Calendar No. 163

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1254

A BILL

To establish a comprehensive strategy for the elimithe global steel industry, and for other purposes. nation of market-distorting practices affecting

JUNE 21, 1999

Read twice and placed on the calendar
II

Calendar No. 163

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1254

To establish a comprehensive strategy for the elimination of market-distorting

practices affecting the global steel industry, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 21, 1999

Mr. ROTH, from the Committee on Finance, reported the following original

bill; which was read twice and placed on the calendar

A BILL

To establish a comprehensive strategy for the elimination

of market-distorting practices affecting the global steel

industry, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Steel Trade Enforcement Act of 1999’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings; purpose.
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Sec. 3. Definitions.

TITLE I—COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF

MARKET-DISTORTING FACTORS AFFECTING THE GLOBAL

STEEL INDUSTRY

Sec. 101. Directive to the Trade Representative.

Sec. 102. Appointment of coordinator and establishment of interagency working

group.

Sec. 103. Consultation and reporting requirements.

Sec. 104. Investigations by International Trade Commission.

TITLE II—SAFEGUARD AMENDMENTS

Sec. 201. Amendments to chapter 1 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974.

TITLE III—TIMELY RELEASE OF IMPORT DATA

Sec. 301. Amendments to section 332 of the Tariff Act of 1930.

Sec. 302. Early release of import data.

Sec. 303. Amendment to Tariff Act of 1930.

Sec. 304. Product monitoring.

TITLE IV—INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Sec. 401. International financial institution lending.

TITLE V—SUSPENSION AGREEMENTS

Sec. 501. Industry or worker support for suspension agreements.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings:

4 (1) The steel industry worldwide faces a con5 tinuing glut of steelmaking capacity.

6 (2) The glut of steelmaking capacity is the re7 sult of foreign government intervention in the mar8 ket that encouraged investment in steel production

9 that would not have been warranted under competi10 tive market conditions.

11 (3) Foreign governments continue to intervene

12 in the steel market—
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1 (A) by imposing tariffs and quotas on im2 ported steel;

3 (B) by providing government subsidies for

4 steel production and for the export of steel

5 products;

6 (C) by maintaining government ownership

7 of steelmaking capacity;

8 (D) by providing, at below market rates,

9 input materials used to produce steel;

10 (E) by steering investment toward

11 steelmaking capacity on terms inconsistent with

12 competitive market conditions; and

13 (F) by tolerating private anticompetitive

14 practices that have the effect of insulating for15 eign steel manufacturers from the capital mar16 ket pressures faced by the United States indus17 try.

18 (4) Over the last decade, the United States

19 steel industry has undergone a significant restruc20 turing that has made the industry among the most

21 productive in the world.

22 (5) The United States steel industry is a glob23 ally competitive producer of all steel products.

24 (6) The United States steel industry faces a

25 significant challenge due to the economic fallout
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1 from financial instability and economic mismanage2 ment abroad.

3 (7) The collapse of the demand for steel in for4 eign markets led foreign producers, that benefit

5 from many of the government practices identified in

6 paragraph (3), to shift their sales to the United

7 States market, resulting in a dramatic surge in steel

8 imports in the past 2 years at dumped or subsidized

9 prices.

10 (8) The surge in imports is the most recent of

11 several challenges that have confronted the United

12 States steel industry since the 1960s, causing severe

13 dislocations.

14 (9) In the absence of United States action to

15 eliminate the market-distorting practices that led to

16 the current glut of steelmaking capacity worldwide,

17 the United States industry is likely to face similar

18 surges in the future despite the sharp improvements

19 in the competitiveness of the United States steel in20 dustry.

21 (10) Congressional action is required to provide

22 impetus to the creation of a comprehensive strategy

23 to eliminate the market-distorting practices that are

24 the underlying source of the challenges facing the

25 United States steel industry today.
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1 (b) PURPOSES.—The purpose of this Act is to facili2 tate the elimination of practices that have led to global

3 overcapacity in steel production on terms inconsistent with

4 competitive market conditions.

