111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1875 

AN ACT 

To establish the Emergency Trade Deficit Commission. 

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

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The United States has run persistent trade 

4 deficits since 1978, and many of such trade deficits 

5 since 2000 have been especially large. 

6 (2) There appeared to be some improvements in 

7 the United States trade balance in 2009, but this 

8 was during a time of global economic crisis, and the 

9 reduction in the United States trade deficit appears 

10 to be attributable to a shrinking United States de11 mand for imports rather than an increase in United 

12 States exports. 

13 (3) Many of the trade deficits are structural— 

14 that is, with the same countries, year after year. In 

15 2009, the United States continued to have signifi16 cant merchandise trade deficits with the People’s 

17 Republic of China ($226.8 billion), the European 

18 Union ($60.5 billion), Japan ($44.7 billion), and 

19 Mexico ($47.5 billion), notwithstanding the overall 

20 decline in the United States trade deficit. In fact, in 

21 2009, China accounted for 44 percent of the United 

22 States merchandise trade deficit. 

23 (4) While the United States has one of the 

24 most open borders and economies in the world, the 

25 United States faces significant tariff and non tariff 

26 trade barriers with its trading partners. 
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1 (5) The causes and consequences of the United 

2 States trade deficit must be documented and rec3 ommendations must be developed to expeditiously 

4 address structural imbalances in the trade deficit. 

5 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com7 mission to be known as the Emergency Trade Deficit 

8 Commission (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commis9 sion’’). 

10 (b) MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.— 

11 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

12 composed of 11 members, of whom— 

13 (A) three persons shall be appointed by the 

14 President, of whom one shall be appointed to 

15 represent labor interests, one shall be appointed 

16 to represent small businesses, and one shall be 

17 appointed to represent manufacturing interests; 

18 (B) two persons shall be appointed by the 

19 President pro tempore of the Senate upon the 

20 recommendation of the Majority Leader of the 

21 Senate, after consultation with the Chairman of 

22 the Committee on Finance of the Senate; 

23 (C) two persons shall be appointed by the 

24 President pro tempore of the Senate upon the 

25 recommendation of the Minority Leader of the 
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1 Senate, after consultation with the ranking mi2 nority member of the Committee on Finance of 

3 the Senate; 

4 (D) two persons shall be appointed by the 

5 Speaker of the House of Representatives, after 

6 consultation with the Chairman of the Com7 mittee on Ways and Means of the House of 

8 Representatives; and 

9 (E) two persons shall be appointed by the 

10 Minority Leader of the House of Representa11 tives, after consultation with the ranking minor12 ity member of the Committee on Ways and 

13 Means of the House of Representatives. 

14 (2) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.— 

15 (A) PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Of 

16 the persons appointed under paragraph (1)(A), 

17 not more than one may be an officer, employee, 

18 or paid consultant of the executive branch. 

19 (B) OTHER APPOINTMENTS.—Persons ap20 pointed under subparagraph (B), (C), (D), or 

21 (E) of paragraph (1) shall be persons who— 

22 (i) have expertise in economics, inter23 national trade, manufacturing, labor, envi24 ronment, or business, or have other perti25 nent qualifications or experience; and 
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1 (ii) are not officers or employees of 

2 the United States. 

3 (C) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—In appoint4 ing members of the Commission, every effort 

5 shall be made to ensure that the members— 

6 (i) are representative of a broad cross7 section of economic and trade perspectives 

8 within the United States; and 

9 (ii) provide fresh insights to in identi10 fying the causes and consequences of the 

11 United States trade deficit and developing 

12 recommendations to address structural 

13 trade imbalances. 

14 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Members shall be appointed 

16 not later than 60 days after the date of the enact17 ment of this Act and the appointment shall be for 

18 the life of the Commission. 

19 (2) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis20 sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 

21 the same manner as the original appointment was 

22 made. 

23 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 

24 the date on which all members of the Commission have 
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1 been appointed, the Commission shall hold its first meet2 ing. 

3 (e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

4 call of the Chairperson. 

