President Obama won a big victory for his trade agenda Friday with the Senate’s approval of fast-track legislation that could make it easier for him to complete a wide-ranging trade deal that would include 11 Pacific Rim nations.
A coalition of 48 Senate Republicans and 14 Democrats voted for Trade Promotion Authority late Friday, sending the legislation to a difficult fight in the House, where it faces more entrenched opposition from Democrats.
The Senate coalition fought off several attempts by opponents to undermine the legislation, defeating amendments that were politically popular but potentially poisonous to Obama’s bid to secure the trade deal.
“This is an important bill, likely the most important bill we will pass this year. It’s important to President Obama,” Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and primary author of the bill, said at the close of debate.
TPA’s fast-track provisions would allow Congress, under strict timelines, to consider trade deals with a simple up-or-down vote without any amendments or requirements of a Senate super-majority to end debate. That would help Obama complete the final details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), with the other 11 nations, a bloc that represents about 40 percent of the global economy.
Senate approves trade bill(0:58)
The Senate passed bipartisan legislation Friday to strengthen the administration’s hand in global trade talks. The vote was 62-37. (AP)
If TPA clears Congress, Obama’s negotiators will push to conclude the Pacific trade pact and then send it to Congress for final approval, possibly later this year or early next year. The legislative package also includes new funding for labor training for workers that are certified for having lost their jobs because of foreign competition.
Obama’s aggressive push for the trade agenda has upended his relationship with his long-standing allies in the labor movement, as well as anti-corporate liberal activists who strongly supported his 2008 and 2012 elections. It sparked sharp exchanges, played out in the national media, with a liberal icon, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), leading to one of Obama’s normally closest allies, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), to question whether he was being sexist for singling her out for criticism.
Unions and progressive activists have mobilized their forces against TPA for more than a year now, believing that defeating the fast-track authority would probably also kill negotiations on the Pacific trade deal.
On Friday, union leaders narrowly lost their bid for passage of an amendment designed to create strict regulation of global currency markets, offered by Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), whose states have been ravaged by losses of manufacturing jobs to foreign competition.
“This amendment is simply a modest enforcement measure that would direct the administration to conduct negotiations in a manner that will push them closer to getting trade done right. We urge you to support it and oppose any language to weaken it,” William Samuel, a top lobbyist for the AFL-CIO, wrote to senators in a “legislative alert” Friday.
Portman, a former trade representative facing a difficult 2016 reelection campaign, locked arms with Democrats in a bid that was designed as a get-tough gesture toward China, which some have long accused of manipulating its currency to make its exports cheaper. “I want you to be able to tell your workers you not only disagree with currency manipulation, you want to be able to do something about it,” he said during debate.
However, Treasury Department officials warned that the Portman proposal would prompt a presidential veto, because the other nations would potentially abandon the TPP talks. In the hours leading up to Portman’s vote, Obama worked the phones with wavering senators to defeat the measure, relying heavily on his usual foes – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his top lieutenants – to round up 51 votes to narrowly defeat the measure.
“This is an important bill, likely the most important bill we will pass this year. It’s important to President Obama,” Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and primary author of the bill, said. (Susan Walsh/AP)
======================
“President Obama will veto any TPA bill that contains this amendment. A vote for Portman-Stabenow is also a vote to kill TPP,” Hatch said just before the vote on the amendment.
In the end, 41 Republicans and 10 Democrats defeated the amendment, which was considered the last major hurdle to securing Senate passage of the legislation.
On the final roll call, five Republicans joined 32 Democrats in opposing TPA – an odd collection that ranged from Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and his top two lieutenants to staunch conservatives such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). “Congress is forgetting its duty: to improve jobs and wages for Americans,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), one of the most conservative senators, said in a statement.
House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) has said that the TPA bill will come up at some point in June, after his chamber returns from a 10-day break that began Thursday.
In perhaps the most unusual alliance in the debate, Obama’s trade agenda will soon rest largely in the hands of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who was the Republicans’ 2012 vice presidential nominee.
Now chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Ryan is leading the push to secure as many votes as possible from the Republican side of the aisle for Obama’s fast-track authorities on trade deals. He has been working with Boehner’s leadership team convening meetings with Republicans to educate the dozens of junior lawmakers who have never considered a trade deal like the potential Pacific Rim pact.
Just 55 members of the House were in office during the 1993 debate for the North American Free Trade Agreement, and nearly 140 lawmakers – a third of the entire House – have never voted on any trade deal before. The last trade deals, with Panama, Colombia and South Korea, were approved in October 2011.
https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2015/05/12/senate-section/article/S2799-2
[Pages S2799-S2813]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TEXT OF AMENDMENTS
SA 1221. Mr. HATCH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill H.R. 1314, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
to provide for a right to an administrative appeal relating to adverse
determinations of tax-exempt status of certain organizations; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.–This Act may be cited as the “Trade Act
of 2015”.
(b) Table of Contents.–The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I–TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY
Sec. 101. Short title.
Sec. 102. Trade negotiating objectives.
Sec. 103. Trade agreements authority.
Sec. 104. Congressional oversight, consultations, and access to
information.
Sec. 105. Notice, consultations, and reports.
Sec. 106. Implementation of trade agreements.
Sec. 107. Treatment of certain trade agreements for which negotiations
have already begun.
Sec. 108. Sovereignty.
Sec. 109. Interests of small businesses.
Sec. 110. Conforming amendments; application of certain provisions.
Sec. 111. Definitions.
TITLE II–EXTENSION OF TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE
Sec. 202. Application of provisions relating to trade adjustment
assistance.
Sec. 203. Extension of trade adjustment assistance program.
Sec. 204. Performance measurement and reporting.
Sec. 205. Applicability of trade adjustment assistance provisions.
Sec. 206. Sunset provisions.
Sec. 207. Extension and modification of Health Coverage Tax Credit.
Sec. 208. Customs user fees.
Sec. 209. Child tax credit not refundable for taxpayers electing to
exclude foreign earned income from tax.
Sec. 210. Time for payment of corporate estimated taxes.
Sec. 211. Coverage and payment for renal dialysis services for
individuals with acute kidney injury.
Sec. 212. Modification of the Medicare sequester for fiscal year 2024.
TITLE I–TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the “Bipartisan Congressional
Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015”.
SEC. 102. TRADE NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES.
(a) Overall Trade Negotiating Objectives.–The overall
trade negotiating objectives of the United States for
agreements subject to the provisions of section 103 are–
(1) to obtain more open, equitable, and reciprocal market
access;
(2) to obtain the reduction or elimination of barriers and
distortions that are directly related to trade and investment
and that decrease market opportunities for United States
exports or otherwise distort United States trade;
(3) to further strengthen the system of international trade
and investment disciplines and procedures, including dispute
settlement;
(4) to foster economic growth, raise living standards,
enhance the competitiveness of the United States, promote
full employment in the United States, and enhance the global
economy;
(5) to ensure that trade and environmental policies are
mutually supportive and to seek to protect and preserve the
environment and enhance the international means of doing so,
while optimizing the use of the world’s resources;
(6) to promote respect for worker rights and the rights of
children consistent with core labor standards of the ILO (as
set out in section 111(7)) and an understanding of the
relationship between trade and worker rights;
(7) to seek provisions in trade agreements under which
parties to those agreements ensure that they do not weaken or
reduce the protections afforded in domestic environmental and
labor laws as an encouragement for trade;
(8) to ensure that trade agreements afford small businesses
equal access to international markets, equitable trade
benefits, and expanded export market opportunities, and
provide for the reduction or elimination of trade and
investment barriers that disproportionately impact small
businesses;
(9) to promote universal ratification and full compliance
with ILO Convention No. 182 Concerning the Prohibition and
Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of
Child Labor;
(10) to ensure that trade agreements reflect and facilitate
the increasingly interrelated, multi-sectoral nature of trade
and investment activity;
(11) to recognize the growing significance of the Internet
as a trading platform in international commerce; and
(12) to take into account other legitimate United States
domestic objectives, including, but not limited to, the
protection of legitimate health or safety, essential
security, and consumer interests and the law and regulations
related thereto.
(b) Principal Trade Negotiating Objectives.–
(1) Trade in goods.–The principal negotiating objectives
of the United States regarding trade in goods are–
(A) to expand competitive market opportunities for exports
of goods from the United States and to obtain fairer and more
open conditions of trade, including through the utilization
of global value chains, by reducing or eliminating tariff and
nontariff barriers and policies and practices of foreign
governments directly related to trade that decrease market
opportunities for United States exports or otherwise distort
United States trade; and
(B) to obtain reciprocal tariff and nontariff barrier
elimination agreements, including with respect to those
tariff categories covered in section 111(b) of the Uruguay
Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3521(b)).
(2) Trade in services.–(A) The principal negotiating
objective of the United States regarding trade in services is
to expand competitive market opportunities for United States
services and to obtain fairer and more open conditions of
trade, including through utilization of global value chains,
by reducing or eliminating barriers to international trade in
services, such as regulatory and other barriers that deny
national treatment and market access or unreasonably restrict
the establishment or operations of service suppliers.
(B) Recognizing that expansion of trade in services
generates benefits for all sectors of the economy and
facilitates trade, the objective described in subparagraph
(A) should be pursued through all means, including through a
plurilateral agreement with those countries willing and able
to undertake high standard services commitments for both
existing and new services.
(3) Trade in agriculture.–The principal negotiating
objective of the United States with respect to agriculture is
to obtain competitive opportunities for United States exports
of agricultural commodities in foreign markets substantially
equivalent to the competitive opportunities afforded foreign
exports in United States markets and to achieve fairer and
more open conditions of trade in bulk, specialty crop, and
value added commodities by–
(A) securing more open and equitable market access through
robust rules on sanitary and phytosanitary measures that–
(i) encourage the adoption of international standards and
require a science-based justification be provided for a
sanitary or phytosanitary measure if the measure is more
restrictive than the applicable international standard;
(ii) improve regulatory coherence, promote the use of
systems-based approaches, and appropriately recognize the
equivalence of health and safety protection systems of
exporting countries;
(iii) require that measures are transparently developed and
implemented, are based on risk assessments that take into
account relevant international guidelines and scientific
data, and are not more restrictive on trade than necessary to
meet the intended purpose; and
(iv) improve import check processes, including testing
methodologies and procedures, and certification requirements,
while recognizing that countries may put in place measures to
protect human, animal, or plant life or health in a manner
consistent with their international obligations, including
the WTO Agreement on the Application
[[Page S2800]]
of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (referred to in
section 101(d)(3) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19
U.S.C. 3511(d)(3)));
(B) reducing or eliminating, by a date certain, tariffs or
other charges that decrease market opportunities for United
States exports–
(i) giving priority to those products that are subject to
significantly higher tariffs or subsidy regimes of major
producing countries; and
(ii) providing reasonable adjustment periods for United
States import sensitive products, in close consultation with
Congress on such products before initiating tariff reduction
negotiations;
(C) reducing tariffs to levels that are the same as or
lower than those in the United States;
(D) reducing or eliminating subsidies that decrease market
opportunities for United States exports or unfairly distort
agriculture markets to the detriment of the United States;
(E) allowing the preservation of programs that support
family farms and rural communities but do not distort trade;
(F) developing disciplines for domestic support programs,
so that production that is in excess of domestic food
security needs is sold at world prices;
(G) eliminating government policies that create price
depressing surpluses;
(H) eliminating state trading enterprises whenever
possible;
(I) developing, strengthening, and clarifying rules to
eliminate practices that unfairly decrease United States
market access opportunities or distort agricultural markets
to the detriment of the United States, and ensuring that such
rules are subject to efficient, timely, and effective dispute
settlement, including–
(i) unfair or trade distorting activities of state trading
enterprises and other administrative mechanisms, with
emphasis on requiring price transparency in the operation of
state trading enterprises and such other mechanisms in order
to end cross subsidization, price discrimination, and price
undercutting;
(ii) unjustified trade restrictions or commercial
requirements, such as labeling, that affect new technologies,
including biotechnology;
(iii) unjustified sanitary or phytosanitary restrictions,
including restrictions not based on scientific principles in
contravention of obligations in the Uruguay Round Agreements
or bilateral or regional trade agreements;
(iv) other unjustified technical barriers to trade; and
(v) restrictive rules in the administration of tariff rate
quotas;
(J) eliminating practices that adversely affect trade in
perishable or cyclical products, while improving import
relief mechanisms to recognize the unique characteristics of
perishable and cyclical agriculture;
(K) ensuring that import relief mechanisms for perishable
and cyclical agriculture are as accessible and timely to
growers in the United States as those mechanisms that are
used by other countries;
(L) taking into account whether a party to the negotiations
has failed to adhere to the provisions of already existing
trade agreements with the United States or has circumvented
obligations under those agreements;
(M) taking into account whether a product is subject to
market distortions by reason of a failure of a major
producing country to adhere to the provisions of already
existing trade agreements with the United States or by the
circumvention by that country of its obligations under those
agreements;
(N) otherwise ensuring that countries that accede to the
World Trade Organization have made meaningful market
liberalization commitments in agriculture;
(O) taking into account the impact that agreements covering
agriculture to which the United States is a party have on the
United States agricultural industry;
(P) maintaining bona fide food assistance programs, market
development programs, and export credit programs;
(Q) seeking to secure the broadest market access possible
in multilateral, regional, and bilateral negotiations,
recognizing the effect that simultaneous sets of negotiations
may have on United States import sensitive commodities
(including those subject to tariff rate quotas);
(R) seeking to develop an international consensus on the
treatment of seasonal or perishable agricultural products in
investigations relating to dumping and safeguards and in any
other relevant area;
(S) seeking to establish the common base year for
calculating the Aggregated Measurement of Support (as defined
in the Agreement on Agriculture) as the end of each country’s
Uruguay Round implementation period, as reported in each
country’s Uruguay Round market access schedule;
(T) ensuring transparency in the administration of tariff
rate quotas through multilateral, plurilateral, and bilateral
negotiations; and
(U) eliminating and preventing the undermining of market
access for United States products through improper use of a
country’s system for protecting or recognizing geographical
indications, including failing to ensure transparency and
procedural fairness and protecting generic terms.