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

6 In this Act:

7 (1) TRADE REPRESENTATIVE.—The term

8 ‘‘Trade Representative’’ means the United States

9 Trade Representative.

10 (2) COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY.—The term

11 ‘‘comprehensive strategy’’ means the comprehensive

12 strategy for the elimination of market-distorting

13 practices described in section 101(c) and includes

14 the findings that led to the development of the strat15 egy.

16 TITLE I—COMPREHENSIVE

17 STRATEGY FOR THE ELIMI18 NATION OF MARKET-DIS19 TORTING PRACTICES AF20 FECTING THE GLOBAL STEEL

21 INDUSTRY

22 SEC. 101. DIRECTIVE TO THE TRADE REPRESENTATIVE.

23 (a) INITIATION OF INVESTIGATION.—Not later than

24 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Trade

25 Representative shall initiate an investigation under section
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1 302(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 of market-distorting

2 practices of foreign governments that have insulated for3 eign steel producers from competitive pressures and have

4 contributed to the investment in, and development of, steel

5 manufacturing capacity on terms inconsistent with com6 petitive market conditions. The provisions of sections

7 302(b)(1)(B), 303, and 304 of the Trade Act of 1974 shall

8 not apply to the investigation conducted pursuant to this

9 subsection.

10 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITY FOREIGN MAR11 KET-DISTORTING PRACTICES.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the course of the inves13 tigation described in subsection (a), the Trade Rep14 resentative shall identify the priority foreign market15 distorting practices that have the greatest impact on

16 the United States steel industry as targets for fur17 ther action under subsection (d).

18 (2) ANNUAL IDENTIFICATION.—The Trade

19 Representative shall annually update and publish in

20 the Federal Register a list of the priority foreign

21 market-distorting practices that have the greatest

22 impact on the United States steel industry as tar23 gets for further action under title III of the Trade

24 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411 et seq.) or any other

25 provision of law.
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1 (3) INITIATION OF INVESTIGATION.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—By no later than the

3 date that is 30 days after the date on which a

4 practice is identified under paragraph (2), ini5 tiate an investigation under section 302(b) of

6 the Trade Act of 1974 with respect to such

7 practice if—

8 (i) at that time the practice is not the

9 subject of any other investigation or action

10 under this title or under title III of the

11 Trade Act of 1974; and

12 (ii) the foreign government, with re13 spect to which a priority foreign market14 distorting practice has been identified, fails

15 to take steps to eliminate the practice.

16 (B) EXCEPTION.—The Trade Representa17 tive shall not be required to initiate an inves18 tigation under subparagraph (A) with respect to

19 any practice of a foreign country if the Trade

20 Representative determines that the initiation of

21 the investigation would be detrimental to the

22 economic interest of the United States and so

23 certifies to Congress.

24 (c) COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Trade Representative

2 shall, as a result of the investigation required under

3 subsection (a)—

4 (A) develop a comprehensive strategy for

5 the elimination of the market-distorting prac6 tices identified under subsection (b)(1); and

7 (B) not later than 6 months after the date

8 of enactment of this Act, submit to the Presi9 dent the comprehensive strategy including the

10 findings that led to the development of the

11 strategy.

12 (2) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In devel13 oping the comprehensive strategy under this sub14 section, the Trade Representative shall consider all

15 relevant factors, including—

16 (A) the market-distorting practices de17 scribed in subsection (a);

18 (B) the impact of foreign market-distorting

19 practices on the United States economy gen20 erally and on the United States steel industry

21 and its workers, and steel-using industry and

22 its workers specifically;

23 (C) the extent to which a foreign country’s

24 market-distorting practices are prohibited under
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1 the trade agreements to which that foreign

2 country is a party;

3 (D) the extent to which a foreign country’s

4 market-distorting practices are prohibited under

5 existing commitments made by that foreign

6 country to an international financial institution

7 (as defined in section 401(b));

