II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2171 

To enhance the promotion of exports of United States goods and services, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 7, 2012 

Mr. PRYOR (for himself and Mr. BLUNT) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To enhance the promotion of exports of United States goods 

and services, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Export Promotion Act 

5 of 2012’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. IMPROVED COORDINATION OF EXPORT PRO2 MOTION ACTIVITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES 

3 BY THE TRADE PROMOTION COORDINATING 

4 COMMITTEE. 

5 (a) DUTIES OF TPCC.—Section 2312(b) of the Ex6 port Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(b)) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (5)— 

9 (A) by inserting ‘‘, including a rec10 ommendation for the unified Federal trade pro11 motion budget required by subsection (c)(4)’’ 

12 after ‘‘assessment’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a 

14 semicolon; 

15 (2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para16 graph (7); and 

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(6) in conducting assessments under para20 graph (5), review the proposed budget for a fiscal 

21 year of each agency with responsibility for export 

22 promotion or export financing activities before the 

23 agency submits that budget to the Office of Manage24 ment and Budget and the President for inclusion in 

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1 mitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, 

2 United States Code; and’’. 

3 (b) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Section 2312(c) of the Ex4 port Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(c)) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), (5), 

7 and (6) as paragraphs (4), (6), (7), and (8), respec8 tively; 

9 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ‘‘coordi10 nation of such activities’’ the following: ‘‘, based on 

11 consultations with, and recommendations from, a 

12 representative number of United States exporters 

13 and other types of export-related businesses’’; 

14 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(3) identify countries with which the United 

17 States could negotiate trade agreements to increase 

18 United States exports;’’; 

19 (4) by inserting after paragraph (4), as redesig20 nated, the following: 

21 ‘‘(5) identify areas in which the TPCC can 

22 maximize existing partnerships with agencies by 

23 granting the TPCC the ability to partner with a 

24 partner of an agency that is a member of the TPCC 


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1 without requiring an additional memorandum of un2 derstanding between the TPCC and that partner;’’; 

3 (5) in paragraph (7), as redesignated, by strik4 ing ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a semicolon; and 

5 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(9) review and propose means to improve edu7 cational outreach to small- and medium-sized busi8 nesses with respect to the resources available 

9 through the TPCC and agencies that are members 

10 of the TPCC, including by consulting with, and con11 sidering recommendations from, United States ex12 porters and the Small Business Administration with 

13 respect to improving outreach by the TPCC; and 

14 ‘‘(10) clearly describe the role of each agency 

15 that is a member of the TPCC and the responsibility 

16 of each such agency for export promotion and export 

17 financing.’’. 

18 (c) REPORTS.—Section 2312(f) of the Export En19 hancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(f)) is amended 

20 to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(f) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) TPCC REPORT.—Not later than 18 

23 months after the date of the enactment of the Ex24 port Promotion Act of 2012, and March 30 of each 

25 year thereafter, the chairperson of the TPCC shall 


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1 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

2 a report that— 

3 ‘‘(A) describes the strategic plan developed 

4 by the TPCC pursuant to subsection (c), the 

5 implementation of the plan, and any revisions 

6 to the plan; 

7 ‘‘(B) assesses the performance of each 

8 agency that is a member of the TPCC with re9 spect to Federal export promotion and export 

10 financing activities, including efforts to increase 

11 efficiency, decrease duplication, increase inter12 agency coordination, and meet the goals of each 

13 such agency; 

14 ‘‘(C) reviews the proposed annual budgets 

15 for each such agency and provides recommenda16 tions with respect to those budgets based on the 

17 strategic plan developed pursuant to subsection 

18 (c) and any anticipated revisions to the plan; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(D) describes the implementation of sec21 tions 303 and 304 of the FREEDOM Support 

22 Act (22 U.S.C. 5823 and 5824) concerning 

23 funding for export promotion activities and the 

24 interagency working groups on energy of the 

25 TPCC. 


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1 ‘‘(2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

2 REPORT.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

4 months after the date of the enactment of the 

5 Export Promotion Act of 2012, and every 2 

6 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of the 

7 United States shall submit to the appropriate 

8 congressional committees a report that assesses 

9 the effectiveness of the TPCC. 

10 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—The report required by 

11 subparagraph (A) shall include an assessment 

12 of the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) The operational efficiency and ef14 fectiveness of the TPCC. 

15 ‘‘(ii) The efforts of the TPCC to co16 ordinate Federal export promotion and ex17 port financing activities, including efforts 

18 to coordinate the budgets of the agencies 

19 that are members of the TPCC. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Duplication of administrative 

21 functions, client management functions, 

22 and resources among those agencies and 

23 measures to decrease such duplication, in24 cluding by reducing the office space or 

25 other resources available to those agencies. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) Improvements in efficiency and 

2 decreases in duplication of efforts among 

3 those agencies realized by the TPCC. 

4 ‘‘(v) Other relevant information on 

5 the overall effectiveness of the TPCC. 