(4) Foreign investment.–Recognizing that United States law
on the whole provides a high level of protection for
investment, consistent with or greater than the level
required by international law, the principal negotiating
objectives of the United States regarding foreign investment
are to reduce or eliminate artificial or trade distorting
barriers to foreign investment, while ensuring that foreign
investors in the United States are not accorded greater
substantive rights with respect to investment protections
than United States investors in the United States, and to
secure for investors important rights comparable to those
that would be available under United States legal principles
and practice, by–
(A) reducing or eliminating exceptions to the principle of
national treatment;
(B) freeing the transfer of funds relating to investments;
(C) reducing or eliminating performance requirements,
forced technology transfers, and other unreasonable barriers
to the establishment and operation of investments;
(D) seeking to establish standards for expropriation and
compensation for expropriation, consistent with United States
legal principles and practice;
(E) seeking to establish standards for fair and equitable
treatment, consistent with United States legal principles and
practice, including the principle of due process;
(F) providing meaningful procedures for resolving
investment disputes;
(G) seeking to improve mechanisms used to resolve disputes
between an investor and a government through–
(i) mechanisms to eliminate frivolous claims and to deter
the filing of frivolous claims;
(ii) procedures to ensure the efficient selection of
arbitrators and the expeditious disposition of claims;
(iii) procedures to enhance opportunities for public input
into the formulation of government positions; and
(iv) providing for an appellate body or similar mechanism
to provide coherence to the interpretations of investment
provisions in trade agreements; and
(H) ensuring the fullest measure of transparency in the
dispute settlement mechanism, to the extent consistent with
the need to protect information that is classified or
business confidential, by–
(i) ensuring that all requests for dispute settlement are
promptly made public;
(ii) ensuring that–
(I) all proceedings, submissions, findings, and decisions
are promptly made public; and
(II) all hearings are open to the public; and
(iii) establishing a mechanism for acceptance of amicus
curiae submissions from businesses, unions, and
nongovernmental organizations.
(5) Intellectual property.–The principal negotiating
objectives of the United States regarding trade-related
intellectual property are–
(A) to further promote adequate and effective protection of
intellectual property rights, including through–
(i)(I) ensuring accelerated and full implementation of the
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights referred to in section 101(d)(15) of the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(15)), particularly with
respect to meeting enforcement obligations under that
agreement; and
(II) ensuring that the provisions of any trade agreement
governing intellectual property rights that is entered into
by the United States reflect a standard of protection similar
to that found in United States law;
(ii) providing strong protection for new and emerging
technologies and new methods of transmitting and distributing
products embodying intellectual property, including in a
manner that facilitates legitimate digital trade;
(iii) preventing or eliminating discrimination with respect
to matters affecting the availability, acquisition, scope,
maintenance, use, and enforcement of intellectual property
rights;
(iv) ensuring that standards of protection and enforcement
keep pace with technological developments, and in particular
ensuring that rightholders have the legal and technological
means to control the use of their works through the Internet
and other global communication media, and to prevent the
unauthorized use of their works;
(v) providing strong enforcement of intellectual property
rights, including through accessible, expeditious, and
effective civil, administrative, and criminal enforcement
mechanisms; and
(vi) preventing or eliminating government involvement in
the violation of intellectual property rights, including
cyber theft and piracy;
(B) to secure fair, equitable, and nondiscriminatory market
access opportunities for United States persons that rely upon
intellectual property protection; and
(C) to respect the Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and
Public Health, adopted by the World Trade Organization at the
Fourth Ministerial Conference at Doha, Qatar on November 14,
2001, and to ensure that trade agreements foster innovation
and promote access to medicines.
(6) Digital trade in goods and services and cross-border
data flows.–The principal negotiating objectives of the
United States with respect to digital trade in goods and
services, as well as cross-border data flows, are–
(A) to ensure that current obligations, rules, disciplines,
and commitments under the World Trade Organization and
bilateral
[[Page S2801]]
and regional trade agreements apply to digital trade in goods
and services and to cross-border data flows;
(B) to ensure that–
(i) electronically delivered goods and services receive no
less favorable treatment under trade rules and commitments
than like products delivered in physical form; and
(ii) the classification of such goods and services ensures
the most liberal trade treatment possible, fully encompassing
both existing and new trade;
(C) to ensure that governments refrain from implementing
trade-related measures that impede digital trade in goods and
services, restrict cross-border data flows, or require local
storage or processing of data;
(D) with respect to subparagraphs (A) through (C), where
legitimate policy objectives require domestic regulations
that affect digital trade in goods and services or cross-
border data flows, to obtain commitments that any such
regulations are the least restrictive on trade,
nondiscriminatory, and transparent, and promote an open
market environment; and
(E) to extend the moratorium of the World Trade
Organization on duties on electronic transmissions.
(7) Regulatory practices.–The principal negotiating
objectives of the United States regarding the use of
government regulation or other practices to reduce market
access for United States goods, services, and investments
are–
(A) to achieve increased transparency and opportunity for
the participation of affected parties in the development of
regulations;
(B) to require that proposed regulations be based on sound
science, cost benefit analysis, risk assessment, or other
objective evidence;
(C) to establish consultative mechanisms and seek other
commitments, as appropriate, to improve regulatory practices
and promote increased regulatory coherence, including
through–
(i) transparency in developing guidelines, rules,
regulations, and laws for government procurement and other
regulatory regimes;
(ii) the elimination of redundancies in testing and
certification;
(iii) early consultations on significant regulations;
(iv) the use of impact assessments;
(v) the periodic review of existing regulatory measures;
and
(vi) the application of good regulatory practices;
(D) to seek greater openness, transparency, and convergence
of standards development processes, and enhance cooperation
on standards issues globally;
(E) to promote regulatory compatibility through
harmonization, equivalence, or mutual recognition of
different regulations and standards and to encourage the use
of international and interoperable standards, as appropriate;
(F) to achieve the elimination of government measures such
as price controls and reference pricing which deny full
market access for United States products;
(G) to ensure that government regulatory reimbursement
regimes are transparent, provide procedural fairness, are
nondiscriminatory, and provide full market access for United
States products; and
(H) to ensure that foreign governments–
(i) demonstrate that the collection of undisclosed
proprietary information is limited to that necessary to
satisfy a legitimate and justifiable regulatory interest; and
(ii) protect such information against disclosure, except in
exceptional circumstances to protect the public, or where
such information is effectively protected against unfair
competition.
(8) State-owned and state-controlled enterprises.–The
principal negotiating objective of the United States
regarding competition by state-owned and state-controlled
enterprises is to seek commitments that–
(A) eliminate or prevent trade distortions and unfair
competition favoring state-owned and state-controlled
enterprises to the extent of their engagement in commercial
activity, and
(B) ensure that such engagement is based solely on
commercial considerations,
in particular through disciplines that eliminate or prevent
discrimination and market-distorting subsidies and that
promote transparency.
(9) Localization barriers to trade.–The principal
negotiating objective of the United States with respect to
localization barriers is to eliminate and prevent measures
that require United States producers and service providers to
locate facilities, intellectual property, or other assets in
a country as a market access or investment condition,
including indigenous innovation measures.
(10) Labor and the environment.–The principal negotiating
objectives of the United States with respect to labor and the
environment are–
(A) to ensure that a party to a trade agreement with the
United States–
(i) adopts and maintains measures implementing
internationally recognized core labor standards (as defined
in section 111(17)) and its obligations under common
multilateral environmental agreements (as defined in section
111(6)),
(ii) does not waive or otherwise derogate from, or offer to
waive or otherwise derogate from–
(I) its statutes or regulations implementing
internationally recognized core labor standards (as defined
in section 111(17)), in a manner affecting trade or
investment between the United States and that party, where
the waiver or derogation would be inconsistent with one or
more such standards, or
(II) its environmental laws in a manner that weakens or
reduces the protections afforded in those laws and in a
manner affecting trade or investment between the United
States and that party, except as provided in its law and
provided not inconsistent with its obligations under common
multilateral environmental agreements (as defined in section
111(6)) or other provisions of the trade agreement
specifically agreed upon, and
(iii) does not fail to effectively enforce its
environmental or labor laws, through a sustained or recurring
course of action or inaction,
in a manner affecting trade or investment between the United
States and that party after entry into force of a trade
agreement between those countries;
(B) to recognize that–
(i) with respect to environment, parties to a trade
agreement retain the right to exercise prosecutorial
discretion and to make decisions regarding the allocation of
enforcement resources with respect to other environmental
laws determined to have higher priorities, and a party is
effectively enforcing its laws if a course of action or
inaction reflects a reasonable, bona fide exercise of such
discretion, or results from a reasonable, bona fide decision
regarding the allocation of resources; and
(ii) with respect to labor, decisions regarding the
distribution of enforcement resources are not a reason for
not complying with a party’s labor obligations; a party to a
trade agreement retains the right to reasonable exercise of
discretion and to make bona fide decisions regarding the
allocation of resources between labor enforcement activities
among core labor standards, provided the exercise of such
discretion and such decisions are not inconsistent with its
obligations;
(C) to strengthen the capacity of United States trading
partners to promote respect for core labor standards (as
defined in section 111(7));
(D) to strengthen the capacity of United States trading
partners to protect the environment through the promotion of
sustainable development;
(E) to reduce or eliminate government practices or policies
that unduly threaten sustainable development;
(F) to seek market access, through the elimination of
tariffs and nontariff barriers, for United States
environmental technologies, goods, and services;
(G) to ensure that labor, environmental, health, or safety
policies and practices of the parties to trade agreements
with the United States do not arbitrarily or unjustifiably
discriminate against United States exports or serve as
disguised barriers to trade;
(H) to ensure that enforceable labor and environment
obligations are subject to the same dispute settlement and
remedies as other enforceable obligations under the
agreement; and
(I) to ensure that a trade agreement is not construed to
empower a party’s authorities to undertake labor or
environmental law enforcement activities in the territory of
the United States.
(11) Currency.–The principal negotiating objective of the
United States with respect to currency practices is that
parties to a trade agreement with the United States avoid
manipulating exchange rates in order to prevent effective
balance of payments adjustment or to gain an unfair
competitive advantage over other parties to the agreement,
such as through cooperative mechanisms, enforceable rules,
reporting, monitoring, transparency, or other means, as
appropriate.
(12) WTO and multilateral trade agreements.–Recognizing
that the World Trade Organization is the foundation of the
global trading system, the principal negotiating objectives
of the United States regarding the World Trade Organization,
the Uruguay Round Agreements, and other multilateral and
plurilateral trade agreements are–
(A) to achieve full implementation and extend the coverage
of the World Trade Organization and multilateral and
plurilateral agreements to products, sectors, and conditions
of trade not adequately covered;
(B) to expand country participation in and enhancement of
the Information Technology Agreement, the Government
Procurement Agreement, and other plurilateral trade
agreements of the World Trade Organization;
(C) to expand competitive market opportunities for United
States exports and to obtain fairer and more open conditions
of trade, including through utilization of global value
chains, through the negotiation of new WTO multilateral and
plurilateral trade agreements, such as an agreement on trade
facilitation;
(D) to ensure that regional trade agreements to which the
United States is not a party fully achieve the high standards
of, and comply with, WTO disciplines, including Article XXIV
of GATT 1994, Article V and V bis of the General Agreement on
Trade in Services, and the Enabling Clause, including through
meaningful WTO review of such regional trade agreements;
(E) to enhance compliance by WTO members with their
obligations as WTO members through active participation in
the bodies of the World Trade Organization by the United
States and all other WTO members, including in the trade
policy review mechanism and the committee system of the World
[[Page S2802]]
Trade Organization, and by working to increase the
effectiveness of such bodies; and
(F) to encourage greater cooperation between the World
Trade Organization and other international organizations.
(13) Trade institution transparency.–The principal
negotiating objective of the United States with respect to
transparency is to obtain wider and broader application of
the principle of transparency in the World Trade
Organization, entities established under bilateral and
regional trade agreements, and other international trade fora
through seeking–
(A) timely public access to information regarding trade
issues and the activities of such institutions;
(B) openness by ensuring public access to appropriate
meetings, proceedings, and submissions, including with regard
to trade and investment dispute settlement; and
(C) public access to all notifications and supporting
documentation submitted by WTO members.
(14) Anti-corruption.–The principal negotiating objectives
of the United States with respect to the use of money or
other things of value to influence acts, decisions, or
omissions of foreign governments or officials or to secure
any improper advantage in a manner affecting trade are–
(A) to obtain high standards and effective domestic
enforcement mechanisms applicable to persons from all
countries participating in the applicable trade agreement
that prohibit such attempts to influence acts, decisions, or
omissions of foreign governments or officials or to secure
any such improper advantage;
(B) to ensure that such standards level the playing field
for United States persons in international trade and
investment; and
(C) to seek commitments to work jointly to encourage and
support anti-corruption and anti-bribery initiatives in
international trade fora, including through the Convention on
Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in
International Business Transactions of the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development, done at Paris December
17, 1997 (commonly known as the OECD Anti-Briberyactions to
Convention'').
(15) Dispute settlement and enforcement.--The principal
negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to
dispute settlement and enforcement of trade agreements are--
(A) to seek provisions in trade agreements providing for
resolution of disputes between governments under those trade
agreements in an effective, timely, transparent, equitable,
and reasoned manner, requiring determinations based on facts
and the principles of the agreements, with the goal of
increasing compliance with the agreements;
(B) to seek to strengthen the capacity of the Trade Policy
Review Mechanism of the World Trade Organization to review
compliance with commitments;
(C) to seek adherence by panels convened under the Dispute
Settlement Understanding and by the Appellate Body to--
(i) the mandate of those panels and the Appellate Body to
apply the WTO Agreement as written, without adding to or
diminishing rights and obligations under the Agreement; and
(ii) the standard of review applicable under the Uruguay
Round Agreement involved in the dispute, including greater
deference, where appropriate, to the fact finding and
technical expertise of national investigating authorities;
(D) to seek provisions encouraging the early identification
and settlement of disputes through consultation;
(E) to seek provisions to encourage the provision of trade-
expanding compensation if a party to a dispute under the
agreement does not come into compliance with its obligations
under the agreement;
(F) to seek provisions to impose a penalty upon a party to
a dispute under the agreement that--
(i) encourages compliance with the obligations of the
agreement;
(ii) is appropriate to the parties, nature, subject matter,
and scope of the violation; and
(iii) has the aim of not adversely affecting parties or
interests not party to the dispute while maintaining the
effectiveness of the enforcement mechanism; and
(G) to seek provisions that treat United States principal
negotiating objectives equally with respect to--
(i) the ability to resort to dispute settlement under the
applicable agreement;
(ii) the availability of equivalent dispute settlement
procedures; and
(iii) the availability of equivalent remedies.