8 (E) the extent to which a foreign govern9 ment’s failure to enforce its antimonopoly law

10 leads to market-distorting practices; and

11 (F) the views of the public, the United

12 States steel industry and its workers, and steel13 using industries.

14 (3) NOTICE; PUBLIC HEARING.—The Trade

15 Representative shall hold at least one public hearing

16 on the comprehensive strategy to consider all rel17 evant factors. Not later than 45 days after the date

18 of enactment of this Act, the Trade Representative

19 shall publish in the Federal Register notice of the

20 investigation and the public hearing to be conducted

21 under this section.

22 (d) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION.—The Trade

23 Representative shall include within the strategy described

24 in subsection (c), recommendations for action to address

25 the foreign market-distorting practices identified in sub-
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1 section (b)(1) and a schedule for implementing any action

2 recommended. The recommendations shall include, where

3 appropriate, one or more of the following actions:

4 (1) Negotiations on a multilateral or bilateral

5 basis to liberalize trade in steel products worldwide,

6 including—

7 (A) the elimination of tariffs, quantitative

8 restraints, licensing requirements, or any other

9 barrier to imports of steel products that have

10 the effect of insulating foreign steel producers

11 from competition;

12 (B) the elimination of any export or pro13 duction subsidies provided by foreign govern14 ments to steel producers, including the elimi15 nation of the practice of providing capital or

16 input materials at below-market rates or other

17 practices that have the effect of distorting the

18 terms of trade or encouraging investment in

19 steel manufacturing capacity on terms incon20 sistent with competitive market conditions;

21 (C) the elimination of restrictions on cap22 ital movement or investment that—

23 (i) allow foreign governments to insu24 late manufacturers from the competitive
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1 effects of a functioning global capital mar2 ket; or

3 (ii) otherwise permit foreign govern4 ments to direct financing to steel manufac5 turers regardless of market conditions;

6 (D) the privatization of any state-owned

7 steel manufacturing capacity where government

8 ownership permits the manufacturer to operate

9 on terms inconsistent with competitive market

10 conditions; and

11 (E) the elimination of administrative guid12 ance by a foreign government to its steel pro13 ducers that leads to market-distorting practices

14 or prevents the removal of market-distorting

15 practices.

16 (2) Initiation of action under section 201 of the

17 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2251).

18 (3) Use of the authority available to the Presi19 dent under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974

20 (19 U.S.C. 2132).

21 (4) Initiation of a countervailing duty investiga22 tion under title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19

23 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.).

24 (5) Initiation of an antidumping duty investiga25 tion under title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930.
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1 (6) Initiation of an action under section 302 of

2 the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2412).

3 (7) Consideration by the Attorney General or

4 the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission of

5 evidence of anticompetitive behavior in foreign mar6 kets that has the effect of insulating foreign steel

7 producers from competitive pressures of the market8 place and leads to adverse impacts in the United

9 States market, including—

10 (A) private anticompetitive behavior, such

11 as cartelization;

12 (B) governmental toleration of anti13 competitive behavior; and

14 (C) governmental action that encourages,

15 requires or prevents the elimination of anti16 competitive behavior.

17 (8) Any other action the Trade Representative

18 deems appropriate.

19 (e) IDENTIFICATION OF RESOURCES.—The Trade

20 Representative shall, as part of the comprehensive strat21 egy, identify and report to Congress regarding the re22 sources necessary to implement actions recommended in

23 the comprehensive strategy.
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1 SEC. 102. APPOINTMENT OF COORDINATOR AND ESTAB2 LISHMENT OF INTERAGENCY WORKING

3 GROUP.

4 (a) APPOINTMENT OF COORDINATOR.—The Trade

5 Representative shall appoint one Deputy Trade Represent6 ative to serve as the coordinator of the development and

7 implementation of the comprehensive strategy required by

8 section 101(c).