5 (f) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 

6 members of the Commission shall elect a chairperson and 

7 vice chairperson from among the members of the Commis8 sion. 

9 (g) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

10 Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction 

11 of business. 

12 (h) VOTING.—Each member of the Commission shall 

13 be entitled to one vote, which shall be equal to the vote 

14 of every other member of the Commission. 

15 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be respon17 sible for examining the nature, causes, and consequences 

18 of the United States trade deficit and providing rec19 ommendations on how to address and reduce structural 

20 trade imbalances, including with respect to the United 

21 States merchandise trade deficit, in order to promote sus22 tainable economic growth that provides broad-based in23 come and employment gains. 
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1 (b) CAUSES OF U.S. TRADE DEFICIT.—In examining 

2 the causes of the United States trade deficit, the Commis3 sion shall, among other things— 

4 (1) identify and assess the impact of macro5 economic factors, including currency practices, for6 eign government purchases of United States assets, 

7 and savings and investment rates, including savings 

8 rates of foreign state-owned enterprises, on United 

9 States bilateral trade imbalances and global trade 

10 imbalances; 

11 (2) with respect to countries with which the 

12 United States has significant, persistent sectoral or 

13 bilateral trade deficits, assess with respect to the 

14 magnitude and composition of such trade deficits— 

15 (A) the impact of tariff and non tariff bar16 riers maintained by such countries and the lack 

17 of reciprocal market access as a result of such 

18 barriers; 

19 (B) the impact of investment, offset, and 

20 technology transfer requirements by such coun21 tries; 

22 (C) any impact due to the failure of such 

23 countries to adhere to internationally-recognized 

24 labor standards, including the extent to which 

25 such failure affects conditions of competition 
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1 with the United States or the ability of con2 sumers in such countries to buy United States 

3 goods and services; 

4 (D) any impact due to differences in levels 

5 of environmental protection and enforcement of 

6 environmental laws between such countries and 

7 the United States, including the extent to which 

8 such differences affect conditions of competition 

9 with the United States; 

10 (E) policies maintained by such countries 

11 that assist manufacturers in such countries, in12 cluding the impact of such policies on manufac13 turers in the United States; and 

14 (F) the impact of border tax adjustments 

15 by such countries; 

16 (3) examine the impact of free trade agree17 ments on the United States trade deficit; 

18 (4) examine the impact of investment flows 

19 both into and out of the United States on the trade 

20 deficit, including— 

21 (A) the impact of United States outbound 

22 investment on the United States trade deficit 

23 and on standards of living and production in 

24 the United States; 
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1 (B) the impact that the relocation of pro2 duction facilities overseas has on the United 

3 States trade deficit, including by reviewing 

4 major domestic plant closures over an appro5 priate representative period to determine how 

6 much production terminated from such closures 

7 was relocated offshore; 

8 (C) the impact of foreign direct investment 

9 in the United States on the United States trade 

10 deficit and on standards of living and produc11 tion in the United States; and 

12 (D) the impact of United States bilateral 

13 investment treaties, including bilateral invest14 ment treaties under negotiation, on the United 

15 States trade deficit; 

16 (5) examine the role and impact of imports of 

17 oil and other energy products on the United States 

18 trade deficit; and 

19 (6) assess the extent to which United States 

20 foreign policy interests influence United States eco21 nomic and trade policies. 

22 (c) CONSEQUENCES OF U.S. TRADE DEFICIT.—In 

23 examining the consequences of the United States trade 

24 deficit, the Commission shall, among other things— 
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1 (1) identify and, to the extent practicable, 

2 quantify the impact of the trade deficit on the over3 all domestic economy, and, with respect to different 

4 sectors of the economy, on manufacturing capacity, 

5 on the number and quality of jobs, on wages, and 

6 on health, safety, and environmental standards; 

7 (2) assess the effects the trade deficits in the 

8 areas of manufacturing and technology have on de9 fense production and innovation capabilities of the 

10 United States; and 

11 (3) assess the impact of significant, persistent 

12 trade deficits, including sectoral and bilateral trade 

13 deficits, on United States economic growth. 