(16) Trade remedy laws.--The principal negotiating
objectives of the United States with respect to trade remedy
laws are--
(A) to preserve the ability of the United States to enforce
rigorously its trade laws, including the antidumping,
countervailing duty, and safeguard laws, and avoid agreements
that lessen the effectiveness of domestic and international
disciplines on unfair trade, especially dumping and
subsidies, or that lessen the effectiveness of domestic and
international safeguard provisions, in order to ensure that
United States workers, agricultural producers, and firms can
compete fully on fair terms and enjoy the benefits of
reciprocal trade concessions; and
(B) to address and remedy market distortions that lead to
dumping and subsidization, including overcapacity,
cartelization, and market access barriers.
(17) Border taxes.--The principal negotiating objective of
the United States regarding border taxes is to obtain a
revision of the rules of the World Trade Organization with
respect to the treatment of border adjustments for internal
taxes to redress the disadvantage to countries relying
primarily on direct taxes for revenue rather than indirect
taxes.
(18) Textile negotiations.--The principal negotiating
objectives of the United States with respect to trade in
textiles and apparel articles are to obtain competitive
opportunities for United States exports of textiles and
apparel in foreign markets substantially equivalent to the
competitive opportunities afforded foreign exports in United
States markets and to achieve fairer and more open conditions
of trade in textiles and apparel.
(19) Commercial partnerships.--
(A) In general.--With respect to an agreement that is
proposed to be entered into with the Transatlantic Trade and
Investment Partnership countries and to which section 103(b)
will apply, the principal negotiating objectives of the
United States regarding commercial partnerships are the
following:
(i) To discourage actions by potential trading partners
that directly or indirectly prejudice or otherwise discourage
commercial activity solely between the United States and
Israel.
(ii) To discourage politically motivated actions to
boycott, divest from, or sanction Israel and to seek the
elimination of politically motivated nontariff barriers on
Israeli goods, services, or other commerce imposed on the
State of Israel.
(iii) To seek the elimination of state-sponsored
unsanctioned foreign boycotts against Israel or compliance
with the Arab League Boycott of Israel by prospective trading
partners.
(B) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term
boycott, divest from, or sanction Israel” means actions by
states, non-member states of the United Nations,
international organizations, or affiliated agencies of
international organizations that are politically motivated
and are intended to penalize or otherwise limit commercial
relations specifically with Israel or persons doing business
in Israel or in Israeli-controlled territories.
(20) Good governance, transparency, the effective operation
of legal regimes, and the rule of law of trading partners.–
The principal negotiating objectives of the United States
with respect to ensuring implementation of trade commitments
and obligations by strengthening good governance,
transparency, the effective operation of legal regimes and
the rule of law of trading partners of the United States is
through capacity building and other appropriate means, which
are important parts of the broader effort to create more open
democratic societies and to promote respect for
internationally recognized human rights.
(c) Capacity Building and Other Priorities.–In order to
address and maintain United States competitiveness in the
global economy, the President shall–
(1) direct the heads of relevant Federal agencies–
(A) to work to strengthen the capacity of United States
trading partners to carry out obligations under trade
agreements by consulting with any country seeking a trade
agreement with the United States concerning that country’s
laws relating to customs and trade facilitation, sanitary and
phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade,
intellectual property rights, labor, and the environment; and
(B) to provide technical assistance to that country if
needed;
(2) seek to establish consultative mechanisms among parties
to trade agreements to strengthen the capacity of United
States trading partners to develop and implement standards
for the protection of the environment and human health based
on sound science;
(3) promote consideration of multilateral environmental
agreements and consult with parties to such agreements
regarding the consistency of any such agreement that includes
trade measures with existing environmental exceptions under
Article XX of GATT 1994; and
(4) submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate
an annual report on capacity-building activities undertaken
in connection with trade agreements negotiated or being
negotiated pursuant to this title.
SEC. 103. TRADE AGREEMENTS AUTHORITY.
(a) Agreements Regarding Tariff Barriers.–
(1) In general.–Whenever the President determines that one
or more existing duties or other import restrictions of any
foreign country or the United States are unduly burdening and
restricting the foreign trade of the United States and that
the purposes, policies, priorities, and objectives of this
title will be promoted thereby, the President–
(A) may enter into trade agreements with foreign countries
before–
(i) July 1, 2018; or
(ii) July 1, 2021, if trade authorities procedures are
extended under subsection (c); and
(B) may, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), proclaim–
(i) such modification or continuance of any existing duty,
(ii) such continuance of existing duty free or excise
treatment, or
[[Page S2803]]
(iii) such additional duties,
as the President determines to be required or appropriate to
carry out any such trade agreement.
Substantial modifications to, or substantial additional
provisions of, a trade agreement entered into after July 1,
2018, or July 1, 2021, if trade authorities procedures are
extended under subsection (c), shall not be eligible for
approval under this title.
(2) Notification.–The President shall notify Congress of
the President’s intention to enter into an agreement under
this subsection.
(3) Limitations.–No proclamation may be made under
paragraph (1) that–
(A) reduces any rate of duty (other than a rate of duty
that does not exceed 5 percent ad valorem on the date of the
enactment of this Act) to a rate of duty which is less than
50 percent of the rate of such duty that applies on such date
of enactment;
(B) reduces the rate of duty below that applicable under
the Uruguay Round Agreements or a successor agreement, on any
import sensitive agricultural product; or
(C) increases any rate of duty above the rate that applied
on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(4) Aggregate reduction; exemption from staging.–
(A) Aggregate reduction.–Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), the aggregate reduction in the rate of duty
on any article which is in effect on any day pursuant to a
trade agreement entered into under paragraph (1) shall not
exceed the aggregate reduction which would have been in
effect on such day if–
(i) a reduction of 3 percent ad valorem or a reduction of
\1/10\ of the total reduction, whichever is greater, had
taken effect on the effective date of the first reduction
proclaimed under paragraph (1) to carry out such agreement
with respect to such article; and
(ii) a reduction equal to the amount applicable under
clause (i) had taken effect at 1-year intervals after the
effective date of such first reduction.
(B) Exemption from staging.–No staging is required under
subparagraph (A) with respect to a duty reduction that is
proclaimed under paragraph (1) for an article of a kind that
is not produced in the United States. The United States
International Trade Commission shall advise the President of
the identity of articles that may be exempted from staging
under this subparagraph.
(5) Rounding.–If the President determines that such action
will simplify the computation of reductions under paragraph
(4), the President may round an annual reduction by an amount
equal to the lesser of–
(A) the difference between the reduction without regard to
this paragraph and the next lower whole number; or
(B) \1/2\ of 1 percent ad valorem.
(6) Other limitations.–A rate of duty reduction that may
not be proclaimed by reason of paragraph (3) may take effect
only if a provision authorizing such reduction is included
within an implementing bill provided for under section 106
and that bill is enacted into law.
(7) Other tariff modifications.–Notwithstanding paragraphs
(1)(B), (3)(A), (3)(C), and (4) through (6), and subject to
the consultation and layover requirements of section 115 of
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3524), the
President may proclaim the modification of any duty or staged
rate reduction of any duty set forth in Schedule XX, as
defined in section 2(5) of that Act (19 U.S.C. 3501(5)), if
the United States agrees to such modification or staged rate
reduction in a negotiation for the reciprocal elimination or
harmonization of duties under the auspices of the World Trade
Organization.
(8) Authority under uruguay round agreements act not
affected.–Nothing in this subsection shall limit the
authority provided to the President under section 111(b) of
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3521(b)).
(b) Agreements Regarding Tariff and Nontariff Barriers.–
(1) In general.–(A) Whenever the President determines
that–
(i) 1 or more existing duties or any other import
restriction of any foreign country or the United States or
any other barrier to, or other distortion of, international
trade unduly burdens or restricts the foreign trade of the
United States or adversely affects the United States economy,
or
(ii) the imposition of any such barrier or distortion is
likely to result in such a burden, restriction, or effect,
and that the purposes, policies, priorities, and objectives
of this title will be promoted thereby, the President may
enter into a trade agreement described in subparagraph (B)
during the period described in subparagraph (C).
(B) The President may enter into a trade agreement under
subparagraph (A) with foreign countries providing for–
(i) the reduction or elimination of a duty, restriction,
barrier, or other distortion described in subparagraph (A);
or
(ii) the prohibition of, or limitation on the imposition
of, such barrier or other distortion.
(C) The President may enter into a trade agreement under
this paragraph before–
(i) July 1, 2018; or
(ii) July 1, 2021, if trade authorities procedures are
extended under subsection (c).
Substantial modifications to, or substantial additional
provisions of, a trade agreement entered into after July 1,
2018, or July 1, 2021, if trade authorities procedures are
extended under subsection (c), shall not be eligible for
approval under this title.
(2) Conditions.–A trade agreement may be entered into
under this subsection only if such agreement makes progress
in meeting the applicable objectives described in subsections
(a) and (b) of section 102 and the President satisfies the
conditions set forth in sections 104 and 105.
(3) Bills qualifying for trade authorities procedures.–(A)
The provisions of section 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 (in
this title referred to as trade authorities procedures'')implementing
apply to a bill of either House of Congress which contains
provisions described in subparagraph (B) to the same extent
as such section 151 applies to implementing bills under that
section. A bill to which this paragraph applies shall
hereafter in this title be referred to as an
bill”.
(B) The provisions referred to in subparagraph (A) are–
(i) a provision approving a trade agreement entered into
under this subsection and approving the statement of
administrative action, if any, proposed to implement such
trade agreement; and
(ii) if changes in existing laws or new statutory authority
are required to implement such trade agreement or agreements,
only such provisions as are strictly necessary or appropriate
to implement such trade agreement or agreements, either
repealing or amending existing laws or providing new
statutory authority.
(c) Extension Disapproval Process for Congressional Trade
Authorities Procedures.–
(1) In general.–Except as provided in section 106(b)–
(A) the trade authorities procedures apply to implementing
bills submitted with respect to trade agreements entered into
under subsection (b) before July 1, 2018; and
(B) the trade authorities procedures shall be extended to
implementing bills submitted with respect to trade agreements
entered into under subsection (b) after June 30, 2018, and
before July 1, 2021, if (and only if)–
(i) the President requests such extension under paragraph
(2); and
(ii) neither House of Congress adopts an extension
disapproval resolution under paragraph (5) before July 1,
2018.
(2) Report to congress by the president.–If the President
is of the opinion that the trade authorities procedures
should be extended to implementing bills described in
paragraph (1)(B), the President shall submit to Congress, not
later than April 1, 2018, a written report that contains a
request for such extension, together with–
(A) a description of all trade agreements that have been
negotiated under subsection (b) and the anticipated schedule
for submitting such agreements to Congress for approval;
(B) a description of the progress that has been made in
negotiations to achieve the purposes, policies, priorities,
and objectives of this title, and a statement that such
progress justifies the continuation of negotiations; and
(C) a statement of the reasons why the extension is needed
to complete the negotiations.
(3) Other reports to congress.–
(A) Report by the advisory committee.–The President shall
promptly inform the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and
Negotiations established under section 135 of the Trade Act
of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155) of the decision of the President to
submit a report to Congress under paragraph (2). The Advisory
Committee shall submit to Congress as soon as practicable,
but not later than June 1, 2018, a written report that
contains–
(i) its views regarding the progress that has been made in
negotiations to achieve the purposes, policies, priorities,
and objectives of this title; and
(ii) a statement of its views, and the reasons therefor,
regarding whether the extension requested under paragraph (2)
should be approved or disapproved.
(B) Report by international trade commission.–The
President shall promptly inform the United States
International Trade Commission of the decision of the
President to submit a report to Congress under paragraph (2).
The International Trade Commission shall submit to Congress
as soon as practicable, but not later than June 1, 2018, a
written report that contains a review and analysis of the
economic impact on the United States of all trade agreements
implemented between the date of the enactment of this Act and
the date on which the President decides to seek an extension
requested under paragraph (2).
(4) Status of reports.–The reports submitted to Congress
under paragraphs (2) and (3), or any portion of such reports,
may be classified to the extent the President determines
appropriate.
(5) Extension disapproval resolutions.–(A) For purposes of
paragraph (1), the term extension disapproval resolution''That the ____ disapproves the request of the President for
means a resolution of either House of Congress, the sole
matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows:
the extension, under section 103(c)(1)(B)(i) of the
Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability
Act of 2015, of the trade authorities procedures under that
Act to any implementing bill submitted with respect to any
trade agreement entered into under section 103(b) of that Act
after June 30, 2018.”,
[[Page S2804]]
with the blank space being filled with the name of the
resolving House of Congress.
(B) Extension disapproval resolutions–
(i) may be introduced in either House of Congress by any
member of such House; and
(ii) shall be referred, in the House of Representatives, to
the Committee on Ways and Means and, in addition, to the
Committee on Rules.
(C) The provisions of subsections (d) and (e) of section
152 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2192) (relating to
the floor consideration of certain resolutions in the House
and Senate) apply to extension disapproval resolutions.
(D) It is not in order for–
(i) the House of Representatives to consider any extension
disapproval resolution not reported by the Committee on Ways
and Means and, in addition, by the Committee on Rules;
(ii) the Senate to consider any extension disapproval
resolution not reported by the Committee on Finance; or
(iii) either House of Congress to consider an extension
disapproval resolution after June 30, 2018.
(d) Commencement of Negotiations.–In order to contribute
to the continued economic expansion of the United States, the
President shall commence negotiations covering tariff and
nontariff barriers affecting any industry, product, or
service sector, and expand existing sectoral agreements to
countries that are not parties to those agreements, in cases
where the President determines that such negotiations are
feasible and timely and would benefit the United States. Such
sectors include agriculture, commercial services,
intellectual property rights, industrial and capital goods,
government procurement, information technology products,
environmental technology and services, medical equipment and
services, civil aircraft, and infrastructure products. In so
doing, the President shall take into account all of the
negotiating objectives set forth in section 102.
SEC. 104. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT, CONSULTATIONS, AND ACCESS
TO INFORMATION.