9 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF WORKING GROUP.—Not

10 later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act,

11 the President shall establish an interagency working group

12 composed of representatives from the Departments of

13 Commerce, Justice, State, Treasury, and Labor, the Na14 tional Economic Council, the National Security Council,

15 and such other departments and agencies as the President

16 deems appropriate, to assist the Trade Representative in

17 the development and the implementation of the com18 prehensive strategy required by section 101(c).

19 SEC. 103. CONSULTATION AND REPORTING REQUIRE20 MENTS.

21 (a) CONSULTATION.—The Trade Representative shall

22 consult with the Committee on Finance of the Senate and

23 the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep24 resentatives at least once every 60 days during the course

25 of the investigation required under section 101(a), and
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1 regularly thereafter, regarding the implementation of the

2 comprehensive strategy required by section 101(c).

3 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6

4 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Trade

5 Representative shall submit the comprehensive strategy

6 report required by section 101(c)(1) to the Committee on

7 Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and

8 Means of the House of Representatives.

9 SEC. 104. INVESTIGATIONS BY INTERNATIONAL TRADE

10 COMMISSION.

11 (a) INITIATION BY THE TRADE REPRESENTATIVE.—

12 The Trade Representative shall request that the Inter13 national Trade Commission initiate an investigation pur14 suant to section 332 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.

15 1332), and subject to such deadlines as the Trade Rep16 resentative may establish, request any economic analyses

17 and reports as the Trade Representative deems necessary

18 to carry out the investigation required by section 101(a)

19 and to develop the comprehensive strategy required by sec20 tion 101(c).

21 (b) DIRECTION TO THE PRESIDENT REGARDING RE22 SOURCES OF OTHER AGENCIES.—The President shall di23 rect the heads of various departments and offices of the

24 United States Government to make available to the Trade

25 Representative such resources as the President may deem
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1 necessary to carry out the provisions of this title and assist

2 in the development of the strategy required under section

3 101(c), including the overseas reporting capabilities of the

4 Foreign Service, the United States and Foreign Commer5 cial Service, and the attaches of the Department of the

6 Treasury.

7 TITLE II—SAFEGUARD

8 AMENDMENTS

9 SEC. 201. AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 1 OF TITLE II OF THE

10 TRADE ACT OF 1974.

11 (a) TEST FOR POSITIVE ADJUSTMENTS TO IMPORT

12 COMPETITION.—Section 201(a) of the Trade Act of 1974

13 (19 U.S.C. 2251(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘as to be a

14 substantial cause of serious injury, or the threat thereof,’’

15 and inserting ‘‘, absolute or relative to domestic produc16 tion, and under such conditions, as to cause or threaten

17 to cause serious injury’’.

18 (b) INVESTIGATIONS AND DETERMINATIONS.—Sec19 tion 202 of such Act (19 U.S.C. 2252) is amended—

20 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘as to

21 be a substantial cause of serious injury, or the

22 threat thereof,’’ and inserting ‘‘, absolute or relative

23 to domestic production, and under such conditions,

24 as to cause or threaten to cause serious injury’’;
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1 (2) by amending subsection (b)(1)(B) to read

2 as follows:

3 ‘‘(B) In this section, the term ‘cause’ means a

4 cause that is important and contributes significantly

5 to the serious injury to the domestic industry, but

6 is not necessarily the most important cause.’’;

7 (3) in subsection (c)—

8 (A) by amending paragraph (1)(A) to read

9 as follows:

10 ‘‘(A) with respect to serious injury, change

11 in the level of sales, production, productivity,

12 capacity utilization, profits and losses, and em13 ployment, including—

14 ‘‘(i) the significant idling of produc15 tive facilities in the domestic industry,

16 ‘‘(ii) the inability of a significant

17 number of firms to carry out domestic pro18 duction operations at a reasonable level of

19 profit, and

20 ‘‘(iii) significant unemployment or

21 underemployment within the domestic in22 dustry;’’;