14 (d) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In making recommenda15 tions, the Commission shall, among other things— 

16 (1) identify specific strategies for achieving im17 proved trade balances with those countries with 

18 which the United States has significant, persistent 

19 sectoral or bilateral trade deficits; 

20 (2) identify United States trade policy tools in21 cluding enforcement mechanisms that can be more 

22 effectively used to address the underlying causes of 

23 structural trade deficits; 

24 (3) identify domestic and trade policies that can 

25 enhance the competitiveness of United States manu-
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1 facturers domestically and globally, including those 

2 policies of the United States and other countries 

3 that have been successful in promoting competitive4 ness; 

5 (4) address ways to improve the coordination 

6 and accountability of Federal departments and agen7 cies relating to trade; and 

8 (5) examine ways to improve the adequacy of 

9 the collection and reporting of trade data, including 

10 identifying and developing additional databases and 

11 economic measurements that may be needed to prop12 erly assess the causes and consequences of the 

13 United States trade deficit. 

14 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

15 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 16 months after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

17 submit to the President and the Committee on Ways and 

18 Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

19 on Finance of the Senate a report that contains— 

20 (1) the findings and conclusions of the Commis21 sion described in section 3; and 

22 (2) any recommendations for administrative 

23 and legislative actions as the Commission considers 

24 necessary. 
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1 (b) SEPARATE VIEWS.—Any member of the Commis2 sion may submit additional findings and recommendations 

3 as part of the report. 

4 SEC. 5. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

5 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such 

6 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such 

7 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 

8 considers advisable to carry out this Act. The Commission 

9 shall hold at least seven public hearings, one or more in 

10 Washington, D.C., and four in different regions of the 

11 United States. 

12 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

13 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart14 ment or agency such information as the Commission con15 siders necessary to carry out this Act. Upon request of 

16 the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of such de17 partment or agency shall furnish such information to the 

18 Commission. 

19 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

20 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

21 the same conditions as other Federal departments and 

22 agencies. 

23 SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

24 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of 

25 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of the 
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1 Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal 

2 to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre3 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec4 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in5 cluding travel time) during which such member is engaged 

6 in the performance of the duties of the Commission. All 

7 members of the Commission who are officers or employees 

8 of the United States shall serve without compensation in 

9 addition to that received for their services as officers or 

10 employees of the United States. 

11 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com12 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 

13 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ14 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

15 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or 

16 regular places of business in the performance of duties of 

17 the Commission. 

18 (c) STAFF.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 

20 Commission may, without regard to the civil service 

21 laws and regulations, appoint and terminate an exec22 utive director and such other additional personnel as 

23 may be necessary to enable the Commission to per24 form its duties. The employment of an executive di-
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1 rector shall be subject to confirmation by the Com2 mission. 

3 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of the 

4 Commission may fix the compensation of the execu5 tive director and other personnel without regard to 

6 the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 

7 chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating 

8 to classification of positions and General Schedule 

9 pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the execu10 tive director and other personnel may not exceed the 

11 rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule 

12 under section 5316 of such title. 

13 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any 

14 Federal Government employee may be detailed to the 

15 Commission without reimbursement, and such detail shall 

16 be without interruption or loss of civil service status or 

17 privilege. 

18 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT19 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Commission 

20 may procure temporary and intermittent services under 

21 section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates 

22 for individuals which do not exceed the daily equivalent 

23 of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of 

24 the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title. 
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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; GAO AUDIT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated $2,000,000 to the Commission to carry out this 

4 Act. 

5 (b) GAO AUDIT.—Not later than 6 months after the 

6 date on which the Commission terminates, the Comptroller 

7 General of the United States shall complete an audit of 

8 the financial books and records of the Commission and 

9 shall submit a report on the audit to the President and 

10 the Congress. 

11 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION. 

12 The Commission shall terminate 30 days after the 

13 date on which the Commission submits its report under 

14 section 4(a). 

Passed the House of Representatives July 28, 2010. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1875 

AN ACT 

To establish the Emergency Trade Deficit 

Commission.