(a) Consultations With Members of Congress.–
(1) Consultations during negotiations.–In the course of
negotiations conducted under this title, the United States
Trade Representative shall–
(A) meet upon request with any Member of Congress regarding
negotiating objectives, the status of negotiations in
progress, and the nature of any changes in the laws of the
United States or the administration of those laws that may be
recommended to Congress to carry out any trade agreement or
any requirement of, amendment to, or recommendation under,
that agreement;
(B) upon request of any Member of Congress, provide access
to pertinent documents relating to the negotiations,
including classified materials;
(C) consult closely and on a timely basis with, and keep
fully apprised of the negotiations, the Committee on Ways and
Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Finance of the Senate;
(D) consult closely and on a timely basis with, and keep
fully apprised of the negotiations, the House Advisory Group
on Negotiations and the Senate Advisory Group on Negotiations
convened under subsection (c) and all committees of the House
of Representatives and the Senate with jurisdiction over laws
that could be affected by a trade agreement resulting from
the negotiations; and
(E) with regard to any negotiations and agreement relating
to agricultural trade, also consult closely and on a timely
basis (including immediately before initialing an agreement)
with, and keep fully apprised of the negotiations, the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the
Senate.
(2) Consultations prior to entry into force.–Prior to
exchanging notes providing for the entry into force of a
trade agreement, the United States Trade Representative shall
consult closely and on a timely basis with Members of
Congress and committees as specified in paragraph (1), and
keep them fully apprised of the measures a trading partner
has taken to comply with those provisions of the agreement
that are to take effect on the date that the agreement enters
into force.
(3) Enhanced coordination with congress.–
(A) Written guidelines.–The United States Trade
Representative, in consultation with the chairmen and the
ranking members of the Committee on Ways and Means of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the
Senate, respectively–
(i) shall, not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, develop written guidelines on enhanced
coordination with Congress, including coordination with
designated congressional advisers under subsection (b),
regarding negotiations conducted under this title; and
(ii) may make such revisions to the guidelines as may be
necessary from time to time.
(B) Content of guidelines.–The guidelines developed under
subparagraph (A) shall enhance coordination with Congress
through procedures to ensure–
(i) timely briefings upon request of any Member of Congress
regarding negotiating objectives, the status of negotiations
in progress conducted under this title, and the nature of any
changes in the laws of the United States or the
administration of those laws that may be recommended to
Congress to carry out any trade agreement or any requirement
of, amendment to, or recommendation under, that agreement;
and
(ii) the sharing of detailed and timely information with
Members of Congress, and their staff with proper security
clearances as appropriate, regarding those negotiations and
pertinent documents related to those negotiations (including
classified information), and with committee staff with proper
security clearances as would be appropriate in the light of
the responsibilities of that committee over the trade
agreements programs affected by those negotiations.
(C) Dissemination.–The United States Trade Representative
shall disseminate the guidelines developed under subparagraph
(A) to all Federal agencies that could have jurisdiction over
laws affected by trade negotiations.
(b) Designated Congressional Advisers.–
(1) Designation.–
(A) House of representatives.–In each Congress, any Member
of the House of Representatives may be designated as a
congressional adviser on trade policy and negotiations by the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, after consulting
with the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Ways
and Means and the chairman and ranking member of the
committee from which the Member will be selected.
(B) Senate.–In each Congress, any Member of the Senate may
be designated as a congressional adviser on trade policy and
negotiations by the President pro tempore of the Senate,
after consultation with the chairman and ranking member of
the Committee on Finance and the chairman and ranking member
of the committee from which the Member will be selected.
(2) Consultations with designated congressional advisers.–
In the course of negotiations conducted under this title, the
United States Trade Representative shall consult closely and
on a timely basis (including immediately before initialing an
agreement) with, and keep fully apprised of the negotiations,
the congressional advisers for trade policy and negotiations
designated under paragraph (1).
(3) Accreditation.–Each Member of Congress designated as a
congressional adviser under paragraph (1) shall be accredited
by the United States Trade Representative on behalf of the
President as an official adviser to the United States
delegations to international conferences, meetings, and
negotiating sessions relating to trade agreements.
(c) Congressional Advisory Groups on Negotiations.–
(1) In general.–By not later than 60 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and not later than 30 days
after the convening of each Congress, the chairman of the
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives
shall convene the House Advisory Group on Negotiations and
the chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate shall
convene the Senate Advisory Group on Negotiations (in this
subsection referred to collectively as the “congressional
advisory groups”).
(2) Members and functions.–
(A) Membership of the house advisory group on
negotiations.–In each Congress, the House Advisory Group on
Negotiations shall be comprised of the following Members of
the House of Representatives:
(i) The chairman and ranking member of the Committee on
Ways and Means, and 3 additional members of such Committee
(not more than 2 of whom are members of the same political
party).
(ii) The chairman and ranking member, or their designees,
of the committees of the House of Representatives that would
have, under the Rules of the House of Representatives,
jurisdiction over provisions of law affected by a trade
agreement negotiation conducted at any time during that
Congress and to which this title would apply.
(B) Membership of the senate advisory group on
negotiations.–In each Congress, the Senate Advisory Group on
Negotiations shall be comprised of the following Members of
the Senate:
(i) The chairman and ranking member of the Committee on
Finance and 3 additional members of such Committee (not more
than 2 of whom are members of the same political party).
(ii) The chairman and ranking member, or their designees,
of the committees of the Senate that would have, under the
Rules of the Senate, jurisdiction over provisions of law
affected by a trade agreement negotiation conducted at any
time during that Congress and to which this title would
apply.
(C) Accreditation.–Each member of the congressional
advisory groups described in subparagraphs (A)(i) and (B)(i)
shall be accredited by the United States Trade Representative
on behalf of the President as an official adviser to the
United States delegation in negotiations for any trade
agreement to which this title applies. Each member of the
congressional advisory groups described in subparagraphs
(A)(ii) and (B)(ii) shall be accredited by the United States
Trade Representative on behalf of the President as an
official adviser to the United States delegation in the
negotiations by reason of which the member is in one of the
congressional advisory groups.
(D) Consultation and advice.–The congressional advisory
groups shall consult with
[[Page S2805]]
and provide advice to the Trade Representative regarding the
formulation of specific objectives, negotiating strategies
and positions, the development of the applicable trade
agreement, and compliance and enforcement of the negotiated
commitments under the trade agreement.
(E) Chair.–The House Advisory Group on Negotiations shall
be chaired by the Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means
of the House of Representatives and the Senate Advisory Group
on Negotiations shall be chaired by the Chairman of the
Committee on Finance of the Senate.
(F) Coordination with other committees.–Members of any
committee represented on one of the congressional advisory
groups may submit comments to the member of the appropriate
congressional advisory group from that committee regarding
any matter related to a negotiation for any trade agreement
to which this title applies.
(3) Guidelines.–
(A) Purpose and revision.–The United States Trade
Representative, in consultation with the chairmen and the
ranking members of the Committee on Ways and Means of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the
Senate, respectively–
(i) shall, not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, develop written guidelines to
facilitate the useful and timely exchange of information
between the Trade Representative and the congressional
advisory groups; and
(ii) may make such revisions to the guidelines as may be
necessary from time to time.
(B) Content.–The guidelines developed under subparagraph
(A) shall provide for, among other things–
(i) detailed briefings on a fixed timetable to be specified
in the guidelines of the congressional advisory groups
regarding negotiating objectives and positions and the status
of the applicable negotiations, beginning as soon as
practicable after the congressional advisory groups are
convened, with more frequent briefings as trade negotiations
enter the final stage;
(ii) access by members of the congressional advisory
groups, and staff with proper security clearances, to
pertinent documents relating to the negotiations, including
classified materials;
(iii) the closest practicable coordination between the
Trade Representative and the congressional advisory groups at
all critical periods during the negotiations, including at
negotiation sites;
(iv) after the applicable trade agreement is concluded,
consultation regarding ongoing compliance and enforcement of
negotiated commitments under the trade agreement; and
(v) the timeframe for submitting the report required under
section 105(d)(3).
(4) Request for meeting.–Upon the request of a majority of
either of the congressional advisory groups, the President
shall meet with that congressional advisory group before
initiating negotiations with respect to a trade agreement, or
at any other time concerning the negotiations.
(d) Consultations With the Public.–
(1) Guidelines for public engagement.–The United States
Trade Representative, in consultation with the chairmen and
the ranking members of the Committee on Ways and Means of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the
Senate, respectively–
(A) shall, not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, develop written guidelines on public
access to information regarding negotiations conducted under
this title; and
(B) may make such revisions to the guidelines as may be
necessary from time to time.
(2) Purposes.–The guidelines developed under paragraph (1)
shall–
(A) facilitate transparency;
(B) encourage public participation; and
(C) promote collaboration in the negotiation process.
(3) Content.–The guidelines developed under paragraph (1)
shall include procedures that–
(A) provide for rapid disclosure of information in forms
that the public can readily find and use; and
(B) provide frequent opportunities for public input through
Federal Register requests for comment and other means.
(4) Dissemination.–The United States Trade Representative
shall disseminate the guidelines developed under paragraph
(1) to all Federal agencies that could have jurisdiction over
laws affected by trade negotiations.
(e) Consultations With Advisory Committees.–
(1) Guidelines for engagement with advisory committees.–
The United States Trade Representative, in consultation with
the chairmen and the ranking members of the Committee on Ways
and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Finance of the Senate, respectively–
(A) shall, not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, develop written guidelines on enhanced
coordination with advisory committees established pursuant to
section 135 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155)
regarding negotiations conducted under this title; and
(B) may make such revisions to the guidelines as may be
necessary from time to time.
(2) Content.–The guidelines developed under paragraph (1)
shall enhance coordination with advisory committees described
in that paragraph through procedures to ensure–
(A) timely briefings of advisory committees and regular
opportunities for advisory committees to provide input
throughout the negotiation process on matters relevant to the
sectors or functional areas represented by those committees;
and
(B) the sharing of detailed and timely information with
each member of an advisory committee regarding negotiations
and pertinent documents related to the negotiation (including
classified information) on matters relevant to the sectors or
functional areas the member represents, and with a designee
with proper security clearances of each such member as
appropriate.
(3) Dissemination.–The United States Trade Representative
shall disseminate the guidelines developed under paragraph
(1) to all Federal agencies that could have jurisdiction over
laws affected by trade negotiations.
(f) Establishment of Position of Chief Transparency Officer
in the Office of the United States Trade Representative.–
Section 141(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2171(b))
is amended–
(1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
“(3) There shall be in the Office one Chief Transparency
Officer. The Chief Transparency Officer shall consult with
Congress on transparency policy, coordinate transparency in
trade negotiations, engage and assist the public, and advise
the United States Trade Representative on transparency
policy.”.
SEC. 105. NOTICE, CONSULTATIONS, AND REPORTS.
(a) Notice, Consultations, and Reports Before
Negotiation.–
(1) Notice.–The President, with respect to any agreement
that is subject to the provisions of section 103(b), shall–
(A) provide, at least 90 calendar days before initiating
negotiations with a country, written notice to Congress of
the President’s intention to enter into the negotiations with
that country and set forth in the notice the date on which
the President intends to initiate those negotiations, the
specific United States objectives for the negotiations with
that country, and whether the President intends to seek an
agreement, or changes to an existing agreement;
(B) before and after submission of the notice, consult
regarding the negotiations with the Committee on Ways and
Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Finance of the Senate, such other committees of the House and
Senate as the President deems appropriate, and the House
Advisory Group on Negotiations and the Senate Advisory Group
on Negotiations convened under section 104(c);
(C) upon the request of a majority of the members of either
the House Advisory Group on Negotiations or the Senate
Advisory Group on Negotiations convened under section 104(c),
meet with the requesting congressional advisory group before
initiating the negotiations or at any other time concerning
the negotiations; and
(D) after consulting with the Committee on Ways and Means
and the Committee on Finance, and at least 30 calendar days
before initiating negotiations with a country, publish on a
publicly available Internet website of the Office of the
United States Trade Representative, and regularly update
thereafter, a detailed and comprehensive summary of the
specific objectives with respect to the negotiations, and a
description of how the agreement, if successfully concluded,
will further those objectives and benefit the United States.
(2) Negotiations regarding agriculture.–
(A) Assessment and consultations following assessment.–
Before initiating or continuing negotiations the subject
matter of which is directly related to the subject matter
under section 102(b)(3)(B) with any country, the President
shall–
(i) assess whether United States tariffs on agricultural
products that were bound under the Uruguay Round Agreements
are lower than the tariffs bound by that country;
(ii) consider whether the tariff levels bound and applied
throughout the world with respect to imports from the United
States are higher than United States tariffs and whether the
negotiation provides an opportunity to address any such
disparity; and
(iii) consult with the Committee on Ways and Means and the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate concerning the results
of the assessment, whether it is appropriate for the United
States to agree to further tariff reductions based on the
conclusions reached in the assessment, and how all applicable
negotiating objectives will be met.
(B) Special consultations on import sensitive products.–
(i) Before initiating negotiations with regard to agriculture
and, with respect to agreements described in paragraphs (2)
and (3) of section 107(a), as soon as practicable after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the United States Trade
Representative shall–
(I) identify those agricultural products subject to tariff
rate quotas on the date of enactment of this Act, and
agricultural products subject to tariff reductions by the
United States as a result of the Uruguay Round Agreements,
for which the rate of
[[Page S2806]]
duty was reduced on January 1, 1995, to a rate which was not
less than 97.5 percent of the rate of duty that applied to
such article on December 31, 1994;
(II) consult with the Committee on Ways and Means and the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate concerning–
(aa) whether any further tariff reductions on the products
identified under subclause (I) should be appropriate, taking
into account the impact of any such tariff reduction on the
United States industry producing the product concerned;
(bb) whether the products so identified face unjustified
sanitary or phytosanitary restrictions, including those not
based on scientific principles in contravention of the
Uruguay Round Agreements; and
(cc) whether the countries participating in the
negotiations maintain export subsidies or other programs,
policies, or practices that distort world trade in such
products and the impact of such programs, policies, and
practices on United States producers of the products;
(III) request that the International Trade Commission
prepare an assessment of the probable economic effects of any
such tariff reduction on the United States industry producing
the product concerned and on the United States economy as a
whole; and
(IV) upon complying with subclauses (I), (II), and (III),
notify the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on
Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Finance and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate of those products identified under
subclause (I) for which the Trade Representative intends to
seek tariff liberalization in the negotiations and the
reasons for seeking such tariff liberalization.