23 (B) in paragraph (1)(B)—

24 (i) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘; and’’

25 and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and
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1 (ii) by inserting after clause (iii) the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(iv) foreign production capacity, for4 eign inventories, the level of demand in

5 third country markets, and the availability

6 of other export markets to absorb any ad7 ditional exports; and’’;

8 (C) by amending paragraph (1)(C) to read

9 as follows:

10 ‘‘(C) with respect to cause—

11 ‘‘(i) the rate, amount, and timing of

12 the increase in imports of the product con13 cerned in absolute and relative terms, in14 cluding whether there has been a substan15 tial increase in imports over a short period

16 of time, and

17 ‘‘(ii) the share of the domestic market

18 taken by increased imports.’’;

19 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (3)

20 through (6) as paragraphs (4) through (7), re21 spectively;

22 (E) by striking paragraph (2) and insert23 ing the following:

24 ‘‘(2) In making determinations under sub25 section (b), the Commission shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) consider the condition of the domestic

2 industry over the course of the relevant busi3 ness cycle, but may not aggregate the causes of

4 declining demand associated with a recession or

5 economic downturn in the United States econ6 omy into a single cause of serious injury or

7 threat of injury; and

8 ‘‘(B) examine factors other than imports

9 which may cause or threaten to cause serious

10 injury to the domestic industry.

11 The Commission shall include the results of its ex12 amination under subparagraph (B) in the report

13 submitted by the Commission to the President under

14 subsection (e).

15 ‘‘(3) In making determinations under sub16 section (b), the Commission shall consider whether

17 any change in the volume of imports that has oc18 curred since a petition under subsection (a) was filed

19 or a request under subsection (b) was made is re20 lated to the pendency of the investigation and, if so,

21 the Commission may reduce the weight accorded to

22 the data for the period after the petition under sub23 section (a) was filed or the request under subsection

24 (b) was made in making its determination of serious

25 injury, or the threat thereof.’’; and
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1 (F) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated—

2 (i) by striking ‘‘and (B)’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘, (B), and (C)’’; and

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘be a substantial cause

5 of serious injury, or the threat thereof,’’

6 and inserting ‘‘cause or threaten to cause

7 serious injury’’;

8 (4) in subsection (d)—

9 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), by striking

10 ‘‘be, or likely to be a substantial cause of seri11 ous injury, or the threat thereof,’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘cause, or be likely to cause, or threaten to

13 cause, or be likely to threaten to cause, serious

14 injury’’;

15 (B) in paragraph (1)(C), in the matter fol16 lowing clause (ii), by striking ‘‘a substantial

17 cause of serious injury, or the threat thereof,’’

18 and inserting ‘‘causing or threatening to cause

19 serious injury’’;

20 (C) by amending paragraph (2)(A) to read

21 as follows:

22 ‘‘(2)(A) Whenever a petition filed under sub23 section (a) or a request filed under subsection (b) al24 leges that critical circumstances exist and requests

25 that provisional relief be provided under this sub-
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1 section with respect to imports of the article identi2 fied in the petition or request, the Commission shall,

3 not later than 45 days after the petition or request

4 is filed, determine, on the basis of available informa5 tion, whether—

6 ‘‘(i) there is clear evidence that increased

7 imports (either actual or relative to domestic

8 production) of the article are causing or threat9 ening to cause serious injury to the domestic in10 dustry producing an article like or directly com11 petitive with the imported article; and

12 ‘‘(ii) delay in taking action under this

13 chapter would cause damage to that industry

14 that would be difficult to repair.

15 In making the evaluation under clause (ii), the Com16 mission should consider, among other factors that it

17 considers relevant, the timing and volume of the im18 ports, including whether there has been a substantial

19 increase in imports over a short period of time, and

20 any other circumstances indicating that delay in tak21 ing action under this chapter would cause damage to

22 the industry that would be difficult to repair.’’; and

23 (D) in paragraph (2)(D), by striking ‘‘30’’

24 and inserting ‘‘20’’.

