II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1939

To authorize the establishment of a free trade area in the Western

Hemisphere.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 16 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 22), 1994

Mr. DODD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to

the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To authorize the establishment of a free trade area in the

Western Hemisphere.

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 ‘‘Western Hemisphere

5 Free Trade Area Act of 1994’’.

6 TITLE I—POLICY AND PURPOSES

7 SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

8 It shall be the policy of the United States to seek

9 an agreement for the establishment before the year 2000

10 of a free trade area covering, to the maximum extent pos-
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1 sible, the countries and territories geographically located

2 in the Western Hemisphere.

3 SEC. 102. PURPOSES.

4 The purposes of a free trade area in the Western

5 Hemisphere are to—

6 (1) strengthen the special bonds of friendship

7 and cooperation among nations in the Hemisphere;

8 (2) contribute to economic development and

9 strengthen democratic institutions through enhanced

10 Hemispheric cooperation;

11 (3) create an expanded and secure market for

12 goods and services throughout the Hemisphere;

13 (4) generate and sustain more and better qual14 ity employment for people throughout the Hemi15 sphere;

16 (5) facilitate economic growth in the Hemi17 sphere;

18 (6) establish clear and fair rules governing

19 trade in goods and services;

20 (7) reduce distortions in trade and ensure a

21 predictable and transparent framework for invest22 ment planning;

23 (8) enhance global competition; and

24 (9) promote the protection and preservation of

25 the environment.
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1 TITLE II—NEGOTIATING

2 AUTHORITY AND ELIGIBILITY

3 SEC. 201. AUTHORITY AND NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES.

4 (a) AGREEMENT.—The President is authorized to un5 dertake multilateral negotiations with governments of eli6 gible Western Hemisphere countries and territories in

7 order to reach an agreement establishing a free trade area

8 in the Western Hemisphere at the earliest possible date.

9 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The overall trade negotiating ob10 jectives of the United States are—

11 (1) to eliminate barriers to trade in, and facili12 tate cross border movement of, goods and services

13 between countries and territories in the Western

14 Hemisphere;

15 (2) to promote fair competition in the Western

16 Hemisphere;

17 (3) to substantially increase investment oppor18 tunities in countries and territories of the Western

19 Hemisphere;

20 (4) to provide adequate and effective protection

21 and enforcement of intellectual property rights

22 throughout the Western Hemisphere;

23 (5) to establish procedures to promote and

24 guarantee respect for international workers rights

25 within the Western Hemisphere;
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1 (6) to establish reciprocal market access among

2 the countries and territories of the Western Hemi3 sphere;

4 (7) to establish an effective system of trading

5 disciplines and dispute resolution procedures;

6 (8) to codify standards to protect and improve

7 the environment throughout the Western Hemi8 sphere; and

9 (9) to establish such other principles as are

10 consistent with the obligations of the North Amer11 ican Free Trade Agreement.

12 SEC. 202. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.

13 (a) SPECIFIC COUNTRIES.—A country shall be treat14 ed as an eligible Western Hemisphere country or territory

15 if—

16 (1) it is a country designated as a beneficiary

17 country pursuant to the Andean Trade Preference

18 Act (19 U.S.C. 3201);

19 (2) it is a country designed as a beneficiary

20 country pursuant to the Caribbean Basin Economic

21 Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.);

22 (3) it is a NAFTA country as defined in section

23 2(4) of the North American Free Trade Agreement

24 Implementation Act (Public Law 103–182; 19

25 U.S.C. 3301);
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1 (4) it is the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; or

2 (5) it is one of the United States Virgin

3 Islands.

4 (b) OTHER COUNTRIES.—In addition to the countries

5 described in subsection (a), a country or territory shall

6 be considered an eligible Western Hemisphere country or

7 territory, if the President determines (after consultation

8 with the Secretary General of the Organization of Amer9 ican States) that such country or territory—

10 (1) is located in the Western Hemisphere;

11 (2) has a government that is democratically

12 elected in free and fair elections and the government

13 abides by the country’s constitution and laws;

14 (3) has demonstrated a consistent pattern of re15 spect for internationally recognized human rights of

16 all peoples within its territories;

17 (4) has implemented economic policies and in18 vestment reforms that are compatible with the obli19 gations and principles expressed in the North Amer20 ican Free Trade Agreement;

21 (5) has expressed an interest in participating in

22 a Western Hemisphere free trade area;

23 (6) has in place or is prepared to adopt laws

24 that will ensure the protection and preservation of

25 the environment in and around its territory; and
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1 (7) has adopted and is enforcing laws that

2 guarantee internationally recognized workers’ rights

3 with respect to its work force.