(ii) If, after negotiations described in clause (i) are
commenced–
(I) the United States Trade Representative identifies any
additional agricultural product described in clause (i)(I)
for tariff reductions which were not the subject of a
notification under clause (i)(IV), or
(II) any additional agricultural product described in
clause (i)(I) is the subject of a request for tariff
reductions by a party to the negotiations,
the Trade Representative shall, as soon as practicable,
notify the committees referred to in clause (i)(IV) of those
products and the reasons for seeking such tariff reductions.
(3) Negotiations regarding the fishing industry.–Before
initiating, or continuing, negotiations that directly relate
to fish or shellfish trade with any country, the President
shall consult with the Committee on Ways and Means and the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Finance and the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate, and shall keep the Committees apprised of the
negotiations on an ongoing and timely basis.
(4) Negotiations regarding textiles.–Before initiating or
continuing negotiations the subject matter of which is
directly related to textiles and apparel products with any
country, the President shall–
(A) assess whether United States tariffs on textile and
apparel products that were bound under the Uruguay Round
Agreements are lower than the tariffs bound by that country
and whether the negotiation provides an opportunity to
address any such disparity; and
(B) consult with the Committee on Ways and Means of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the
Senate concerning the results of the assessment, whether it
is appropriate for the United States to agree to further
tariff reductions based on the conclusions reached in the
assessment, and how all applicable negotiating objectives
will be met.
(5) Adherence to existing international trade and
investment agreement obligations.–In determining whether to
enter into negotiations with a particular country, the
President shall take into account the extent to which that
country has implemented, or has accelerated the
implementation of, its international trade and investment
commitments to the United States, including pursuant to the
WTO Agreement.
(b) Consultation With Congress Before Entry Into
Agreement.–
(1) Consultation.–Before entering into any trade agreement
under section 103(b), the President shall consult with–
(A) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate;
(B) each other committee of the House and the Senate, and
each joint committee of Congress, which has jurisdiction over
legislation involving subject matters which would be affected
by the trade agreement; and
(C) the House Advisory Group on Negotiations and the Senate
Advisory Group on Negotiations convened under section 104(c).
(2) Scope.–The consultation described in paragraph (1)
shall include consultation with respect to–
(A) the nature of the agreement;
(B) how and to what extent the agreement will achieve the
applicable purposes, policies, priorities, and objectives of
this title; and
(C) the implementation of the agreement under section 106,
including the general effect of the agreement on existing
laws.
(3) Report regarding united states trade remedy laws.–
(A) Changes in certain trade laws.–The President, not less
than 180 calendar days before the day on which the President
enters into a trade agreement under section 103(b), shall
report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate–
(i) the range of proposals advanced in the negotiations
with respect to that agreement, that may be in the final
agreement, and that could require amendments to title VII of
the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.) or to chapter
1 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2251 et
seq.); and
(ii) how these proposals relate to the objectives described
in section 102(b)(16).
(B) Resolutions.–(i) At any time after the transmission of
the report under subparagraph (A), if a resolution is
introduced with respect to that report in either House of
Congress, the procedures set forth in clauses (iii) through
(vii) shall apply to that resolution if–
(I) no other resolution with respect to that report has
previously been reported in that House of Congress by the
Committee on Ways and Means or the Committee on Finance, as
the case may be, pursuant to those procedures; and
(II) no procedural disapproval resolution under section
106(b) introduced with respect to a trade agreement entered
into pursuant to the negotiations to which the report under
subparagraph (A) relates has previously been reported in that
House of Congress by the Committee on Ways and Means or the
Committee on Finance, as the case may be.
(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term
resolution'' means only a resolution of either House ofThat the ____ finds that the proposed changes
Congress, the matter after the resolving clause of which is
as follows:
to United States trade remedy laws contained in the report of
the President transmitted to Congress on ____ under section
105(b)(3) of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities
and Accountability Act of 2015 with respect to ____, are
inconsistent with the negotiating objectives described in
section 102(b)(16) of that Act.”, with the first blank space
being filled with the name of the resolving House of
Congress, the second blank space being filled with the
appropriate date of the report, and the third blank space
being filled with the name of the country or countries
involved.
(iii) Resolutions in the House of Representatives–
(I) may be introduced by any Member of the House;
(II) shall be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
and, in addition, to the Committee on Rules; and
(III) may not be amended by either Committee.
(iv) Resolutions in the Senate–
(I) may be introduced by any Member of the Senate;
(II) shall be referred to the Committee on Finance; and
(III) may not be amended.
(v) It is not in order for the House of Representatives to
consider any resolution that is not reported by the Committee
on Ways and Means and, in addition, by the Committee on
Rules.
(vi) It is not in order for the Senate to consider any
resolution that is not reported by the Committee on Finance.
(vii) The provisions of subsections (d) and (e) of section
152 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2192) (relating to
floor consideration of certain resolutions in the House and
Senate) shall apply to resolutions.
(4) Advisory committee reports.–The report required under
section 135(e)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2155(e)(1)) regarding any trade agreement entered into under
subsection (a) or (b) of section 103 shall be provided to the
President, Congress, and the United States Trade
Representative not later than 30 days after the date on which
the President notifies Congress under section 103(a)(2) or
106(a)(1)(A) of the intention of the President to enter into
the agreement.
(c) International Trade Commission Assessment.–
(1) Submission of information to commission.–The
President, not later than 90 calendar days before the day on
which the President enters into a trade agreement under
section 103(b), shall provide the International Trade
Commission (referred to in this subsection as the
“Commission”) with the details of the agreement as it
exists at that time and request the Commission to prepare and
submit an assessment of the agreement as described in
paragraph (2). Between the time the President makes the
request under this paragraph and the time the Commission
submits the assessment, the President shall keep the
Commission current with respect to the details of the
agreement.
(2) Assessment.–Not later than 105 calendar days after the
President enters into a trade agreement under section 103(b),
the Commission shall submit to the President and Congress a
report assessing the likely impact of the agreement on the
United States economy as a whole and on specific industry
sectors, including the impact the agreement will have on the
gross domestic product, exports and imports, aggregate
employment and employment opportunities, the production,
employment, and competitive position of industries likely to
be significantly affected by the agreement, and the interests
of United States consumers.
(3) Review of empirical literature.–In preparing the
assessment under paragraph (2), the Commission shall review
available
[[Page S2807]]
economic assessments regarding the agreement, including
literature regarding any substantially equivalent proposed
agreement, and shall provide in its assessment a description
of the analyses used and conclusions drawn in such
literature, and a discussion of areas of consensus and
divergence between the various analyses and conclusions,
including those of the Commission regarding the agreement.
(4) Public availability.–The President shall make each
assessment under paragraph (2) available to the public.
(d) Reports Submitted to Committees With Agreement.–
(1) Environmental reviews and reports.–The President
shall–
(A) conduct environmental reviews of future trade and
investment agreements, consistent with Executive Order 13141
(64 Fed. Reg. 63169), dated November 16, 1999, and its
relevant guidelines; and
(B) submit a report on those reviews and on the content and
operation of consultative mechanisms established pursuant to
section 102(c) to the Committee on Ways and Means of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the
Senate at the time the President submits to Congress a copy
of the final legal text of an agreement pursuant to section
106(a)(1)(E).
(2) Employment impact reviews and reports.–The President
shall–
(A) review the impact of future trade agreements on United
States employment, including labor markets, modeled after
Executive Order 13141 (64 Fed. Reg. 63169) to the extent
appropriate in establishing procedures and criteria; and
(B) submit a report on such reviews to the Committee on
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Finance of the Senate at the time the President
submits to Congress a copy of the final legal text of an
agreement pursuant to section 106(a)(1)(E).
(3) Report on labor rights.–The President shall submit to
the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate,
on a timeframe determined in accordance with section
104(c)(3)(B)(v)–
(A) a meaningful labor rights report of the country, or
countries, with respect to which the President is
negotiating; and
(B) a description of any provisions that would require
changes to the labor laws and labor practices of the United
States.
(4) Public availability.–The President shall make all
reports required under this subsection available to the
public.
(e) Implementation and Enforcement Plan.–
(1) In general.–At the time the President submits to
Congress a copy of the final legal text of an agreement
pursuant to section 106(a)(1)(E), the President shall also
submit to Congress a plan for implementing and enforcing the
agreement.
(2) Elements.–The implementation and enforcement plan
required by paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A) Border personnel requirements.–A description of
additional personnel required at border entry points,
including a list of additional customs and agricultural
inspectors.
(B) Agency staffing requirements.–A description of
additional personnel required by Federal agencies responsible
for monitoring and implementing the trade agreement,
including personnel required by the Office of the United
States Trade Representative, the Department of Commerce, the
Department of Agriculture (including additional personnel
required to implement sanitary and phytosanitary measures in
order to obtain market access for United States exports), the
Department of Homeland Security, the Department of the
Treasury, and such other agencies as may be necessary.
(C) Customs infrastructure requirements.–A description of
the additional equipment and facilities needed by U.S.
Customs and Border Protection.
(D) Impact on state and local governments.–A description
of the impact the trade agreement will have on State and
local governments as a result of increases in trade.
(E) Cost analysis.–An analysis of the costs associated
with each of the items listed in subparagraphs (A) through
(D).
(3) Budget submission.–The President shall include a
request for the resources necessary to support the plan
required by paragraph (1) in the first budget of the
President submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of
title 31, United States Code, after the date of the
submission of the plan.
(4) Public availability.–The President shall make the plan
required under this subsection available to the public.
(f) Other Reports.–
(1) Report on penalties.–Not later than one year after the
imposition by the United States of a penalty or remedy
permitted by a trade agreement to which this title applies,
the President shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance
of the Senate a report on the effectiveness of the penalty or
remedy applied under United States law in enforcing United
States rights under the trade agreement, which shall address
whether the penalty or remedy was effective in changing the
behavior of the targeted party and whether the penalty or
remedy had any adverse impact on parties or interests not
party to the dispute.
(2) Report on impact of trade promotion authority.–Not
later than one year after the date of the enactment of this
Act, and not later than 5 years thereafter, the United States
International Trade Commission shall submit to the Committee
on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Finance of the Senate a report on the economic
impact on the United States of all trade agreements with
respect to which Congress has enacted an implementing bill
under trade authorities procedures since January 1, 1984.
(3) Enforcement consultations and reports.–(A) The United
States Trade Representative shall consult with the Committee
on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Finance of the Senate after acceptance of a
petition for review or taking an enforcement action in regard
to an obligation under a trade agreement, including a labor
or environmental obligation. During such consultations, the
United States Trade Representative shall describe the matter,
including the basis for such action and the application of
any relevant legal obligations.
(B) As part of the report required pursuant to section 163
of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2213), the President
shall report annually to Congress on enforcement actions
taken pursuant to a trade agreement to which the United
States is a party, as well as on any public reports issued by
Federal agencies on enforcement matters relating to a trade
agreement.
(g) Additional Coordination With Members.–Any Member of
the House of Representatives may submit to the Committee on
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and any Member
of the Senate may submit to the Committee on Finance of the
Senate the views of that Member on any matter relevant to a
proposed trade agreement, and the relevant Committee shall
receive those views for consideration.
SEC. 106. IMPLEMENTATION OF TRADE AGREEMENTS.
(a) In General.–
(1) Notification and submission.–Any agreement entered
into under section 103(b) shall enter into force with respect
to the United States if (and only if)–
(A) the President, at least 90 calendar days before the day
on which the President enters into the trade agreement,
notifies the House of Representatives and the Senate of the
President’s intention to enter into the agreement, and
promptly thereafter publishes notice of such intention in the
Federal Register;
(B) the President, at least 60 days before the day on which
the President enters into the agreement, publishes the text
of the agreement on a publicly available Internet website of
the Office of the United States Trade Representative;
(C) within 60 days after entering into the agreement, the
President submits to Congress a description of those changes
to existing laws that the President considers would be
required in order to bring the United States into compliance
with the agreement;
(D) the President, at least 30 days before submitting to
Congress the materials under subparagraph (E), submits to
Congress–
(i) a draft statement of any administrative action proposed
to implement the agreement; and
(ii) a copy of the final legal text of the agreement;
(E) after entering into the agreement, the President
submits to Congress, on a day on which both Houses of
Congress are in session, a copy of the final legal text of
the agreement, together with–
(i) a draft of an implementing bill described in section
103(b)(3);
(ii) a statement of any administrative action proposed to
implement the trade agreement; and
(iii) the supporting information described in paragraph
(2)(A);
(F) the implementing bill is enacted into law; and
(G) the President, not later than 30 days before the date
on which the agreement enters into force with respect to a
party to the agreement, submits written notice to Congress
that the President has determined that the party has taken
measures necessary to comply with those provisions of the
agreement that are to take effect on the date on which the
agreement enters into force.
(2) Supporting information.–
(A) In general.–The supporting information required under
paragraph (1)(E)(iii) consists of–
(i) an explanation as to how the implementing bill and
proposed administrative action will change or affect existing
law; and
(ii) a statement–
(I) asserting that the agreement makes progress in
achieving the applicable purposes, policies, priorities, and
objectives of this title; and
(II) setting forth the reasons of the President regarding–
(aa) how and to what extent the agreement makes progress in
achieving the applicable purposes, policies, and objectives
referred to in subclause (I);
(bb) whether and how the agreement changes provisions of an
agreement previously negotiated;
(cc) how the agreement serves the interests of United
States commerce; and
(dd) how the implementing bill meets the standards set
forth in section 103(b)(3).
(B) Public availability.–The President shall make the
supporting information described in subparagraph (A)
available to the public.
[[Page S2808]]
(3) Reciprocal benefits.–In order to ensure that a foreign
country that is not a party to a trade agreement entered into
under section 103(b) does not receive benefits under the
agreement unless the country is also subject to the
obligations under the agreement, the implementing bill
submitted with respect to the agreement shall provide that
the benefits and obligations under the agreement apply only
to the parties to the agreement, if such application is
consistent with the terms of the agreement. The implementing
bill may also provide that the benefits and obligations under
the agreement do not apply uniformly to all parties to the
agreement, if such application is consistent with the terms
of the agreement.
(4) Disclosure of commitments.–Any agreement or other
understanding with a foreign government or governments
(whether oral or in writing) that–
(A) relates to a trade agreement with respect to which
Congress enacts an implementing bill under trade authorities
procedures; and
(B) is not disclosed to Congress before an implementing
bill with respect to that agreement is introduced in either
House of Congress,
shall not be considered to be part of the agreement approved
by Congress and shall have no force and effect under United
States law or in any dispute settlement body.