25 (c) PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATIONS.—
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1 (1) ACTION BY PRESIDENT.—Section 203(a) of

2 the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2253(a)) is

3 amended—

4 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘and

5 provide greater economic and social benefits

6 than costs’’ and inserting ‘‘and will not have an

7 adverse impact on the United States substan8 tially out of proportion to the benefits of such

9 action’’;

10 (B) in paragraph (2)(F), by striking the

11 semicolon at the end of clause (iii) and insert12 ing a comma; and

13 (C) by adding at the end of paragraph

14 (2)(F) the following flush material:

15 ‘‘except that the President shall give substan16 tially greater weight to the factors set out in

17 clause (i) than to those set out in clauses (ii)

18 and (iii), unless doing so would be inconsistent

19 with the overall economic interest of the United

20 States;’’.

21 (2) IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION REC22 OMMENDED BY COMMISSION.—Section 203(c) of the

23 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2253(c)) is amended

24 by striking ‘‘90’’ and inserting ‘‘60’’.

25 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
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1 (1) Section 203(e)(6)(B) of the Trade Act of

2 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2253(e)(6)(B)) is amended by

3 striking ‘‘substantially’’.

4 (2) Section 264(c) of the Trade Act of 1974

5 (19 U.S.C. 2354(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘a sub6 stantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof’’

7 and inserting ‘‘causing or threatening to cause seri8 ous injury’’.

9 TITLE III—TIMELY RELEASE OF

10 IMPORT DATA

11 SEC. 301. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 332 OF THE TARIFF

12 ACT OF 1930.

13 Section 332 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.

14 1332) is amended by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(h)(1) Any entity, including any trade association,

16 firm, certified or recognized union, or group of workers,

17 which is representative of a domestic industry that pro18 duces an article that is like or directly competitive with

19 an imported article, may file a request with the President

20 pursuant to paragraph (2) for the monitoring of imports

21 of such article under subsection (g).

22 ‘‘(2) If the request filed under paragraph (1) alleges

23 that an article is being imported into the United States

24 in such increased quantities as to cause serious injury, or

25 threat thereof, to a domestic industry, the President, with-
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1 in 45 days after receiving the request, shall determine if

2 monitoring is appropriate.

3 ‘‘(3) If the determination under paragraph (2) is af4 firmative, the President shall request, under subsection

5 (g), the Commission to monitor and investigate the im6 ports concerned for a period not to exceed 2 years.’’.

7 SEC. 302. EARLY RELEASE OF IMPORT DATA.

8 In order to facilitate the early identification of poten9 tially disruptive import surges, the Director of the Office

10 of Management and Budget may grant an exception to

11 the publication dates established for the release of data

12 on United States international trade in goods and services

13 in order to permit public access to preliminary inter14 national trade import data, if the Director notifies Con15 gress of the early release of the data.

16 SEC. 303. AMENDMENT TO TARIFF ACT OF 1930.

17 Section 484(f) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.

18 1484(f)) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘(1) The Secretary’’; and

21 (2) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of

23 Commerce, and the International Trade Commission shall

24 establish a suffix or other indicator to the Harmonized

25 Tariff Schedule of the United States for merchandise that
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1 is subject to countervailing duty orders or antidumping

2 duty orders under title VII of this Act, or subject to ac3 tions by the President under chapter 1 of title II, or sec4 tion 406, of the Trade Act of 1974.’’.

5 SEC. 304. PRODUCT MONITORING.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall

7 monitor imports on a monthly basis for import surges and

8 potential unfair trade through the year 2000. Products to

9 be monitored shall be determined by the Secretary of Com10 merce based on the import surge data compiled by the

11 Secretary, but shall include, at a minimum, steel mill

12 products and other import-sensitive products identified by

13 United States industries or entities representative of a

14 United States industry that meet the necessary criteria

15 established by the Secretary. In determining whether to

16 monitor imports of a specific product, the Secretary shall

17 consider the percentage increase in imports, the volume

18 or value of imports, as appropriate, the level of import

19 penetration, and any other factors the Secretary considers

20 necessary.

