Value-added Agricultural Products Market Access Act of 1997

Summary: Value-added Agricultural Products Market Access Act of 1997 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the United States Trade Representative (USTR), by 30 days after the annual National Trade Estimate is due, to identify those foreign countries that:  (1) deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. value-added agricultural products, or that apply standards to such imports that are not related to public health concerns (or cannot be substantiated by reliable analytical methods); and (2) are priority foreign countries (which engage in the most egregious acts, policies, or practices that deny market access to, or whose acts, policies, or practices have the greatest adverse impact on, U.S. value-added agricultural products). Prescribes certain requirements with respect to the identification of such countries. 
Requires the USTR to report annually to specified congressional committees on actions taken, and on progress made, in achieving market access for U.S. value-added agricultural products. 
Authorizes the USTR, with respect to the identification of such foreign countries, to request that the Secretary of Agriculture direct the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture to review certifications for the facilities of such countries that export meat and other agricultural products to the United States.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Value-added Agricultural Products 
Market Access Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The export of value-added agricultural products is of 
        vital importance to the economy of the United States.
            (2) In 1995, agriculture was the largest positive 
        contributor to the United States merchandise trade balance with 
        a trade surplus of $25,800,000,000.
            (3) The growth of United States value-added agricultural 
        exports should continue to be an important factor in improving 
        the United States merchandise trade balance.
            (4) Increasing the volume of value-added agricultural 
        exports will increase farm income in the United States, thereby 
        protecting family farms and contributing to the economic well-
        being of rural communities in the United States.
            (5) Although the United States efficiently produces high-
        quality value-added agricultural products, United States 
        producers cannot realize their full export potential because 
        many foreign countries deny fair and equitable market access to 
        United States agricultural products.
            (6) The Foreign Agricultural Service estimates that United 
        States agricultural exports are reduced by $4,700,000,000 
        annually due to unjustifiable imposition of sanitary and 
        phytosanitary measures that deny or limit market access to 
        United States products.
            (7) The denial of fair and equitable market access for 
        United States value-added agricultural products impedes the 
        ability of United States farmers to export their products, 
        thereby harming the economic interests of the United States.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to reduce or eliminate foreign unfair trade practices 
        and to remove constraints on fair and open trade in value-added 
        agricultural products;
            (2) to ensure fair and equitable market access for exports 
        of United States value-added agricultural products; and
            (3) to promote free and fair trade in value-added 
        agricultural products.

SEC. 3. IDENTIFICATION OF COUNTRIES THAT DENY MARKET ACCESS.