(b) Limitations on Trade Authorities Procedures.–
(1) For lack of notice or consultations.–
(A) In general.–The trade authorities procedures shall not
apply to any implementing bill submitted with respect to a
trade agreement or trade agreements entered into under
section 103(b) if during the 60-day period beginning on the
date that one House of Congress agrees to a procedural
disapproval resolution for lack of notice or consultations
with respect to such trade agreement or agreements, the other
House separately agrees to a procedural disapproval
resolution with respect to such trade agreement or
agreements.
(B) Procedural disapproval resolution.–(i) For purposes of
this paragraph, the term procedural disapprovalThat the President has failed or refused to notify
resolution'' means a resolution of either House of Congress,
the sole matter after the resolving clause of which is as
follows:
or consult in accordance with the Bipartisan Congressional
Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 on
negotiations with respect to ________ and, therefore, the
trade authorities procedures under that Act shall not apply
to any implementing bill submitted with respect to such trade
agreement or agreements.”, with the blank space being filled
with a description of the trade agreement or agreements with
respect to which the President is considered to have failed
or refused to notify or consult.
(ii) For purposes of clause (i) and paragraphs (3)(C) and
(4)(C), the President has failed or refused to notify orThat the President has
consult in accordance with the Bipartisan Congressional Trade
Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015'' on negotiations
with respect to a trade agreement or trade agreements if--
(I) the President has failed or refused to consult (as the
case may be) in accordance with sections 104 and 105 and this
section with respect to the negotiations, agreement, or
agreements;
(II) guidelines under section 104 have not been developed
or met with respect to the negotiations, agreement, or
agreements;
(III) the President has not met with the House Advisory
Group on Negotiations or the Senate Advisory Group on
Negotiations pursuant to a request made under section
104(c)(4) with respect to the negotiations, agreement, or
agreements; or
(IV) the agreement or agreements fail to make progress in
achieving the purposes, policies, priorities, and objectives
of this title.
(2) Procedures for considering resolutions.--(A) Procedural
disapproval resolutions--
(i) in the House of Representatives--
(I) may be introduced by any Member of the House;
(II) shall be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
and, in addition, to the Committee on Rules; and
(III) may not be amended by either Committee; and
(ii) in the Senate--
(I) may be introduced by any Member of the Senate;
(II) shall be referred to the Committee on Finance; and
(III) may not be amended.
(B) The provisions of subsections (d) and (e) of section
152 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2192) (relating to
the floor consideration of certain resolutions in the House
and Senate) apply to a procedural disapproval resolution
introduced with respect to a trade agreement if no other
procedural disapproval resolution with respect to that trade
agreement has previously been reported in that House of
Congress by the Committee on Ways and Means or the Committee
on Finance, as the case may be, and if no resolution
described in clause (ii) of section 105(b)(3)(B) with respect
to that trade agreement has been reported in that House of
Congress by the Committee on Ways and Means or the Committee
on Finance, as the case may be, pursuant to the procedures
set forth in clauses (iii) through (vii) of such section.
(C) It is not in order for the House of Representatives to
consider any procedural disapproval resolution not reported
by the Committee on Ways and Means and, in addition, by the
Committee on Rules.
(D) It is not in order for the Senate to consider any
procedural disapproval resolution not reported by the
Committee on Finance.
(3) Consideration in senate of consultation and compliance
resolution to remove trade authorities procedures.--
(A) Reporting of resolution.--If, when the Committee on
Finance of the Senate meets on whether to report an
implementing bill with respect to a trade agreement or
agreements entered into under section 103(b), the committee
fails to favorably report the bill, the committee shall
report a resolution described in subparagraph (C).
(B) Applicability of trade authorities procedures.--The
trade authorities procedures shall not apply in the Senate to
any implementing bill submitted with respect to a trade
agreement or agreements described in subparagraph (A) if the
Committee on Finance reports a resolution described in
subparagraph (C) and such resolution is agreed to by the
Senate.
(C) Resolution described.--A resolution described in this
subparagraph is a resolution of the Senate originating from
the Committee on Finance the sole matter after the resolving
clause of which is as follows:
failed or refused to notify or consult in accordance with the
Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability
Act of 2015 on negotiations with respect to _____ and,
therefore, the trade authorities procedures under that Act
shall not apply in the Senate to any implementing bill
submitted with respect to such trade agreement or
agreements.”, with the blank space being filled with a
description of the trade agreement or agreements described in
subparagraph (A).
(D) Procedures.–If the Senate does not agree to a motion
to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to a resolution
described in subparagraph (C), the resolution shall be
committed to the Committee on Finance.
(4) Consideration in the house of representatives of a
consultation and compliance resolution.–
(A) Qualifications for reporting resolution.–If–
(i) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives reports an implementing bill with respect to
a trade agreement or agreements entered into under section
103(b) with other than a favorable recommendation; and
(ii) a Member of the House of Representatives has
introduced a consultation and compliance resolution on the
legislative day following the filing of a report to accompany
the implementing bill with other than a favorable
recommendation,
then the Committee on Ways and Means shall consider a
consultation and compliance resolution pursuant to
subparagraph (B).
(B) Committee consideration of a qualifying resolution.–
(i) Not later than the fourth legislative day after the date
of introduction of the resolution, the Committee on Ways and
Means shall meet to consider a resolution meeting the
qualifications set forth in subparagraph (A).
(ii) After consideration of one such resolution by the
Committee on Ways and Means, this subparagraph shall not
apply to any other such resolution.
(iii) If the Committee on Ways and Means has not reported
the resolution by the sixth legislative day after the date of
its introduction, that committee shall be discharged from
further consideration of the resolution.
(C) Consultation and compliance resolution described.–A
consultation and compliance resolution–
(i) is a resolution of the House of Representatives, the
sole matter after the resolving clause of which is as
follows: “That the President has failed or refused to notify
or consult in accordance with the Bipartisan Congressional
Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 on
negotiations with respect to _____ and, therefore, the trade
authorities procedures under that Act shall not apply in the
House of Representatives to any implementing bill submitted
with respect to such trade agreement or agreements.”, with
the blank space being filled with a description of the trade
agreement or agreements described in subparagraph (A); and
(ii) shall be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
(D) Applicability of trade authorities procedures.–The
trade authorities procedures shall not apply in the House of
Representatives to any implementing bill submitted with
respect to a trade agreement or agreements which are the
object of a consultation and compliance resolution if such
resolution is adopted by the House.
(5) For failure to meet other requirements.–Not later than
December 15, 2015, the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation
with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury,
the Attorney General, and the United States Trade
Representative, shall transmit to Congress a report setting
forth the strategy of the executive branch to address
concerns of Congress regarding whether dispute settlement
panels and the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization
have added to obligations, or diminished rights, of the
United States, as described in section 102(b)(15)(C). Trade
authorities procedures shall not apply to any implementing
bill with respect to an agreement negotiated under the
auspices of the World Trade Organization unless the Secretary
of Commerce
[[Page S2809]]
has issued such report by the deadline specified in this
paragraph.
(6) Limitations on procedures with respect to agreements
with countries not in compliance with trafficking victims
protection act of 2000.–
(A) In general.–The trade authorities procedures shall not
apply to any implementing bill submitted with respect to a
trade agreement or trade agreements entered into under
section 103(b) with a country to which the minimum standards
for the elimination of trafficking are applicable and the
government of which does not fully comply with such standards
and is not making significant efforts to bring the country
into compliance (commonly referred to as a tier 3''minimum standards for
country), as determined in the most recent annual report on
trafficking in persons submitted under section 110(b)(1) of
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.
7107(b)(1)).
(B) Minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking
defined.--In this paragraph, the term
the elimination of trafficking” means the standards set
forth in section 108 of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7106).
(c) Rules of House of Representatives and Senate.–
Subsection (b) of this section, section 103(c), and section
105(b)(3) are enacted by Congress–
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of
Representatives and the Senate, respectively, and as such are
deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, and
such procedures supersede other rules only to the extent that
they are inconsistent with such other rules; and
(2) with the full recognition of the constitutional right
of either House to change the rules (so far as relating to
the procedures of that House) at any time, in the same
manner, and to the same extent as any other rule of that
House.
SEC. 107. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TRADE AGREEMENTS FOR WHICH
NEGOTIATIONS HAVE ALREADY BEGUN.
(a) Certain Agreements.–Notwithstanding the prenegotiation
notification and consultation requirement described in
section 105(a), if an agreement to which section 103(b)
applies–
(1) is entered into under the auspices of the World Trade
Organization,
(2) is entered into with the Trans-Pacific Partnership
countries with respect to which notifications have been made
in a manner consistent with section 105(a)(1)(A) as of the
date of the enactment of this Act,
(3) is entered into with the European Union,
(4) is an agreement with respect to international trade in
services entered into with WTO members with respect to which
a notification has been made in a manner consistent with
section 105(a)(1)(A) as of the date of the enactment of this
Act, or
(5) is an agreement with respect to environmental goods
entered into with WTO members with respect to which a
notification has been made in a manner consistent with
section 105(a)(1)(A) as of the date of the enactment of this
Act,
and results from negotiations that were commenced before the
date of the enactment of this Act, subsection (b) shall
apply.
(b) Treatment of Agreements.–In the case of any agreement
to which subsection (a) applies, the applicability of the
trade authorities procedures to implementing bills shall be
determined without regard to the requirements of section
105(a) (relating only to notice prior to initiating
negotiations), and any resolution under paragraph (1)(B),
(3)(C), or (4)(C) of section 106(b) shall not be in order on
the basis of a failure or refusal to comply with the
provisions of section 105(a), if (and only if) the President,
as soon as feasible after the date of the enactment of this
Act–
(1) notifies Congress of the negotiations described in
subsection (a), the specific United States objectives in the
negotiations, and whether the President is seeking a new
agreement or changes to an existing agreement; and
(2) before and after submission of the notice, consults
regarding the negotiations with the committees referred to in
section 105(a)(1)(B) and the House and Senate Advisory Groups
on Negotiations convened under section 104(c).
SEC. 108. SOVEREIGNTY.
(a) United States Law To Prevail in Event of Conflict.–No
provision of any trade agreement entered into under section
103(b), nor the application of any such provision to any
person or circumstance, that is inconsistent with any law of
the United States, any State of the United States, or any
locality of the United States shall have effect.
(b) Amendments or Modifications of United States Law.–No
provision of any trade agreement entered into under section
103(b) shall prevent the United States, any State of the
United States, or any locality of the United States from
amending or modifying any law of the United States, that
State, or that locality (as the case may be).
(c) Dispute Settlement Reports.–Reports, including
findings and recommendations, issued by dispute settlement
panels convened pursuant to any trade agreement entered into
under section 103(b) shall have no binding effect on the law
of the United States, the Government of the United States, or
the law or government of any State or locality of the United
States.
SEC. 109. INTERESTS OF SMALL BUSINESSES.
(a) Sense of Congress.–It is the sense of Congress that–
(1) the United States Trade Representative should
facilitate participation by small businesses in the trade
negotiation process; and
(2) the functions of the Office of the United States Trade
Representative relating to small businesses should continue
to be reflected in the title of the Assistant United States
Trade Representative assigned the responsibility for small
businesses.
(b) Consideration of Small Business Interests.–The
Assistant United States Trade Representative for Small
Business, Market Access, and Industrial Competitiveness shall
be responsible for ensuring that the interests of small
businesses are considered in all trade negotiations in
accordance with the objective described in section 102(a)(8).
SEC. 110. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS; APPLICATION OF CERTAIN
PROVISIONS.
(a) Conforming Amendments.–
(1) Advice from united states international trade
commission.–Section 131 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2151) is amended–
(A) in subsection (a)–
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking section 2103(a) or (b)subsection (a) or (b) of section 103 of the
of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002'' and
inserting
Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability
Act of 2015”; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking section 2103(b) of thesection 103(b) of the Bipartisan Congressional
Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002'' and
inserting
Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015”;
(B) in subsection (b), by striking section 2103(a)(3)(A)section 103(a)(4)(A) of the Bipartisan
of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002'' and
inserting
Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of
2015”; and
(C) in subsection (c), by striking section 2103 of thesection 103(a) of the Bipartisan Congressional
Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002'' and
inserting
Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015”.
(2) Hearings.–Section 132 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19
U.S.C. 2152) is amended by striking section 2103 of thesection 103 of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade
Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002'' and
inserting
Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015”.
(3) Public hearings.–Section 133(a) of the Trade Act of
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2153(a)) is amended by striking sectionsection 103 of the Bipartisan
2103 of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of
2002'' and inserting
Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of
2015”.
(4) Prerequisites for offers.–Section 134 of the Trade Act
of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2154) is amended by striking sectionsection 103 of
2103 of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of
2002'' each place it appears and inserting
the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and
Accountability Act of 2015”.
(5) Information and advice from private and public
sectors.–Section 135 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2155) is amended–
(A) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by striking section 2103 ofsection 103 of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade
the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002'' and
inserting
Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015”; and
(B) in subsection (e)–
(i) in paragraph (1)–
(I) by striking section 2103 of the Bipartisan Tradesection 103 of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade
Promotion Authority Act of 2002'' each place it appears and
inserting
Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015”; and
(II) by striking not later than the date on which thenot later than the date that is 30 days after the
President notifies the Congress under section 2105(a)(1)(A)
of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002'' and
inserting
date on which the President notifies Congress under section
106(a)(1)(A) of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities
and Accountability Act of 2015”; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking section 2102 of thesection 102 of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade
Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002'' and
inserting
Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015”.
(6) Procedures relating to implementing bills.–Section 151
of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2191) is amended–
(A) in subsection (b)(1), in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by striking section 2105(a)(1) of thesection 106(a)(1) of the Bipartisan Congressional
Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002'' and
inserting
Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015”; and
(B) in subsection (c)(1), by striking section 2105(a)(1)section 106(a)(1) of the Bipartisan Congressional
of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002'' and
inserting
Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015”.
(7) Transmission of agreements to congress.–Section 162(a)
of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2212(a)) is amended by
striking section 2103 of the Bipartisan Trade Promotionsection 103 of the
Authority Act of 2002'' and inserting
Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability
Act of 2015”.