21 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 30

22 days after the release of the official December import sta23 tistics for calendar year 1999 and for calendar year 2000,

24 the Secretary of Commerce shall submit a report to Con25 gress summarizing the monitoring activities under this
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1 section for that calendar year and identifying products to

2 be monitored in the next calendar year. In addition, in

3 the report to Congress covering calendar year 1999, the

4 Secretary of Commerce shall determine whether trade con5 ditions during the calendar year 1999 merit extending the

6 import monitoring program beyond the program’s sched7 uled expiration at the end of calendar year 2000.

8 (c) STEEL IMPORT MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT

9 CENTER.—The Secretary of Commerce shall establish a

10 Steel Import Monitoring and Enforcement Center for the

11 purpose of monitoring imports of steel mill products under

12 this section and for monitoring and investigating imports

13 of steel mill products as may be required pursuant to sec14 tion 301 of this Act.

15 TITLE IV—INTERNATIONAL

16 FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

17 SEC. 401. INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION LEND18 ING.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury

20 shall instruct the United States Executive Director of each

21 international financial institution to use aggressively the

22 voice and vote of the United States to—

23 (1) vigorously oppose any disbursements of

24 funds of the institution to any recipient that would

25 be used to provide financial assistance to the steel
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1 industry in any manner that would encourage the

2 expansion of existing steelmaking capacity;

3 (2) vigorously promote policies to encourage the

4 privatization of steel mills that remain in state own5 ership; and

6 (3) vigorously promote policies that encourage

7 immediate economic growth and the resumption and

8 increase in the domestic demand for steel,

9 including—

10 (A) currency and exchange rate stability;

11 (B) encouraging capital inflows;

12 (C) productive cuts in marginal tax rates

13 on wages, income, and capital; and

14 (D) the liberalization of trade in goods,

15 services, and investment.

16 (b) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION DE17 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘international financial

18 institution’’ includes ‘‘international financial institutions’’,

19 ‘‘multilateral development institutions’’, and ‘‘multilateral

20 development banks’’ as those terms are defined in section

21 1701(c) of the International Financial Institutions Act

22 (22 U.S.C. 262r(c)).
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•S 1254 PCS

1 TITLE V—SUSPENSION

2 AGREEMENTS

3 SEC. 501. DOMESTIC INDUSTRY SUPPORT FOR SUSPENSION

4 AGREEMENTS.

5 (a) COUNTERVAILING DUTY CASES.—Section 704(d)

6 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671c(d)(1)) is

7 amended—

8 (1) in paragraph 1—

9 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub10 paragraph (A);

11 (B) by striking the period at the end of

12 subparagraph (B), and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and

13 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B)

14 the following new subparagraph:

15 ‘‘(C) the domestic producers or workers

16 who support the agreement account for more

17 than 50 percent of the production of the domes18 tic like product produced by those expressing an

19 opinion on the agreement.’’; and

20 (2) by adding at the end the following new

21 paragraph:

22 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO DOMESTIC

23 PRODUCER AND WORKER SUPPORT.—

24 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION OF INDUSTRY SUP25 PORT.—
28

•S 1254 PCS

1 ‘‘(i) CERTAIN POSITIONS DIS2 REGARDED.—

3 ‘‘(I) PRODUCERS RELATED TO

4 FOREIGN PRODUCERS.—In deter5 mining industry support under para6 graph(1)(C), the administering au7 thority shall disregard the position of

8 domestic producers who support the

9 agreement, if such producers are re10 lated to foreign producers, as defined

11 in section 771(4)(B)(ii), unless such

12 domestic producers demonstrate that

13 their interests as domestic producers

14 would be adversely affected if the

15 agreement is not accepted.