4 TITLE III—ENTRY INTO FORCE

5 OF FREE TRADE AREA

6 AGREEMENT

7 SEC. 301. IMPLEMENTATION OF FREE TRADE AREA AGREE8 MENT.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any agreement concluded under

10 section 201(a) of this Act to establish a free trade area

11 in the Western Hemisphere shall enter into force if (and

12 only if)—

13 (1) the governments of not less than 15 eligible

14 countries or territories become signatories to the

15 agreement and express their intention to ratify or

16 otherwise accede to the agreement;

17 (2) the agreement provides for expeditious ac18 cession of other countries in the Hemisphere;

19 (3) the Agreement makes progress in meeting

20 the objectives described in section 201;

21 (4) the President, at least 60 days before the

22 date notice is provided under paragraph (5)—

23 (A) provides written notice of such negotia24 tions to the Committee on Finance of the Sen-
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1 ate and the Committee on Ways and Means of

2 the House of Representatives; and

3 (B) consults with such committees regard4 ing the negotiation of such Agreement;

5 (5) the President, at least 90 days before the

6 day on which the President enters into the agree7 ment, notifies the House of Representatives and the

8 Senate of the President’s intention to enter into

9 such agreement, and promptly thereafter publishes

10 notice of such intention in the Federal Register;

11 (6) after entering into the agreement, the Presi12 dent submits a document to the House of Represent13 atives and to the Senate containing a copy of the

14 final legal text of the agreement, together with—

15 (A) a draft implementing bill;

16 (B) a statement of any administrative ac17 tion proposed to implement the agreement; and

18 (C) the supporting information describing

19 how the agreement satisfies the requirements of

20 this Act; and

21 (7) the implementing bill submitted pursuant to

22 paragraph (6) has been enacted into law.

23 The 60-day period of time described in paragraph (4) and

24 the 90-day period of time described in paragraph (5) shall

25 be computed in accordance with section 303(h).
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1 (b) SUPPORTING INFORMATION.—The supporting in2 formation required under subsection (a)(6)(C) consists

3 of—

4 (1) an explanation as to how the implementing

5 bill and proposed administrative action will change

6 or affect existing law; and

7 (2) a statement—

8 (A) asserting that the agreement makes

9 progress in achieving the applicable purposes,

10 policies, and objectives of this Act;

11 (B) setting forth the reasons of the Presi12 dent regarding—

13 (i) how and to what extent the agree14 ment makes progress in achieving the ap15 plicable purposes, policies, and objectives

16 referred to in subparagraph (A), and why

17 and to what extent the agreement does not

18 achieve other applicable purposes, policies,

19 and objectives;

20 (ii) how the agreement serves the in21 terests of United States commerce; and

22 (iii) why the implementing bill and

23 proposed administrative action is required

24 or appropriate to carry out the agreement;
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1 (C) describing the efforts made by the

2 President to obtain international exchange rate

3 equilibrium and any effect the agreement may

4 have regarding increased international mone5 tary stability; and

6 (D) describing the extent, if any, to

7 which—

8 (i) each eligible country or territory

9 that is a party to the agreement maintains

10 noncommercial State trading enterprises

11 that may adversely affect, nullify, or im12 pair the benefits to the United States

13 under the agreement; and

14 (ii) the agreement applies to or affects

15 purchases and sales by such enterprises.

16 (c) APPLICATION OF BENEFITS.—To ensure that an

17 eligible country or territory which receives benefits under

18 a trade agreement entered into under this Act is subject

19 to the obligations imposed by such agreement, the Presi20 dent shall recommend to the Congress in the implementing

21 bill and statement of administrative action submitted with

22 respect to such agreement that the benefits and obliga23 tions of such agreement apply solely to the parties to such

24 agreement, if such application is consistent with the terms

25 of such agreement. The President may also recommend
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1 with respect to any such agreement that the benefits and

2 obligations of such agreement not apply uniformly to all

3 parties to such agreement, if such application is consistent

4 with the terms of such agreement.

5 SEC. 302. APPLICATION OF CONGRESSIONAL ‘‘FAST TRACK

6 PROCEDURES’’ TO IMPLEMENTING BILL.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in section

8 303—

9 (1) the provisions of section 151 of the Trade

10 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2191) (hereafter in this sec11 tion referred to as ‘‘fast track procedures’’) apply to

12 implementing bills submitted with respect to a trade

13 agreement entered into pursuant to this Act before

14 December 31, 1999; and

15 (2) such fast track procedures shall be extended

16 to implementing bills submitted with respect to a

17 trade agreement entered into under this Act after

18 December 30, 1999, and before December 31, 2002,

19 if (and only if)—

20 (A) the President requests such extension

21 under subsection (b); and

22 (B) neither House of the Congress adopts

23 an extension disapproval resolution under sub24 section (e) before December 31, 1999.
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1 (b) REQUEST FOR EXTENSION.—If the President is

2 of the opinion that the fast track procedures should be

3 extended to an implementing bill described in subsection

4 (a)(2), the President must submit to the Congress, no

5 later than June 30, 1999, a written report that contains

6 a request for such extension, together with—

7 (1) a description of the status of the trade

8 agreement, and the anticipated schedule for submit9 ting such agreement to the Congress for approval;

10 (2) a description of the progress that has been

11 made in negotiations to achieve the purposes, poli12 cies, and objectives of this Act, and a statement that

13 such progress justifies the continuation of negotia14 tions; and

15 (3) a statement of the reasons why the exten16 sion is needed to complete the negotiations.