(b) Application of Certain Provisions.–For purposes of
applying sections 125, 126,
[[Page S2810]]
and 127 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2135, 2136, and
2137)–
(1) any trade agreement entered into under section 103
shall be treated as an agreement entered into under section
101 or 102 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2111 or 2112),
as appropriate; and
(2) any proclamation or Executive order issued pursuant to
a trade agreement entered into under section 103 shall be
treated as a proclamation or Executive order issued pursuant
to a trade agreement entered into under section 102 of the
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2112).
SEC. 111. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Agreement on agriculture.–The term Agreement onAgreement on
Agriculture'' means the agreement referred to in section
101(d)(2) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C.
3511(d)(2)).
(2) Agreement on safeguards.--The term
Safeguards” means the agreement referred to in section
101(d)(13) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C.
3511(d)(13)).
(3) Agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures.–
The term Agreement on Subsidies and CountervailingAntidumping
Measures'' means the agreement referred to in section
101(d)(12) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C.
3511(d)(12)).
(4) Antidumping agreement.--The term
Agreement” means the Agreement on Implementation of Article
VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994
referred to in section 101(d)(7) of the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(7)).
(5) Appellate body.–The term Appellate Body'' means thecommon multilateral
Appellate Body established under Article 17.1 of the Dispute
Settlement Understanding.
(6) Common multilateral environmental agreement.--
(A) In general.--The term
environmental agreement” means any agreement specified in
subparagraph (B) or included under subparagraph (C) to which
both the United States and one or more other parties to the
negotiations are full parties, including any current or
future mutually agreed upon protocols, amendments, annexes,
or adjustments to such an agreement.
(B) Agreements specified.–The agreements specified in this
subparagraph are the following:
(i) The Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, done at Washington March 3,
1973 (27 UST 1087; TIAS 8249).
(ii) The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer, done at Montreal September 16, 1987.
(iii) The Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973,
done at London February 17, 1978.
(iv) The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance
Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, done at Ramsar February 2,
1971 (TIAS 11084).
(v) The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine
Living Resources, done at Canberra May 20, 1980 (33 UST
3476).
(vi) The International Convention for the Regulation of
Whaling, done at Washington December 2, 1946 (62 Stat. 1716).
(vii) The Convention for the Establishment of an Inter-
American Tropical Tuna Commission, done at Washington May 31,
1949 (1 UST 230).
(C) Additional agreements.–Both the United States and one
or more other parties to the negotiations may agree to
include any other multilateral environmental or conservation
agreement to which they are full parties as a common
multilateral environmental agreement under this paragraph.
(7) Core labor standards.–The term core laborDispute
standards'' means--
(A) freedom of association;
(B) the effective recognition of the right to collective
bargaining;
(C) the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory
labor;
(D) the effective abolition of child labor and a
prohibition on the worst forms of child labor; and
(E) the elimination of discrimination in respect of
employment and occupation.
(8) Dispute settlement understanding.--The term
Settlement Understanding” means the Understanding on Rules
and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes referred
to in section 101(d)(16) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act
(19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(16)).
(9) Enabling clause.–The term Enabling Clause'' meansenvironmental laws”,
the Decision on Differential and More Favourable Treatment,
Reciprocity and Fuller Participation of Developing Countries
(L/4903), adopted November 28, 1979, under GATT 1947 (as
defined in section 2 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19
U.S.C. 3501)).
(10) Environmental laws.--The term
with respect to the laws of the United States, means
environmental statutes and regulations enforceable by action
of the Federal Government.
(11) GATT 1994.–The term GATT 1994'' has the meaningGeneral Agreement on Trade in Services” means the General
given that term in section 2 of the Uruguay Round Agreements
Act (19 U.S.C. 3501).
(12) General agreement on trade in services.--The term
Agreement on Trade in Services (referred to in section
101(d)(14) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C.
3511(d)(14))).
(13) Government procurement agreement.–The term
Government Procurement Agreement'' means the Agreement onILO” means the International Labor
Government Procurement referred to in section 101(d)(17) of
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(17)).
(14) ILO.--The term
Organization.
(15) Import sensitive agricultural product.–The term
import sensitive agricultural product'' means anInformation Technology Agreement” means the Ministerial
agricultural product--
(A) with respect to which, as a result of the Uruguay Round
Agreements, the rate of duty was the subject of tariff
reductions by the United States and, pursuant to such
Agreements, was reduced on January 1, 1995, to a rate that
was not less than 97.5 percent of the rate of duty that
applied to such article on December 31, 1994; or
(B) which was subject to a tariff rate quota on the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(16) Information technology agreement.--The term
Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Products of
the World Trade Organization, agreed to at Singapore December
13, 1996.
(17) Internationally recognized core labor standards.–The
term internationally recognized core labor standards''labor laws” means the
means the core labor standards only as stated in the ILO
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and
its Follow-Up (1998).
(18) Labor laws.--The term
statutes and regulations, or provisions thereof, of a party
to the negotiations that are directly related to core labor
standards as well as other labor protections for children and
minors and acceptable conditions of work with respect to
minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and
health, and for the United States, includes Federal statutes
and regulations addressing those standards, protections, or
conditions, but does not include State or local labor laws.
(19) United states person.–The term United StatesUruguay Round
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen;
(B) a partnership, corporation, or other legal entity that
is organized under the laws of the United States; and
(C) a partnership, corporation, or other legal entity that
is organized under the laws of a foreign country and is
controlled by entities described in subparagraph (B) or
United States citizens, or both.
(20) Uruguay round agreements.--The term
Agreements” has the meaning given that term in section 2(7)
of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3501(7)).
(21) World trade organization; wto.–The terms WorldWTO” mean the organization
Trade Organization'' and
established pursuant to the WTO Agreement.
(22) WTO agreement.–The term WTO Agreement'' means theWTO member” has the meaning
Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization entered
into on April 15, 1994.
(23) WTO member.--The term
given that term in section 2(10) of the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3501(10)).
TITLE II–EXTENSION OF TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the “Trade Adjustment
Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015”.
SEC. 202. APPLICATION OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO TRADE
ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE.
(a) Repeal of Snapback.–Section 233 of the Trade
Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-
40; 125 Stat. 416) is repealed.
(b) Applicability of Certain Provisions.–Except as
otherwise provided in this title, the provisions of chapters
2 through 6 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974, as in
effect on December 31, 2013, and as amended by this title,
shall–
(1) take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act;
and
(2) apply to petitions for certification filed under
chapter 2, 3, or 6 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 on or
after such date of enactment.
(c) References.–Except as otherwise provided in this
title, whenever in this title an amendment or repeal is
expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a
provision of chapters 2 through 6 of title II of the Trade
Act of 1974, the reference shall be considered to be made to
a provision of any such chapter, as in effect on December 31,
2013.
SEC. 203. EXTENSION OF TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
(a) Extension of Termination Provisions.–Section 285 of
the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2271 note) is amended by
striking December 31, 2013'' each place it appears andJune 30, 2021”.
inserting
(b) Training Funds.–Section 236(a)(2)(A) of the Trade Act
of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2296(a)(2)(A)) is amended by striking
shall not exceed'' and all that follows and insertingshall not exceed $450,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015
through 2021.”.
(c) Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance.–Section
246(b)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2318(b)(1)) is
amended by striking December 31, 2013'' and insertingJune 30, 2021”.
(d) Authorizations of Appropriations.–
(1) Trade adjustment assistance for workers.–Section
245(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2317(a)) is
amended by striking December 31, 2013'' and insertingJune 30, 2021”.
[[Page S2811]]
(2) Trade adjustment assistance for firms.–Section 255(a)
of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2345(a)) is amended by
striking fiscal years 2012 and 2013'' and all that followsDecember 31, 2013” and inserting
throughfiscal yearsfiscal years 2012 and 2013” and all
2015 through 2021''.
(3) Trade adjustment assistance for farmers.--Section
298(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2401g(a)) is
amended by striking
that follows through December 31, 2013'' and insertingfiscal years 2015 through 2021”.
SEC. 204. PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING.
(a) Performance Measures.–Section 239(j) of the Trade Act
of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2311(j)) is amended–
(1) in the subsection heading, by striking DataPerformance Measures”;
Reporting'' and inserting
(2) in paragraph (1)–
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)–
(i) by striking a quarterly'' and insertingan
annual”; and
(ii) by striking data'' and insertingmeasures”;
(B) in subparagraph (A), by striking core'' and insertingprimary”; and
(C) in subparagraph (C), by inserting that promoteassistance program”;
efficiency and effectiveness'' after
(3) in paragraph (2)–
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking Core indicatorsIndicators of performance”; and
described'' and inserting
(B) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the
following:
(A) Primary indicators of performance described.--(i) In general.–The primary indicators of performance
referred to in paragraph (1)(A) shall consist of–
(I) the percentage and number of workers who received(II) the percentage and number of workers who received
benefits under the trade adjustment assistance program who
are in unsubsidized employment during the second calendar
quarter after exit from the program;
benefits under the trade adjustment assistance program and
who are in unsubsidized employment during the fourth calendar
quarter after exit from the program;
(III) the median earnings of workers described in(IV) the percentage and number of workers who received
subclause (I);
benefits under the trade adjustment assistance program who,
subject to clause (ii), obtain a recognized postsecondary
credential or a secondary school diploma or its recognized
equivalent, during participation in the program or within one
year after exit from the program; and
“(V) the percentage and number of workers who received
benefits under the trade adjustment assistance program who,
during a year while receiving such benefits, are in an
education or training program that leads to a recognized
postsecondary credential or employment and who are achieving
measurable gains in skills toward such a credential or
employment.
(ii) Indicator relating to credential.--For purposes ofdata” and
clause (i)(IV), a worker who received benefits under the
trade adjustment assistance program who obtained a secondary
school diploma or its recognized equivalent shall be included
in the percentage counted for purposes of that clause only if
the worker, in addition to obtaining such a diploma or its
recognized equivalent, has obtained or retained employment or
is in an education or training program leading to a
recognized postsecondary credential within one year after
exit from the program.'';
(4) in paragraph (3)--
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking
inserting measures'';quarterly” and inserting
(B) by strikingannual''; anddata” and inserting
(C) by strikingmeasures''; and(4) Accessibility of state performance reports.–The
(5) by adding at the end the following:
Secretary shall, on an annual basis, make available
(including by electronic means), in an easily understandable
format, the reports of cooperating States or cooperating
State agencies required by paragraph (1) and the information
contained in those reports.”.
(b) Collection and Publication of Data.–Section 249B of
the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2323) is amended–
(1) in subsection (b)–
(A) in paragraph (3)–
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking enrolled in'' andwho received”;
inserting
(ii) in subparagraph (B)–
(I) by striking complete'' and insertingexited”; and
(II) by striking who were enrolled in'' and inserting,
including who received”;
(iii) in subparagraph (E), by striking complete'' andexited”;
inserting
(iv) in subparagraph (F), by striking complete'' andexit”; and
inserting
(v) by adding at the end the following:
(G) The average cost per worker of receiving training(H) The percentage of workers who received training
approved under section 236.
approved under section 236 and obtained unsubsidized
employment in a field related to that training.”; and
(B) in paragraph (4)–
(i) in subparagraphs (A) and (B), by striking quarterly''annual”; and
each place it appears and inserting
(ii) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the
following:
(C) The median earnings of workers described in section(B) the reports required under section 239(j);”; and
239(j)(2)(A)(i)(III) during the second calendar quarter after
exit from the program, expressed as a percentage of the
median earnings of such workers before the calendar quarter
in which such workers began receiving benefits under this
chapter.''; and
(2) in subsection (e)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as
subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and
(ii) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking a quarterly'' andan annual”.
inserting
(c) Recognized Postsecondary Credential Defined.–Section
247 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2319) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
“(19) The term `recognized postsecondary credential’ means
a credential consisting of an industry-recognized certificate
or certification, a certificate of completion of an
apprenticeship, a license recognized by a State or the
Federal Government, or an associate or baccalaureate
degree.”.
SEC. 205. APPLICABILITY OF TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE
PROVISIONS.
(a) Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers.–
(1) Petitions filed on or after january 1, 2014, and before
date of enactment.–
(A) Certifications of workers not certified before date of
enactment.–
(i) Criteria if a determination has not been made.–If, as
of the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Labor has not made a determination with respect to whether to
certify a group of workers as eligible to apply for
adjustment assistance under section 222 of the Trade Act of
1974 pursuant to a petition described in clause (iii), the
Secretary shall make that determination based on the
requirements of section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974, as in
effect on such date of enactment.
(ii) Reconsideration of denials of certifications.–If,
before the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
made a determination not to certify a group of workers as
eligible to apply for adjustment assistance under section 222
of the Trade Act of 1974 pursuant to a petition described in
clause (iii), the Secretary shall–
(I) reconsider that determination; and
(II) if the group of workers meets the requirements of
section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974, as in effect on such
date of enactment, certify the group of workers as eligible
to apply for adjustment assistance.
(iii) Petition described.–A petition described in this
clause is a petition for a certification of eligibility for a
group of workers filed under section 221 of the Trade Act of
1974 on or after January 1, 2014, and before the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(B) Eligibility for benefits.–
(i) In general.–Except as provided in clause (ii), a
worker certified as eligible to apply for adjustment
assistance under section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974
pursuant to a petition described in subparagraph (A)(iii)
shall be eligible, on and after the date that is 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, to receive
benefits only under the provisions of chapter 2 of title II
of the Trade Act of 1974, as in effect on such date of
enactment.
(ii) Computation of maximum benefits.–Benefits received by
a worker described in clause (i) under chapter 2 of title II
of the Trade Act of 1974 before the date of the enactment of
this Act shall be included in any determination of the
maximum benefits for which the worker is eligible under the
provisions of chapter 2 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974,
as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) Petitions filed before january 1, 2014.–A worker
certified as eligible to apply for adjustment assistance
pursuant to a petition filed under section 221 of the Trade
Act of 1974 on or before December 31, 2013, shall continue to
be eligible to apply for and receive benefits under the
provisions of chapter 2 of title II of such Act, as in effect
on December 31, 2013.
(3) Qualifying separations with respect to petitions filed
within 90 days of date of enactment.–Section 223(b) of the
Trade Act of 1974, as in effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act, shall be applied and administered by
substituting before January 1, 2014'' formore than one
year before the date of the petition on which such
certification was granted” for purposes of determining
whether a worker is eligible to apply for adjustment
assistance pursuant to a petition filed under section 221 of
the Trade Act of 1974 on or after the date of the enactment
of this Act and on or before the date that is 90 days after
such date of enactment.
