I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1917 

To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to establish congressional procedures for 

the termination of economically harmful free trade agreements, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 21, 2015 

Mr. LIPINSKI (for himself, Mr. NOLAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. 

DELAURO, Mr. TONKO, Mr. HIGGINS, and Mr. CONYERS) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 

and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to establish congressional 

procedures for the termination of economically harmful 

free trade agreements, 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 ‘‘Truth, Transparency, 

5 Accountability, and Fairness in Trade Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REPORTING. 

2 Section 163(c) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

3 2213(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(c) ITC REPORTS.—The United States Inter5 national Trade Commission and the Secretary of Labor 

6 shall submit to the Congress, not later than February 

7 15th of each year, a joint report on the operation of the 

8 trade agreements program during the preceding calendar 

9 year. The report shall include, with respect to each free 

10 trade agreement in effect on December 31st of the pre11 ceding calendar year, the following: 

12 ‘‘(1)(A) The exports, during the preceding cal13 endar year, from the United States to the other 

14 countries that are parties to the free trade agree15 ment, and the imports, during the preceding cal16 endar year, from those other countries to the United 

17 States, of goods and services covered by the agree18 ment, by volume, by industry sector, by commodity, 

19 and by State, that are attributable to the free trade 

20 agreement or a section, chapter, or other portion of 

21 such trade agreement. 

22 ‘‘(B) A comparison of the export and import 

23 data reported under subparagraph (A) for the pre24 ceding calendar year, with such data for the lesser 

25 of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the period of 4 calendar years ending 

2 on the day before the first day of such pre3 ceding calendar year; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the number of calendar years, occur5 ring before such preceding calendar year, in 

6 which the agreement has been in effect. 

7 ‘‘(2) A comparison of the export and import 

8 data reported under subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

9 with any forecasts made by the United States Trade 

10 Representative, before the implementation of the 

11 free trade agreement, with respect to such export or 

12 import data for the calendar years with respect to 

13 which the data is reported. 

14 ‘‘(3)(A) The number of applications filed, dur15 ing the preceding calendar year, for adjustment as16 sistance for workers and firms under title II of this 

17 Act, the number of such applications that were ap18 proved, and the extent to which adjustment assist19 ance has been provided under such approved applica20 tions, as a result of the free trade agreement, na21 tionwide, in each State, and by industry. 

22 ‘‘(B) A comparison of the data reported under 

23 subparagraph (A) for the preceding calendar year, 

24 with such data for the lesser of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the period of 4 calendar years ending 

2 on the day before the first day of such pre3 ceding calendar year; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the number of calendar years, occur5 ring before such preceding calendar year, in 

6 which the agreement has been in effect.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. TERMINATION OF AGREEMENTS OR PORTIONS 

8 THEREOF. 

9 Section 125 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

10 2135) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(g) TERMINATION OF AGREEMENTS OR PORTIONS

12 THEREOF.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A free trade agreement, or 

14 a section, chapter, or other portion of such trade 

15 agreement in the case of a trade agreement that 

16 provides for the termination of sections, chapters, or 

17 other portions of the trade agreement in accordance 

18 with section 5 of the Truth, Transparency, Account19 ability, and Fairness in Trade Act, shall cease to be 

20 effective with respect to the United States if— 

21 ‘‘(A) annual reports submitted under sec22 tion 163(c) with respect to the trade agreement 

23 show— 

24 ‘‘(i) export disruption, which means 

25 declining exports from the United States 


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1 to, and rising imports into the United 

2 States from, a country that is party to the 

3 trade agreement— 

4 ‘‘(I) in 3 consecutive calendar 

5 years, or 

6 ‘‘(II) in 3 calendar years during 

7 a consecutive 5-calendar year period, 

8 overall or for a specific commodity or in9 dustry, as a result of the free trade agree10 ment, or a section, chapter, or other por11 tion of such trade agreement, as deter12 mined by the Comptroller General of the 

13 United States; 

14 ‘‘(ii) labor disruption, which means an 

15 increase of 5 percent or more in the num16 ber of applications for adjustment assist17 ance for workers and firms under title II 

18 of this Act— 

19 ‘‘(I) in each of 3 consecutive cal20 endar years, or 

21 ‘‘(II) in each of 3 calendar years 

22 during a consecutive 5-calendar year 

23 period, 

24 as a result of the free trade agreement, or 

25 a section, chapter, or other portion of such 


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1 trade agreement, overall or with respect to 

2 a specific good or industry, as determined 

3 by the Comptroller General of the United 

4 States; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) trade balance disruption, which 

6 means an increase of 5 percent or more in 

7 the trade deficit of the United States in 

8 goods with respect to a country that is a 

9 party to the free trade agreement— 

10 ‘‘(I) in each of 3 consecutive cal11 endar years, or 

12 ‘‘(II) in each of 3 calendar years 

13 during a consecutive 5-calendar year 

14 period, 

15 as a result of the free trade agreement, or 

16 a section, chapter, or other portion of such 

17 trade agreement, as determined by the 

18 Comptroller General of the United States; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) a termination bill with respect to 

21 such free trade agreement or a section, chapter, 

22 or other portion of such trade agreement, as 

23 the case may be, relating to export disruption, 

24 labor disruption, or trade balance disruption deVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Apr 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1917.IH H1917

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1 scribed in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of subpara2 graph (A), is enacted into law. 