    (a) Identification Required.--Chapter 8 of title I of the Trade Act 
of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 183. IDENTIFICATION OF COUNTRIES THAT DENY MARKET ACCESS FOR 
              VALUE-ADDED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than the date that is 30 days after 
the date on which the annual report is required to be submitted to 
Congressional committees under section 181(b), the United States Trade 
Representative (hereafter in this section referred to as the `Trade 
Representative') shall identify--
            ``(1) those foreign countries that--
                    ``(A) deny fair and equitable market access to 
                United States value-added agricultural products, or
                    ``(B) apply standards for the importation of value-
                added agricultural products from the United States that 
                are not related to public health concerns or cannot be 
                substantiated by reliable analytical methods; and
            ``(2) those foreign countries identified under paragraph 
        (1) that are determined by the Trade Representative to be 
        priority foreign countries.
    ``(b) Special Rules for Identifications.--
            ``(1) Criteria.--In identifying priority foreign countries 
        under subsection (a)(2), the Trade Representative shall only 
        identify those foreign countries--
                    ``(A) that engage in or have the most onerous or 
                egregious acts, policies, or practices that deny fair 
                and equitable market access to United States value-
                added agricultural products,
                    ``(B) whose acts, policies, or practices described 
                in subparagraph (A) have the greatest adverse impact 
                (actual or potential) on the relevant United States 
                products, and
                    ``(C) that are not--
                            ``(i) entering into good faith 
                        negotiations, or
                            ``(ii) making significant progress in 
                        bilateral or multilateral negotiations,
                to provide fair and equitable market access to United 
                States value-added agricultural products.
            ``(2) Consultation and consideration requirements.--In 
        identifying priority foreign countries under subsection (a)(2), 
        the Trade Representative shall--
                    ``(A) consult with the Secretary of Agriculture and 
                other appropriate officers of the Federal Government, 
                and
                    ``(B) take into account information from such 
                sources as may be available to the Trade Representative 
                and such information as may be submitted to the Trade 
                Representative by interested persons, including 
                information contained in reports submitted under 
                section 181(b) and petitions submitted under section 
                302.
            ``(3) Factual basis requirement.--The Trade Representative 
        may identify a foreign country under subsection (a)(1) only if 
        the Trade Representative finds that there is a factual basis 
        for the denial of fair and equitable market access as a result 
        of the violation of international law or agreement, or the 
        existence of barriers, referred to in subsection (d)(3).
            ``(4) Consideration of historical factors.--In identifying 
        foreign countries under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection 
        (a), the Trade Representative shall take into account--
                    ``(A) the history of value-added agricultural trade 
                relations with the foreign country, including any 
                previous identification under subsection (a)(2), and
                    ``(B) the history of efforts of the United States, 
                and the response of the foreign country, to achieve 
                fair and equitable market access for United States 
value-added agricultural products.
    ``(c) Revocations and Additional Identifications.--
            ``(1) Authority to act at any time.--If information 
        available to the Trade Representative indicates that such 
        action is appropriate, the Trade Representative may at any 
        time--
                    ``(A) revoke the identification of any foreign 
                country as a priority foreign country under this 
                section, or
                    ``(B) identify any foreign country as a priority 
                foreign country under this section.
            ``(2) Revocation reports.--The Trade Representative shall 
        include in the semiannual report submitted to the Congress 
        under section 309(3) a detailed explanation of the reasons for 
        the revocation under paragraph (1) of the identification of any 
        foreign country as a priority foreign country under this 
        section.
    ``(d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) Value-added agricultural product.--The term `value-
        added agricultural product' means a product that has 
        traditionally been considered by the Secretary of Agriculture 
        as being a value-added product within the scope of section 303 
        of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5653).
            ``(2) Fair and equitable market access.--A foreign country 
        denies fair and equitable market access if the foreign country 
        effectively denies access to a market for a product through the 
        use of laws, procedures, practices, or regulations which--
                    ``(A) violate provisions of international law or 
                international agreements to which both the United 
                States and the foreign country are parties, or
                    ``(B) constitute discriminatory nontariff trade 
                barriers.
    ``(e) Publication.--The Trade Representative shall publish in the 
Federal Register a list of foreign countries identified under 
subsection (a) and shall make such revisions to the list as may be 
required by reason of the action under subsection (c).
    ``(f) Annual Report.--The Trade Representative shall, not later 
than the date by which countries are identified under subsection (a), 
transmit to 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, a report on the actions taken under this section during the 
12 months preceding such report, and the reasons for such actions, 
including a description of progress made in achieving fair and 
equitable market access for United States value-added agricultural 
products.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Trade Act of 
1974 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 182 the 
following:

``Sec. 183. Identification of countries that deny market access for 
                            value-added agricultural products.''.

SEC. 4. INVESTIGATIONS.

    (a) Investigation Required.--Subparagraph (A) of section 302(b)(2) 
of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2412(b)(2)) is amended by inserting 
``or 183(a)(2)'' after ``section 182(a)(2)'' in the matter preceding 
clause (i).
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Subparagraph (D) of section 302(b)(2) of 
such Act is amended by inserting ``concerning intellectual property 
rights that is'' after ``any investigation''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZED ACTIONS BY UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE.

    Section 301(c)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411(c)(1)) 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (C);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph 
        (D)(iii)(II) and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) with respect to an investigation of a country 
                identified under section 183(a)(1), to request that the 
                Secretary of Agriculture (who, upon receipt of such a 
                request, shall) direct the Food Safety and Inspection 
                Service of the Department of Agriculture to review 
                certifications for the facilities of such country that 
                export meat and other agricultural products to the 
                United States.''.