17 (c) VIEWS OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Presi18 dent shall promptly inform the Advisory Committee for

19 Trade Policy and Negotiations established under section

20 135 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155) of the

21 President’s decision to submit a report to the Congress

22 under subsection (b). The Advisory Committee shall sub23 mit to the Congress as soon as practicable, but no later

24 than June 30, 1999, a written report that contains—
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1 (1) its views regarding the progress that has

2 been made in negotiations to achieve the purposes,

3 policies, and objectives of this Act; and

4 (2) a statement of its views, and the reasons

5 therefor, regarding whether the extension requested

6 under subsection (b) should be approved or dis7 approved.

8 (d) REPORTS MAY BE CLASSIFIED.—The reports

9 submitted to the Congress under subsections (b) and (c),

10 or any portion of the reports, may be classified to the ex11 tent the President determines appropriate.

12 (e) EXTENSION DISAPPROVAL RESOLUTION.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section,

14 the term ‘‘extension disapproval resolution’’ means a

15 resolution of either House of the Congress, the sole

16 matter after the resolving clause of which is as fol17 lows: ‘‘That the lllll disapproves the request

18 of the President for the extension, under section 302

19 of the Western Hemisphere Free Trade Area Act of

20 1994, of the provisions of section 151 of the Trade

21 Act of 1974 to an implementing bill submitted with

22 respect to a trade agreement entered into under sec23 tion 201 of such Act of 1974 after December 30,

24 1999, because sufficient tangible progress has not

25 been made in trade negotiations.’’, with the blank
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1 space being filled with the name of the resolving

2 House of the Congress.

3 (2) PROCEDURE.—An extension disapproval

4 resolution—

5 (A) may be introduced in either House of

6 the Congress by any member of such House;

7 and

8 (B) shall be jointly referred, in the House

9 of Representatives, to the Committee on Ways

10 and Means and the Committee on Rules.

11 (3) SECTION 152 (d) AND (e).—The provisions

12 of section 152 (d) and (e) of the Trade Act of 1974

13 (19 U.S.C. 2192 (d) and (e)) (relating to the floor

14 consideration of certain resolutions in the House and

15 Senate) apply to extension disapproval resolutions.

16 (4) COMMITTEE REPORTS.—It is not in order

17 for—

18 (A) the Senate to consider any extension

19 disapproval resolution not reported by the Com20 mittee on Finance;

21 (B) the House of Representatives to con22 sider any extension disapproval resolution not

23 reported by the Committee on Ways and Means

24 and the Committee on Rules; or
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1 (C) either House of the Congress to con2 sider an extension disapproval resolution that is

3 reported to such House after December 15,

4 1999.

5 SEC. 303. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF ‘‘FAST TRACK PROCE6 DURES’’.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The fast track procedures shall

8 not apply to any implementing bill submitted with respect

9 to a trade agreement entered into under this Act if both

10 Houses of the Congress separately agree to a procedural

11 disapproval resolution within any 60-day period.

12 (b) PROCEDURAL DISAPPROVAL RESOLUTION.—A

13 procedural disapproval resolution—

14 (1) in the House of Representatives—

15 (A) shall be introduced by the chairman or

16 ranking Minority Member of the Committee on

17 Ways and Means or the Chairman or ranking

18 Minority Member of the Committee on Rules;

19 (B) shall be jointly referred to the Com20 mittee on Ways and Means and the Committee

21 on Rules; and

22 (C) may not be amended by either commit23 tee; and

24 (2) in the Senate shall be an original resolution

25 of the Committee on Finance.
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1 (c) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.—The provisions of sec2 tion 152 (d) and (e) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.

3 2192 (d) and (e)) (relating to the floor consideration of

4 certain resolutions in the House and Senate) apply to pro5 cedural disapproval resolutions.