16 ‘‘(II) PRODUCERS WHO ARE IM17 PORTERS.—The administering author18 ity may disregard the position of do19 mestic producers of a domestic like

20 product who are importers of the sub21 ject merchandise.

22 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE FOR REGIONAL

23 INDUSTRIES.—If the petition which led to

24 the proposed suspension agreement alleges

25 that the industry is a regional industry,
29

•S 1254 PCS

1 the administering authority shall determine

2 whether the agreement is supported by or

3 on behalf of the industry by applying para4 graph (1)(C) on the basis of production in

5 the region.

6 ‘‘(B) NATIONAL SECURITY EXCEPTION.—

7 In any case in which the administering author8 ity determines that the domestic producers or

9 workers who support the agreement do not ac10 count for more than 50 percent of the produc11 tion of the domestic like product produced by

12 those expressing an opinion on the agreement,

13 the administering authority may accept the

14 agreement, notwithstanding the provisions of

15 paragraph (1)(C), if the President determines

16 and certifies to the administering authority that

17 failure to accept the agreement would under18 mine the national security interests of the

19 United States or pose an extraordinary threat

20 to the economy of the United States.’’.

21 (b) ANTIDUMPING DUTY CASES.—Section 734(d) of

22 the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1673c(d)) is amended—

23 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as

24 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;
30

•S 1254 PCS

1 (2) by striking ‘‘The administering authority’’

2 and inserting:

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The administering author4 ity’’;

5 (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara6 graph (A), as redesignated;

7 (4) by striking the period at the end of sub8 paragraph (B), as redesignated, and inserting ‘‘,

9 and’’;

10 (5) by inserting after subparagraph (B), as re11 designated, the following new subparagraph:

12 ‘‘(C) the domestic producers or workers

13 who support the agreement account for more

14 than 50 percent of the production of the domes15 tic like product produced by those expressing an

16 opinion on the agreement.’’; and

17 (6) by adding at the end the following new

18 paragraph:

19 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO DOMESTIC

20 PRODUCER AND WORKER SUPPORT.—

21 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION OF INDUSTRY SUP22 PORT.—

23 ‘‘(i) CERTAIN POSITIONS DIS24 REGARDED.—
31

•S 1254 PCS

1 ‘‘(I) PRODUCERS RELATED TO

2 FOREIGN PRODUCERS.—In deter3 mining domestic producer or worker

4 support for purposes of paragraph

5 (1)(C), the administering authority

6 shall disregard the position of domes7 tic producers who support the agree8 ment, if such producers are related to

9 foreign producers, as defined in sec10 tion 771(4)(B)(ii), unless such domes11 tic producers demonstrate that their

12 interests as domestic producers would

13 be adversely affected if the agreement

14 is not accepted.

15 ‘‘(II) PRODUCERS WHO ARE IM16 PORTERS.—The administering author17 ity may disregard the position of do18 mestic producers of a domestic like

19 product who are importers of the sub20 ject merchandise.

21 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE FOR REGIONAL

22 INDUSTRIES.—If the petition which led to

23 the proposed suspension agreement alleges

24 the industry is a regional industry, the ad25 ministering authority shall determine
32

•S 1254 PCS

1 whether the agreement is supported by or

2 on behalf of the industry by applying para3 graph (1)(C) on the basis of production in

4 the region.

5 ‘‘(B) NATIONAL SECURITY EXCEPTION.—

6 In any case in which the administering author7 ity determines that the domestic producers or

8 workers who support the agreement do not ac9 count for more than 50 percent of the produc10 tion of the domestic like product produced by

11 those expressing an opinion on the agreement,

12 the administering authority may accept the

13 agreement, notwithstanding the provisions of

14 paragraph (1)(C), if the President determines

15 and certifies to the administering authority that

16 failure to accept the agreement would under17 mine the national security interests of the

18 United States or pose an extraordinary threat

19 to the economy of the United States.’’.