to violate, sections 3, 5, 8, or 9 of this Act, and that

(2) It would be to the public interest to enjoin such violation until complaint is issued by the Commission under the Federal Trade Commission Act and such complaint dismissed by the Commission or set aside by the court on review, or until order to cease and desist made thereon by the Commission has become final within the meaning of the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Commission may bring suit in the district court of the United States or in the United States court of any Territory, for the district or Territory in which such person resides or transacts business, to enjoin such violation, and upon proper showing a temporary injunction or restraining order shall be granted without bond.

EXCLUSION OF MISBRANDED WOOL PRODUCTS

SEC. 8. All wool products imported into the United States, except those made more than twenty years prior to such importation, shall be stamped, tagged, labeled, or otherwise identified in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and all invoices of such wool products required under the Act of June 17, 1930 (c. 497, title IV, 46 Stat. 719), shall set forth, in addition to the matter therein specified, the information with respect to said wool products required under the provisions of this Act, which information shall be in the invoices prior to their certification under said Act of June 17, 1930.

The falsification of, or failure to set forth, said information in said invoices, or the falsification or perjury of the consignee's declaration provided for in said Act of June 17, 1930, insofar as it relates to said information, shall be an unfair method of competition, and an unfair and deceptive act, or practice, in commerce under the Federal Trade Commission Act; and any person who falsifies, or fails to set forth, said information in said invoices, or who falsifies or perjures said consignee's declaration insofar as it relates to said information, may thenceforth be prohibited by the Commission from importing, or participating in the importation of, any wool products into the United States except upon filing bond with the Secretary of the Treasury in a sum double the value of said wool products and any duty thereon, conditioned upon compliance with the provisions of this Act.

A verified statement from the manufacturer or producer of such wool products showing their fiber content as required under the provisions of this Act may be required under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury.

GUARANTY

SEC. 9. (a) No person shall be guilty under section 3 if he establishes a guaranty received in good faith signed by and containing the name and address of the person residing in the United States by whom the wool product guaranteed was manufactured and/or from whom it was received, that said wool product is not misbranded under the provisions of this Act.

Said guaranty shall be either (1) a separate guaranty specifically designating the wool product guaranteed, in which case it may be on the invoice or other paper relating to said wool product; or (2) a continuing guaranty filed with the Commission applicable to all wool products handled by a guarantor in such form as the Commission by rules and regulations may prescribe.

(b) Any person who furnishes a false guaranty, except a person relying upon a guaranty to the same effect received in good faith signed by and containing the name and address of the person residing in the United States by whom the wool product guaranteed was manufactured and/or from whom it was received, with reason to believe the wool product falsely guaranteed may be introduced, sold, transported, or distributed in commerce, is guilty of an unfair method of competition, and an unfair and deceptive act or practice, in commerce within the meaning of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

CRIMINAL PENALTY

SEC. 10. Any person who willfully violates sections 3, 5, 8, or 9 (b) of this Act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more than $5,000, or be imprisoned not more than one year, or both, in the discretion of the court: Provided, That nothing herein shall limit other provisions of this Act.

Whenever the Commission has reason to believe any person is guilty of a misdemeanor under this section, it shall certify all pertinent facts to the Attorney General, whose duty it shall be to cause appropriate proceedings to be brought for the enforcement of the provisions of this section against such person.

APPLICATION OF EXISTING LAWS

SEC. 11. The provisions of this Act shall be held to be in addition to, and not in substitution for or limitation of, the provisions of any other Act of the United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE

SEC. 12. This Act shall take effect nine months after the date of its passage.

SEPARABILITY CLAUSE

SEC. 13. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person, partnership, corporation, or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of such provision to any other person, partnership, corporation, or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.

EXCEPTIONS

SEC. 14. None of the provisions of this Act shall be construed to apply to the manufacture, delivery for shipment, shipment, sale, or offering for sale any carpets, rugs, mats, or upholsteries, nor to any person manufacturing, delivering for shipment, shipping, selling, or offering for sale any carpets, rugs, mats, or upholsteries.

Approved, October 14, 1940.

[CHAPTER 59-1ST SESSION]

[S. J. Res. 43]

JOINT RESOLUTION

To carry out the obligations of the United States under the Inter-American Coffee Agreement, signed at Washington on November 28, 1940, and for other purposes.

Whereas an Inter-American Coffee Agreement was signed at Washington on November 28, 1940, by representatives of the Governments of the United States of America, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Venezuela; and

Whereas the said agreement contemplates the cooperation of the Government of the United States in a joint effort to promote the orderly marketing of coffee in international trade, with a view to assuring equitable terms for both producers and consumers by adjusting supply to demand: Therefore be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That on and after the entry into force of the Inter-American Coffee Agreement, as proclaimed by the President, and during the continuation in force of the obligations of the United States thereunder, no coffee imported from any foreign country may be entered for consumption except as provided in the said agreement.

SEC. 2. The President is authorized to make such allocations of the quota provided in the agreement for countries not participating in the said agreement as he finds necessary or appropriate in order to afford any such country or countries an opportunity to supply a fair share of the quota, whether or not required by any international obligation of the United States, or in order to make available the types of coffee usually consumed in the United States. The President is also authorized to make such rules and regulations as he finds necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this joint resolution and of the said agreement, and with respect to any provision of such regulations for any act or performance by an importer of coffee, compliance therewith shall be a condition to the entry for consumption of the coffee in respect of which the act or performance is required.

Approved, April 11, 1941.