6 (d) RESOLUTION MUST BE REPORTED.—It is not in

7 order for the House of Representatives to consider any

8 procedural disapproval resolution not reported by the

9 Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on

10 Rules.

11 (e) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this subsection,

12 the term ‘‘procedural disapproval resolution’’ means a res13 olution of either House of the Congress, the sole matter

14 after the resolving clause of which is as follows: ‘‘That

15 the President has failed or refused to consult with Con16 gress on trade negotiations and the trade agreement in

17 accordance with the provisions of the Western Hemisphere

18 Free Trade Area Act of 1994, and, therefore, the provi19 sions of section 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 shall not

20 apply to any implementing bill submitted with respect to

21 any trade agreement entered into under section 201 of

22 such Act of 1994, if, during the 60-day period beginning

23 on the date on which this resolution is agreed to by the

24 ll, the ll agrees to a procedural disapproval resolu25 tion (within the meaning of section 303(e) of such Act
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1 of 1994).’’, with the first blank space being filled with the

2 name of the resolving House of the Congress and the sec3 ond blank space being filled with the name of the other

4 House of the Congress.

5 (f) LIMITATIONS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The fast track procedures

7 shall not apply to any implementing bill that con8 tains a provision approving a trade agreement which

9 is entered into under section 201 with an eligible

10 country or territory if either—

11 (A) the requirements of section 301(a) are

12 not met with respect to the negotiation of such

13 agreement; or

14 (B) the Committee on Finance of the Sen15 ate or the Committee on Ways and Means of

16 the House of Representatives disapproves of the

17 negotiation of such agreement before the close

18 of the 60-day period which begins on the date

19 notice is provided under section 301(a)(4) with

20 respect to the negotiation of such agreement.

21 (g) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND

22 SENATE.—This section and section 302 are enacted by the

23 Congress—

24 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of

25 the House of Representatives and the Senate, re-
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1 spectively, and as such is deemed a part of the rules

2 of each House, respectively, and such procedures su3 persede other rules only to the extent that they are

4 inconsistent with such other rules; and

5 (2) with the full recognition of the constitu6 tional right of either House to change the rules (so

7 far as relating to the procedures of that House) at

8 any time, in the same manner, and to the same ex9 tent as any other rule of that House.

10 (h) COMPUTATION OF CERTAIN PERIODS OF TIME.—

11 Each period of time described in subsections (a) and (e),

12 and paragraph (2) of this section shall be computed with13 out regard to—

14 (1) the days on which either House of Congress

15 is not in session because of an adjournment of more

16 than 3 days to a day certain or an adjournment of

17 the Congress sine die; and

18 (2) any Saturday and Sunday, not excluded

19 under paragraph (1), when either House of the

20 Congress is not in session.

21 SEC. 304. DEFINITIONS.

22 For purposes of this title:

23 (1) IMPLEMENTING BILL.—The term ‘‘imple24 menting bill’’ has the meaning given such term in
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1 section 151(b)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19

2 U.S.C. 2191(b)(1)).

3 (2) STATE TRADING ENTERPRISE.—The term

4 ‘‘State trading enterprise’’ means—

5 (A) any agency, instrumentality, or admin6 istrative unit of a foreign country which—

7 (i) purchases goods or services in

8 international trade for any purpose other

9 than the use of such goods or services by

10 such agency, instrumentality, administra11 tive unit, or foreign country, or

12 (ii) sells goods or services in inter13 national trade; or

14 (B) any business firm which—

15 (i) is substantially owned or controlled

16 by a foreign country or any agency, instru17 mentality, or administrative unit thereof,

18 (ii) is granted (formally or informally)

19 any special or exclusive privilege by such

20 foreign country, agency, instrumentality,

21 or administrative unit, and

22 (iii) purchases goods or services in

23 international trade for any purpose other

24 than the use of such goods or services by

25 such foreign country, agency, instrumental-
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1 ity, or administrative unit, or which sells

2 goods or services in international trade.

3 TITLE IV—HEMISPHERE TRADE

4 ORGANIZATION

5 SEC. 401. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

6 TRADE ORGANIZATION.

7 (a) POLICY.—In order to facilitate the early conclu8 sion of an agreement to establish a free trade area in the

9 Western Hemisphere, the President should consider the

10 advisability of proposing the creation of a Western Hemi11 sphere Trade Organization as a specialized organization

12 of the Organization of American States and designating

13 the United States Trade Representative as the President’s

14 representative to such organization.

15 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Western Hemi16 sphere Trade Organization shall be—

17 (1) to serve as the locus for negotiations of a

18 free trade area agreement in the Western Hemi19 sphere; and

20 (2) to facilitate the implementation and enforce21 ment of the provisions of such agreement.
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1 TITLE V—AUTHORIZATION OF

2 APPROPRIATIONS

3 SEC. 501. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in fiscal year 1995,

5 and each fiscal year thereafter, there are authorized to be

6 appropriated to the President such sums as may be nec7 essary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

8 (b) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—The President may

9 transfer such amounts of the sums appropriated as the

10 President deems necessary to any agency of the govern11 ment or to any international organization established to

12 facilitate the purposes of this Act.

13 (c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds authorized to

14 be appropriated pursuant to this Act shall remain avail15 able until expended.

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