3 ‘‘(2) TIME LINES.—The Comptroller General 

4 shall, not later than 30 days after any annual report 

5 under section 163(c) is submitted to Congress with 

6 respect to a free trade agreement, make and submit 

7 to Congress a determination of whether or not ex8 port, labor, or trade balance disruption described in 

9 paragraph (1) has occurred with respect to that free 

10 trade agreement. 

11 ‘‘(h) CONGRESSIONAL TERMINATION AUTHORITY

12 AND PROCEDURES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

14 AND SENATE.—This section is enacted by the Con15 gress— 

16 ‘‘(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking 

17 power of the House of Representatives and the 

18 Senate, respectively, and as such they are 

19 deemed a part of the rules of each House, re20 spectively, but applicable only with respect to 

21 the procedure to be followed in that House in 

22 the case of termination bill described in sub23 section (i), and they supersede other rules only 

24 to the extent that they are inconsistent there25 with; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) with full recognition of the constitu2 tional right of either House to change the rules 

3 (so far as relating to that House) at any time, 

4 in the same manner and to the same extent as 

5 in the case of any other rule of that House. 

6 ‘‘(2) INTRODUCTION AND REFERRAL.—A termi7 nation bill introduced in the House or the Senate 

8 with respect to a free trade agreement for which a 

9 determination of export disruption, labor disruption, 

10 or trade balance disruption has been received under 

11 subsection (g)(1) shall be referred by the Presiding 

12 Officers of the respective Houses to the appropriate 

13 committee, or in the case of a bill containing provi14 sions within the jurisdictions of two or more commit15 tees, jointly to such committees for consideration of 

16 those provisions within their jurisdiction. 

17 ‘‘(3) AMENDMENTS PROHIBITED.—No amend18 ment to a termination bill shall be in order in either 

19 the House of Representatives or the Senate; and no 

20 motion to suspend the application of this subsection 

21 shall be in order in either House, nor shall it be in 

22 order in either House for the Presiding Officer to 

23 entertain a request to suspend the application of this 

24 subsection by unanimous consent. 


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1 ‘‘(4) PERIOD FOR COMMITTEE AND FLOOR CON2 SIDERATION.— 

3 ‘‘(A) Except as provided in paragraph (2), 

4 if the committee or committees of either House 

5 to which a termination bill has been referred 

6 have not reported it at the close of the 45th day 

7 after its introduction, such committee or com8 mittees shall be automatically discharged from 

9 further consideration of the termination bill and 

10 it shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. 

11 A vote on final passage of the termination bill 

12 shall be taken in each House on or before the 

13 close of the 15th day after the termination bill 

14 is reported by the committee or committees of 

15 that House to which it was referred, or after 

16 such committee or committees have been dis17 charged from further consideration of the ter18 mination bill. If prior to the passage by one 

19 House of a termination bill of that House, that 

20 House receives the same termination bill from 

21 the other House, then— 

22 ‘‘(i) the procedure in that House shall 

23 be the same as if no termination bill had 

24 been received from the other House; but 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the vote on final passage shall be 

2 on the termination bill of the other House. 

3 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), in 

4 computing a number of days in either House, 

5 there shall be excluded any day on which that 

6 House is not in session. 

7 ‘‘(5) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE OF

8 REPRESENTATIVES.— 

9 ‘‘(A) A motion in the House of Represent10 atives to proceed to the consideration of a ter11 mination bill shall be highly privileged and not 

12 debatable. An amendment to the motion shall 

13 not be in order, nor shall it be in order to move 

14 to reconsider the vote by which the motion is 

15 agreed to or disagreed to. 

16 ‘‘(B) Debate in the House of Representa17 tives on a termination bill be limited to not 

18 more than 20 hours, which shall be divided 

19 equally between those favoring and those oppos20 ing the termination bill. A motion to further 

21 limit debate shall not be debatable. It shall not 

22 be in order to move to recommit a termination 

23 bill or to move to reconsider the vote by which 

24 a termination bill is agreed to or disagreed to. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Motions to postpone, made in the 

2 House of Representatives with respect to the 

3 consideration of a termination bill, and motions 

4 to proceed to the consideration of other busi5 ness, shall be decided without debate. 