(b) Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms.–
(1) Certification of firms not certified before date of
enactment.–
(A) Criteria if a determination has not been made.–If, as
of the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Commerce has not made a determination with respect to whether
to certify a firm as eligible to apply for adjustment
assistance under section 251 of the Trade Act of 1974
pursuant to a petition described in subparagraph (C), the
Secretary shall make that determination based on the
requirements of section 251 of the Trade Act of 1974, as in
effect on such date of enactment.
[[Page S2812]]
(B) Reconsideration of denial of certain petitions.–If,
before the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
made a determination not to certify a firm as eligible to
apply for adjustment assistance under section 251 of the
Trade Act of 1974 pursuant to a petition described in
subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall–
(i) reconsider that determination; and
(ii) if the firm meets the requirements of section 251 of
the Trade Act of 1974, as in effect on such date of
enactment, certify the firm as eligible to apply for
adjustment assistance.
(C) Petition described.–A petition described in this
subparagraph is a petition for a certification of eligibility
filed by a firm or its representative under section 251 of
the Trade Act of 1974 on or after January 1, 2014, and before
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) Certification of firms that did not submit petitions
between january 1, 2014, and date of enactment.–
(A) In general.–The Secretary of Commerce shall certify a
firm described in subparagraph (B) as eligible to apply for
adjustment assistance under section 251 of the Trade Act of
1974, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act,
if the firm or its representative files a petition for a
certification of eligibility under section 251 of the Trade
Act of 1974 not later than 90 days after such date of
enactment.
(B) Firm described.–A firm described in this subparagraph
is a firm that the Secretary determines would have been
certified as eligible to apply for adjustment assistance if–
(i) the firm or its representative had filed a petition for
a certification of eligibility under section 251 of the Trade
Act of 1974 on a date during the period beginning on January
1, 2014, and ending on the day before the date of the
enactment of this Act; and
(ii) the provisions of chapter 3 of title II of the Trade
Act of 1974, as in effect on such date of enactment, had been
in effect on that date during the period described in clause
(i).
SEC. 206. SUNSET PROVISIONS.
(a) Application of Prior Law.–Subject to subsection (b),
beginning on July 1, 2021, the provisions of chapters 2, 3,
5, and 6 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2271
et seq.), as in effect on January 1, 2014, shall be in effect
and apply, except that in applying and administering such
chapters–
(1) paragraph (1) of section 231(c) of that Act shall be
applied and administered as if subparagraphs (A), (B), and
(C) of that paragraph were not in effect;
(2) section 233 of that Act shall be applied and
administered–
(A) in subsection (a)–
(i) in paragraph (2), by substituting 104-week period''104-week period” and all that follows through “130-
for
week period)”; and
(ii) in paragraph (3)–
(I) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by
substituting 65'' for52”; and
(II) by substituting 78-week period'' for52-week
period” each place it appears; and
(B) by applying and administering subsection (g) as if it
read as follows:
(g) Payment of Trade Readjustment Allowances To Complete(1) payment of the trade readjustment allowance for not
Training.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, in order to assist an adversely affected worker to
complete training approved for the worker under section 236
that leads to the completion of a degree or industry-
recognized credential, payments may be made as trade
readjustment allowances for not more than 13 weeks within
such period of eligibility as the Secretary may prescribe to
account for a break in training or for justifiable cause that
follows the last week for which the worker is otherwise
entitled to a trade readjustment allowance under this chapter
if--
more than 13 weeks is necessary for the worker to complete
the training;
(2) the worker participates in training in each such(3) the worker–
week; and
(A) has substantially met the performance benchmarks(B) is expected to continue to make progress toward the
established as part of the training approved for the worker;
completion of the training; and
(C) will complete the training during that period ofJune 30, 2022” for
eligibility.'';
(3) section 245(a) of that Act shall be applied and
administered by substitutingDecemberJune 30, 2022” for
31, 2007'';
(4) section 246(b)(1) of that Act shall be applied and
administered by substitutingthe dateState”;
that is 5 years'' and all that follows through
(5) section 256(b) of that Act shall be applied and
administered by substituting the 1-year period beginning oneach of fiscal years 2003 through 2007,
July 1, 2021'' for
and $4,000,000 for the 3-month period beginning on October 1,
2007”;
(6) section 298(a) of that Act shall be applied and
administered by substituting the 1-year period beginning oneach of the fiscal years” and all that
July 1, 2021'' for
follows through October 1, 2007''; andJune 30, 2022”
(7) section 285 of that Act shall be applied and
administered--
(A) in subsection (a), by substituting
for December 31, 2007'' each place it appears; and(b) Other Assistance.–
(B) by applying and administering subsection (b) as if it
read as follows:
(1) Assistance for firms.--(A) In general.–Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
assistance may not be provided under chapter 3 after June 30,
2022.
(B) Exception.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any(i) to the extent funds are available pursuant to such
assistance approved under chapter 3 pursuant to a petition
filed under section 251 on or before June 30, 2022, may be
provided--
chapter for such purpose; and
(ii) to the extent the recipient of the assistance is(2) Farmers.–
otherwise eligible to receive such assistance.
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B),(B) Exception.–Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any
assistance may not be provided under chapter 6 after June 30,
2022.
assistance approved under chapter 6 on or before June 30,
2022, may be provided–
(i) to the extent funds are available pursuant to such(ii) to the extent the recipient of the assistance is
chapter for such purpose; and
otherwise eligible to receive such assistance.”.
(b) Exceptions.–The provisions of chapters 2, 3, 5, and 6
of title II of the Trade Act of 1974, as in effect on the
date of the enactment of this Act, shall continue to apply on
and after July 1, 2021, with respect to–
(1) workers certified as eligible for trade adjustment
assistance benefits under chapter 2 of title II of that Act
pursuant to petitions filed under section 221 of that Act
before July 1, 2021;
(2) firms certified as eligible for technical assistance or
grants under chapter 3 of title II of that Act pursuant to
petitions filed under section 251 of that Act before July 1,
2021; and
(3) agricultural commodity producers certified as eligible
for technical or financial assistance under chapter 6 of
title II of that Act pursuant to petitions filed under
section 292 of that Act before July 1, 2021.
SEC. 207. EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF HEALTH COVERAGE TAX
CREDIT.
(a) Extension.–Subparagraph (B) of section 35(b)(1) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking beforebefore January 1, 2020”.
January 1, 2014'' and inserting
(b) Coordination With Credit for Coverage Under a Qualified
Health Plan.–Subsection (g) of section 35 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended–
(1) by redesignating paragraph (11) as paragraph (13), and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (10) the following new
paragraphs:
(11) Election.--(A) In general.–This section shall not apply to any
taxpayer for any eligible coverage month unless such taxpayer
elects the application of this section for such month.
(B) Timing and applicability of election.--Except as the(i) an election to have this section apply for any
Secretary may provide--
eligible coverage month in a taxable year shall be made not
later than the due date (including extensions) for the return
of tax for the taxable year, and
(ii) any election for this section to apply for an(12) Coordination with premium tax credit.–
eligible coverage month shall apply for all subsequent
eligible coverage months in the taxable year and, once made,
shall be irrevocable with respect to such months.
(A) In general.--An eligible coverage month to which the(B) Coordination with advance payments of premium tax
election under paragraph (11) applies shall not be treated as
a coverage month (as defined in section 36B(c)(2)) for
purposes of section 36B with respect to the taxpayer.
credit.–In the case of a taxpayer who makes the election
under paragraph (11) with respect to any eligible coverage
month in a taxable year or on behalf of whom any advance
payment is made under section 7527 with respect to any month
in such taxable year–
“(i) the tax imposed by this chapter for the taxable year
shall be increased by the excess, if any, of–
(I) the sum of any advance payments made on behalf of the(II) the sum of the credits allowed under this section
taxpayer under section 1412 of the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act and section 7527 for months during such
taxable year, over
(determined without regard to paragraph (1)) and section 36B
(determined without regard to subsection (f)(1) thereof) for
such taxable year, and
(ii) section 36B(f)(2) shall not apply with respect toAugust
such taxpayer for such taxable year, except that if such
taxpayer received any advance payments under section 7527 for
any month in such taxable year and is later allowed a credit
under section 36B for such taxable year, then section
36B(f)(2)(B) shall be applied by substituting the amount
determined under clause (i) for the amount determined under
section 36B(f)(2)(A).''.
(c) Extension of Advance Payment Program.--
(1) In general.--Subsection (a) of section 7527 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking
1, 2003” and inserting the date that is 1 year after theoccurring” and all
date of the enactment of the Trade Adjustment Assistance
Reauthorization Act of 2015''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Paragraph (1) of section 7527(e)
of such Code is amended by striking
that follows and inserting “occurring–
[[Page S2813]]
(A) after the date that is 1 year after the date of the(B) prior to the first month for which an advance payment
enactment of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization
Act of 2015, and
is made on behalf of such individual under subsection (a).”.
(d) Individual Insurance Treated as Qualified Health
Insurance Without Regard to Enrollment Date.–
(1) In general.–Subparagraph (J) of section 35(e)(1) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking
insurance if the eligible individual'' and all that followsFor purposes of” and inserting
throughinsurance. Forinsurance.” and inserting
purposes of''.
(2) Special rule.--Subparagraph (J) of section 35(e)(1) of
such Code, as amended by paragraph (1), is amended by
strikinginsurance (other than, 35(g)(11)” after “30D(e)(4)”.
coverage enrolled in through an Exchange established under
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act).''.
(e) Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (m) of section 6501
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting
(f) Effective Date.–
(1) In general.–Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
amendments made by this section shall apply to coverage
months in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2013.
(2) Plans available on individual market for use of tax
credit.–The amendment made by subsection (d)(2) shall apply
to coverage months in taxable years beginning after December
31, 2015.
(3) Transition rule.–Notwithstanding section
35(g)(11)(B)(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as
added by this title), an election to apply section 35 of such
Code to an eligible coverage month (as defined in section
35(b) of such Code) (and not to claim the credit under
section 36B of such Code with respect to such month) in a
taxable year beginning after December 31, 2013, and before
the date of the enactment of this Act–
(A) may be made at any time on or after such date of
enactment and before the expiration of the 3-year period of
limitation prescribed in section 6511(a) with respect to such
taxable year; and
(B) may be made on an amended return.
(g) Agency Outreach.–As soon as possible after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretaries of the Treasury,
Health and Human Services, and Labor (or such Secretaries’
delegates) and the Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation (or the Director’s delegate) shall carry out
programs of public outreach, including on the Internet, to
inform potential eligible individuals (as defined in section
35(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of the
extension of the credit under section 35 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and the availability of the election to
claim such credit retroactively for coverage months beginning
after December 31, 2013.
SEC. 208. CUSTOMS — USER FEES.
(a) In General.–Section 13031(j)(3) of the Consolidated
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C.
58c(j)(3)) is amended–
(1) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking September 30,September 30, 2025”; and
2024'' and inserting
(2) by adding at the end the following:
(D) Fees may be charged under paragraphs (9) and (10) of(c) Further Additional Period.–For the period beginning
subsection (a) during the period beginning on July 29, 2025,
and ending on September 30, 2025.''.
(b) Rate for Merchandise Processing Fees.--Section 503 of
the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation
Act (Public Law 112-41; 125 Stat. 460) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
on July 15, 2025, and ending on September 30, 2025, section
13031(a)(9) of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation
Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(a)(9)) shall be applied and
administered–
(1) in subparagraph (A), by substituting 0.3464' for0.21′; and(2) in subparagraph (B)(i), by substituting 0.3464' for0.21′.”.
SEC. 209. CHILD TAX CREDIT NOT REFUNDABLE FOR TAXPAYERS
ELECTING TO EXCLUDE FOREIGN EARNED INCOME FROM
TAX.
(a) In General.–Section 24(d) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
“(5) Exception for taxpayers excluding foreign earned
income.–Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any taxpayer for
any taxable year if such taxpayer elects to exclude any
amount from gross income under section 911 for such taxable
year.”.
(b) Effective Date.–The amendment made by this section
shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31,
2014.
SEC. 210. TIME FOR PAYMENT OF CORPORATE ESTIMATED TAXES.
Notwithstanding section 6655 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, in the case of a corporation with assets of not less
than $1,000,000,000 (determined as of the end of the
preceding taxable year)–
(1) the amount of any required installment of corporate
estimated tax which is otherwise due in July, August, or
September of 2020 shall be increased by 2.75 percent of such
amount (determined without regard to any increase in such
amount not contained in such Code); and
(2) the amount of the next required installment after an
installment referred to in paragraph (1) shall be
appropriately reduced to reflect the amount of the increase
by reason of such paragraph.
SEC. 211. COVERAGE AND PAYMENT FOR RENAL DIALYSIS SERVICES
FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY.
(a) Coverage.–Section 1861(s)(2)(F) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(s)(2)(F)) is amended by inserting before
the semicolon the following: , including such renal(r) Payment for Renal Dialysis Services for Individuals
dialysis services furnished on or after January 1, 2017, by a
renal dialysis facility or provider of services paid under
section 1881(b)(14) to an individual with acute kidney injury
(as defined in section 1834(r)(2))''.
(b) Payment.--Section 1834 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1395m) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
With Acute Kidney Injury.–
(1) Payment rate.--In the case of renal dialysis services(2) Individual with acute kidney injury defined.–In this
(as defined in subparagraph (B) of section 1881(b)(14))
furnished under this part by a renal dialysis facility or
provider of services paid under such section during a year
(beginning with 2017) to an individual with acute kidney
injury (as defined in paragraph (2)), the amount of payment
under this part for such services shall be the base rate for
renal dialysis services determined for such year under such
section, as adjusted by any applicable geographic adjustment
factor applied under subparagraph (D)(iv)(II) of such section
and may be adjusted by the Secretary (on a budget neutral
basis for payments under this paragraph) by any other
adjustment factor under subparagraph (D) of such section.
subsection, the term `individual with acute kidney injury’
means an individual who has acute loss of renal function and
does not receive renal dialysis services for which payment is
made under section 1881(b)(14).”.
SEC. 212. MODIFICATION OF THE MEDICARE SEQUESTER FOR FISCAL
YEAR 2024.
Section 251A(6)(D)(ii) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901a(6)(D)(ii)) is
amended by striking 0.0 percent'' and inserting0.25
percent”.
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