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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 763

To encourage the establishment of free trade areas between the United States

and certain Pacific Rim countries.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY, 3, 1993

Mr. CRANE (for himself and Mr. GIBBONS) introduced the following bill; which

was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

A BILL

To encourage the establishment of free trade areas between

the United States and certain Pacific Rim countries.

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

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 The Congress finds that—

5 (1) free trade agreements improve the income

6 and prosperity of the citizens of participating coun7 tries because open markets increase competition,

8 eliminate inefficiencies, and result in lower costs to

9 manufacturers and consumers;
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1 (2) continued economic growth, and the result2 ing economic and political stability, within the coun3 tries of the Pacific Rim is of vital strategic and eco4 nomic interest to the United States;

5 (3) bilateral disputes between the United States

6 and Pacific Rim countries could be more effectively

7 resolved in the context of mutually agreed-upon dis8 ciplines and dispute settlement mechanisms rather

9 than issue-by-issue confrontations under section 301

10 of the Trade Act of 1974 or other trade remedy

11 laws; and

12 (4) free trade agreements between the United

13 States and Pacific Rim countries, whose economies

14 are becoming increasingly interdependent, will pro15 vide a foundation for enhanced cooperation and will

16 ensure mutually beneficial economic and political re17 lations.

18 SEC. 2. PRENEGOTIATION CONSULTATIONS AND CONSID19 ERATIONS.

20 (a) PRELIMINARY CONSULTATIONS.—Within 60 days

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President

22 shall initiate preliminary consultations with the govern23 ment of each eligible Pacific Rim country to determine the

24 feasibility and desirability of negotiating the elimination

25 of tariffs and nontariff barriers (including barriers to in-
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1 vestment, trade in services, and protection of intellectual

2 property rights) in the context of a bilateral free trade

3 agreement. If the preliminary consultations indicate that

4 the establishment of a free trade area between the United

5 States and the eligible country is feasible and desirable,

6 the President shall request a meeting at the ministerial

7 level with the government of that country to consider the

8 conditions under which formal negotiations regarding a

9 free trade agreement could be commenced.

10 (b) MINISTERIAL MEETING RECOMMENDATIONS.—

11 At each ministerial meeting convened pursuant to sub12 section (a), the President shall recommend the establish13 ment of a council comprised of appropriate public and pri14 vate sector officials from the respective countries. The

15 functions of the council are—

16 (1) to review and analyze the aspects of the ex17 isting bilateral relationship as they relate to the ne18 gotiation of a free trade agreement, including—

19 (A) trade and investment practices and im20 pediments,

21 (B) differences in customs laws and proce22 dures,

23 (C) the harmonization of trade statistics

24 and other economic data, and
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1 (D) the status of bilateral disputes and ex2 change of information on disputed practices;

3 and

4 (2) within one year after establishment, to issue

5 a report on the overall bilateral relationship and the

6 prospects for a successful negotiation of a free trade

7 agreement that addresses the possible benefits and

8 adverse effects of concluding a free trade agreement

9 and examines which dispute settlement mechanisms

10 would be appropriate to effectively resolve bilateral

11 trade problems.

12 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—Before entering into formal

13 negotiations under section 1102 of the Omnibus Trade

14 and Competitiveness Act of 1988 with an eligible Pacific

15 Rim country, the President shall consider whether that

16 country—

17 (1) is a member of, or applicant to, the General

18 Agreement on Tariffs and Trade;

19 (2) has pursued substantive trade liberalization

20 and undertaken structural economic reforms in

21 order to achieve an economy governed by market

22 forces and international trade disciplines;

23 (3) is an active participant in the Uruguay

24 Round of multilateral trade negotiations under the

25 auspices of the GATT, has demonstrated a commit-
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1 ment to the success of these negotiations, and has

2 pursued goals and objectives consistent with those of

3 the United States; and

4 (4) is a country whose bilateral relationship

5 with the United States will be enhanced by eliminat6 ing substantially all tariff and nontariff barriers and

7 structural impediments and will benefit from im8 proved dispute settlement mechanisms.

9 (d) EXTENSION OF ‘‘FAST TRACK’’ PROCEDURES

10 WITH RESPECT TO AGREEMENTS ENTERED INTO WITH

11 ELIGIBLE PACIFIC RIM COUNTRIES.—

12 (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section

13 1102(c)(1) of the Omnibus Trade and Competitive14 ness Act of 1988 relating to the expiration of the

15 authority contained in such section on June 1, 1993,

16 the President may enter into bilateral trade agree17 ments with eligible Pacific Rim countries under such

18 section.

19 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section

20 1103(b)(1)(A) of the Omnibus Trade and Competi21 tiveness Act of 1988 relating to the expiration of the

22 authority contained in such section on June 1, 1991,

23 and subject to section 1103(c) of such Act, the pro24 visions of section 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 shall
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1 apply to any agreement entered into with an eligible

2 Pacific Rim country.

3 (e) WAIVER OF NEGOTIATION REQUEST BY ELIGI4 BLE PACIFIC RIM COUNTRIES.—Section 1102(c)(3)(B) of

5 the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19

6 U.S.C. 2902(c)(3)(B)) does not apply to trade agreements

7 referred to in subsection (a).

8 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES.

9 In addition to the negotiating objectives set forth in

10 section 1101 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness

11 Act of 1988, the President shall seek to achieve, in nego12 tiations with an eligible Pacific Rim country to establish

13 a free trade area, substantial progress in—

14 (1) improving the bilateral relationship between

15 the United States and that country by promoting

16 mutual economic benefits through trade expansion,

17 greater economic efficiency, enhanced competition,

18 and common rules governing trade practices;

19 (2) removing, to the greatest extent possible,

20 formal and informal barriers to trade between the

21 parties, particularly in agricultural products and

22 manufactured components in an effort to reduce

23 government subsidies and injurious dumping prac24 tices;
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1 (3) providing effective mechanisms for the de2 velopment of rules in nontraditional areas such as

3 services, trade-related investment, and the protection

4 of intellectual property rights;

5 (4) encouraging United States firms to take

6 greater advantage of opportunities in Pacific Rim

7 country markets and to better understand how to

8 compete effectively in those markets; and

9 (5) improving market access in the respective

10 countries as a means of stabilizing the bilateral bal11 ance of trade.

12 SEC. 4. ELIGIBLE PACIFIC RIM COUNTRIES.

13 As used in this Act, the term ‘‘eligible Pacific Rim

14 country’’ means Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,

15 Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand,

16 Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, or Hong Kong.

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