6 ‘‘(D) All appeals from the decisions of the 

7 Chair relating to the application of the Rules of 

8 the House of Representatives to the procedure 

9 relating to a termination bill shall be decided 

10 without debate. 

11 ‘‘(E) Except to the extent specifically pro12 vided in the preceding provisions of this sub13 section, consideration of a termination bill shall 

14 be governed by the Rules of the House of Rep15 resentatives applicable to other bills and resolu16 tions in similar circumstances. 

17 ‘‘(6) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN THE SEN18 ATE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) A motion in the Senate to proceed to 

20 the consideration of a termination bill shall be 

21 privileged and not debatable. An amendment to 

22 the motion shall not be in order to move to re23 consider the vote by which the motion is agreed 

24 to or disagreed to. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Debate in the Senate on a termi2 nation bill, and all debatable motions and ap3 peals in connection therewith, shall be limited 

4 to not more than 20 hours. The time shall be 

5 equally divided between, and controlled by, the 

6 majority leader and the minority leader or their 

7 designees. 

8 ‘‘(C) Debate in the Senate on any debat9 able motion or appeal in connection with a ter10 mination bill shall be limited to not more than 

11 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and con12 trolled by, the mover and the manager of the 

13 bill, except that in the event the manager of the 

14 bill is in favor of any such motion or appeal, 

15 the time in opposition thereto shall be con16 trolled by the minority leader or his or her des17 ignee. Such leaders, or either of them, may, 

18 from time under their control on the passage of 

19 a termination bill allot additional time to any 

20 Senator during the consideration of any debat21 able motion or appeal. 

22 ‘‘(D) A motion in the Senate to further 

23 limit debate is not debatable. A motion to re24 commit a termination bill is not in order. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Consideration in the Senate of any 

2 veto message with respect to a termination bill, 

3 including consideration of all debatable motions 

4 and appeals in connection therewith, shall be 

5 limited to 10 hours, to be equally divided be6 tween, and controlled by, the majority leader 

7 and the minority leader or their designee. 

8 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

9 term ‘termination bill’ means only a bill of either House 

10 of Congress that is introduced under subsection (h) with 

11 respect to a free trade agreement, or a section, chapter, 

12 or other portion of such trade agreement, with respect to 

13 which a determination by the Comptroller General of ex14 port disruption, labor disruption, or trade balance disrup15 tion has been received under subsection (g)(1) and that 

16 contains— 

17 ‘‘(1) a provision terminating, within 6 months 

18 after the date of the enactment of the bill, such free 

19 trade agreement, or section, chapter, or other por20 tion of such trade agreement, with respect to specific 

21 goods or industries, to the extent that the deter22 mination of the Comptroller General applies only to 

23 such goods or industries; and 

24 ‘‘(2) if changes in existing laws or new statu25 tory authorities are required to cancel such free 


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1 trade agreement or section, chapter, or other portion 

2 of such trade agreement, and with respect to such 

3 goods or industries, provisions necessary or appro4 priate to terminate such free trade agreement or sec5 tion, chapter, or other portion of such trade agree6 ment, by repealing or amending existing laws or pro7 viding new statutory authority. 

8 ‘‘(j) FUTURE NEGOTIATIONS.—If a termination bill 

9 with respect to a free trade agreement, or a section, chap10 ter, or other portion of such trade agreement, is enacted 

11 into law, then trade authorities procedures, or any other 

12 form of expedited consideration by either House of Con13 gress, shall not apply to a free trade agreement, or section, 

14 chapter, or other portion of such trade agreement, that 

15 is renegotiated in substantially the same form as the free 

16 trade agreement, or section, chapter, or other portion of 

17 such trade agreement, that led to the determination of ex18 port disruption, labor disruption, or trade balance disrup19 tion under subsection (g)(1) with respect to which the ter20 mination bill was enacted.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. RETALIATORY ACTIONS. 

22 Section 301(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 

23 U.S.C. 2411(a)(1)) is amended— 

24 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or’’ after 

25 the semicolon; 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by adding ‘‘or’’ 

2 after the semicolon; and 

3 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(C) a country that is a party to a free 

6 trade agreement with respect to which a termi7 nation bill under section 125(g) has been en8 acted into law has implemented a tariff or non9 tariff barrier by reason of such termination 

10 bill;’’. 

11 SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY REQUIREMENT. 

12 The United States Trade Representative shall ensure 

13 that any free trade agreement entered into on or after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act is negotiated in a form 

15 that provides for the termination with respect to the 

16 United States of specific sections, chapters, or other por17 tions of the agreement. 

Æ 


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