II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1344

To promote peace, prosperity, and open market economic development in

Armenia, through the establishment of a free trade agreement between

the United States and the Republic of Armenia.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 3 (legislative day, JUNE 30), 1993

Mr. GRAMM (for himself and Mr. MCCAIN) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To promote peace, prosperity, and open market economic

development in Armenia, through the establishment of

a free trade agreement between the United States and

the Republic of Armenia.

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 ‘‘Armenia Free Trade

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress makes the following findings:
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S 1344 IS

1 (1) Enhanced trade and expanding economic

2 prosperity are strong supports for domestic tran3 quility and peaceful relations among nations.

4 (2) The history of Marxist misrule and govern5 ment direction of the economy has left the countries

6 of the former Soviet Union with severe economic

7 problems which, if not resolved, can undermine

8 peace both domestically and abroad.

9 (3) The economic development and the peaceful

10 relations of Armenia and the other countries of the

11 former Soviet Union are in the interests of the

12 United States.

13 (4) International trade and investment are the

14 best forms of assistance that the United States can

15 provide, dwarfing the amounts of funding that could

16 be provided by traditional forms of foreign assist17 ance.

18 (5) Trade protection endangers economic pros19 perity and undermines civil liberty and constitu20 tionally limited government.

21 (6) The reduction of government interference in

22 the foreign and domestic sectors of a nation’s econ23 omy and the concomitant promotion of economic op24 portunity and freedoms promote civil liberty and

25 constitutionally limited government.
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1 (7) Countries that observe a consistent policy of

2 free trade, the promotion of free enterprise and

3 other economic freedoms (including protection of pri4 vate property), the removal of barriers to foreign di5 rect investment, in the context of constitutionally

6 limited government and minimal interference in the

7 economy, will follow the surest and most effective

8 prescription to alleviate poverty and provide for eco9 nomic, social, and political development.

10 SEC. 3. FREE TRADE AGREEMENT NEGOTIATING AUTHOR11 ITY.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall take action

13 to initiate negotiations to obtain a trade agreement with

14 the Republic of Armenia, the terms of which provide for

15 the elimination or reduction of tariffs and other nontariff

16 barriers to trade and for the establishment of a free trade

17 area between the Republic of Armenia and the United

18 States.

19 (b) RECIPROCAL BASIS.—An agreement entered into

20 under subsection (a) shall be reciprocal and provide mu21 tual reductions in trade barriers to promote trade, eco22 nomic growth, and employment.
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1 SEC. 4. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF FREE TRADE

2 AGREEMENT.

3 A draft of a bill implementing a trade agreement en4 tered into under section 3 of this Act, that is submitted

5 to the Congress by the President, shall be considered to

6 be an implementing bill or an implementing revenue bill,

7 as the case may be, for purposes of section 151 of the

8 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2191). For purposes of this

9 Act, the provisions of section 151 of the Trade Act of 1974

10 (19 U.S.C. 2191) shall remain in effect until January 1,

11 1999.

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