6 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATION OF CHANGING

7 STRATEGY.—In preparing the report required 

8 by subparagraph (A), the Comptroller General 

9 shall take into account that the strategic plan 

10 of the TPCC is subject to change. 

11 ‘‘(3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT12 TEES DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘ap13 propriate congressional committees’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

15 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

16 Affairs, the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

17 and Transportation, the Committee on Finance, 

18 the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the 

19 Committee on Small Business and Entrepre20 neurship of the Senate; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

22 Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Com23 mittee on Financial Services, the Committee on 

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1 ness, and the Committee on Ways and Means 

2 of the House of Representatives.’’. 

3 (d) EXPORT.GOV; REGULATIONS.—Section 2312 of 

4 the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727) 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(g) INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON EXPORT.GOV.— 

7 The TPCC shall coordinate with the agencies that are 

8 members of the TPCC to publish information relevant to 

9 export promotion and export financing on Export.gov (or 

10 a successor website), including— 

11 ‘‘(1) the information described in subsection 

12 (c)(10); and 

13 ‘‘(2) detailed information on ongoing and an14 ticipated trade missions, trade fairs, and related 

15 Federal and State export promotion and export fi16 nancing activities. 

17 ‘‘(h) EXECUTIVE ORDER AND REGULATIONS.—Not 

18 later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of 

19 the Export Promotion Act of 2012, the President shall 

20 issue an executive order and such regulations as are nec21 essary to provide the chairperson of the TPCC with the 

22 authority to ensure that the TPCC carries out each of its 

23 duties under subsection (b) and develops and implements 

24 the strategic plan under subsection (c).’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DEPLOYMENT OF RESOURCES OF THE 

2 UNITED STATES AND FOREIGN COMMERCIAL 

3 SERVICE. 

4 Section 2301(c)(4) of the Export Enhancement Act 

5 of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(c)(4)) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

7 through (F) as subparagraphs (C) through (G), re8 spectively; 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘(4) FOREIGN OFFICES.—(A) 

10 The Secretary may’’ and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(4) FOREIGN OFFICES.—(A)(i) The Secretary 

12 shall conduct a global assessment of overseas mar13 kets to identify the markets with the greatest poten14 tial for increasing United States exports and rede15 ploy Commercial Service personnel and other re16 sources on the basis of the global assessment. 

17 ‘‘(ii) The assessment conducted under clause (i) 

18 shall take into consideration recommendations from 

19 a representative number of United States exporters. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Not later than 180 days after the date of 

21 the enactment of the Export Promotion Act of 2012, 

22 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on 

23 the results of the first global assessment conducted 

24 under clause (i) and a plan for the redeployment of 

25 Commercial Service personnel and other resources 

26 on the basis of the global assessment. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary shall conduct a global as2 sessment and redeployment described in clause (i) 

3 not less frequently than once in every 5-year period. 

4 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may’’; and 

5 (3) in subparagraph (F), as redesignated, by 

6 striking ‘‘is authorized, upon the request of the Sec7 retary, to provide’’ and inserting ‘‘shall, upon the re8 quest of the Secretary, provide’’. 

9 SEC. 4. STRENGTHENED COMMERCIAL DIPLOMACY TO IN10 CREASE UNITED STATES EXPORTS. 

11 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—Section 207(c) of the 

12 Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3927(c)) is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(2)(A) Each chief of mission to a foreign country 

17 shall develop a plan for effective diplomacy to remove or 

18 reduce obstacles to exports of United States goods and 

19 services, in consultation with— 

20 ‘‘(i) the ambassador of the United States to the 

21 country; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and 

23 Director General of the Commercial Service (estab24 lished by section 2301(a)(2) of the Export Enhance25 ment Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(a)(2))); 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the heads of other Federal agencies with 

2 export promotion programs, acting through the 

3 Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (estab4 lished by section 2312 of the Export Enhancement 

5 Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727)); and 

6 ‘‘(iv) the trade advisory committees authorized 

7 by paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 135(c) of the 

8 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155(c)), if those 

9 committees request consultation. 

10 ‘‘(B) The chief of mission shall submit the plan re11 quired by subparagraph (A) to the Secretary for review 

12 by the Secretary before implementing the plan.’’. 

13 (b) ASSESSMENTS AND PROMOTIONS.—Section 

14 603(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 

15 4003(a)) is amended, in the second sentence, by inserting 

16 after ‘‘disciplinary actions,’’ the following: ‘‘assessments 

17 (with respect to members of the Service with responsibil18 ities relating to economic affairs) of the effectiveness of 

19 efforts to promote the exportation of United States goods 

20 and services in accordance with the plan developed pursu21 ant to section 207(c)(2),’’. 

22 (c) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Section 209(b) of the 

23 Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3929(b)) is 

24 amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

2 inserting a semicolon; 

3 (2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para4 graph (6); and 

5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol6 lowing new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(5) the effectiveness of diplomacy relating to the 

8 promotion of exports of United States goods and services; 

9 and’’. 

Æ 


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