II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2357 

To establish a national goal and mechanism to achieve a trade-balancing 

exchange rate for the United States dollar, to impose a market access 

charge on certain purchases of United States assets, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2019 

Ms. BALDWIN (for herself and Mr. HAWLEY) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To establish a national goal and mechanism to achieve a 

trade-balancing exchange rate for the United States dollar, to impose a market access charge on certain purchases of United States assets, 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 ‘‘Competitive Dollar for 

5 Jobs and Prosperity Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) The strength, vitality, and stability of the 

5 United States economy and, more broadly, the effec6 tiveness of the global trading system are critically 

7 dependent on an international monetary regime of 

8 exchange rates that respond appropriately to elimi9 nate persistent trade surpluses or deficits by adjust10 ing to changes in global trade and capital flows. 

11 (2) In recent decades, the United States dollar 

12 has become persistently overvalued, in relation to its 

13 equilibrium price, because of excessive foreign cap14 ital inflows from both public and private sources. 

15 (3) Countries with persistent trade surpluses 

16 maintain or benefit from undervalued currencies 

17 over a long period of time. As a result, those coun18 tries overproduce, underconsume, and excessively 

19 rely on consumers in countries with persistent trade 

20 deficits for growth. Those countries also export their 

21 unemployment and underemployment to countries 

22 with persistent trade deficits. 

23 (4) Countries with persistent trade deficits, in24 cluding the United States, absorb the overproduction 

25 of countries with persistent trade surpluses, thereby 


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1 reducing domestic wages, manufacturing output and 

2 employment, economic growth, and innovation. 

3 (5) The United States possesses fiscal and 

4 monetary tools to pursue national economic goals for 

5 employment, production, investment, income, price 

6 stability, and productivity. However, exchange rates 

7 that do not adjust to balance international trade can 

8 frustrate the achievement of those goals. The United 

9 States does not have a tool to manage exchange 

10 rates in the national interest. 

11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that— 

13 (1) it is consistent with the obligations of the 

14 United States as a member of the World Trade Or15 ganization and the International Monetary Fund 

16 that the United States use a capital flow manage17 ment tool to move the United States dollar to its 

18 trade-balancing exchange rate; and 

19 (2) it is in the national interest of the United 

20 States to establish exchange rate management tools 

21 to consistently achieve a trade-balancing exchange 

22 rate. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COVERED BUYER.—The term ‘‘covered 

2 buyer’’ means a foreign person or a person located 

3 outside the United States that purchases a United 

4 States asset in a covered transaction. 

5 (2) COVERED TRANSACTION.—The term ‘‘cov6 ered transaction’’ means the purchase or acquisition 

7 by a covered buyer of a United States asset the 

8 value of which exceeds $10,000. 

9 (3) CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE.—The term 

10 ‘‘current account balance’’ means that current ac11 count surpluses or deficits do not exceed an average 

12 of 0.5 percent of the gross domestic product of the 

13 United States in any 5-year period. 

14 (4) DOMESTIC FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The 

15 term ‘‘domestic financial institution’’ has the mean16 ing given that term in section 5312 of title 31, 

17 United States Code. 

18 (5) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ includes— 

19 (A) a corporation, partnership, or limited 

20 liability company; or 

21 (B) a trust or estate. 

22 (6) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per23 son’’ means any individual or entity that is not a 

24 United States person. 


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1 (7) MARKET ACCESS CHARGE.—The term 

2 ‘‘market access charge’’ means the fee imposed 

3 under section 5 with respect to a covered trans4 action. 

5 (8) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in6 dividual or entity. 

7 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of the Treasury. 

9 (10) SECURITY; TRANSFER AGENT.—The terms 

10 ‘‘security’’ and ‘‘transfer agent’’ have the meanings 

11 given those terms in section 3 of the Securities Ex12 change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c). 

13 (11) UNITED STATES ASSET.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

15 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘United States 

16 asset’’ means— 

17 (i) a security, stock, bond, note, swap, 

18 loan, or other financial instrument— 

19 (I) the face value of which is de20 nominated in United States dollars; 

21 (II) that is registered or located 

22 in the United States; or 

23 (III) that is an obligation of a 

24 United States person; 


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1 (ii) real property located in the United 

2 States; 

3 (iii) any ownership interest in an enti4 ty that is a United States person; 

5 (iv) intellectual property owned by a 

6 United States person; and 

7 (v) any other asset class or trans8 action identified by the Board of Governors 

9 of the Federal Reserve as trading in suffi10 cient volume to cause a risk of upward 

11 pressure on the exchange rate of the 

12 United States dollar. 

13 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘‘United 

14 States asset’’ does not include— 

15 (i) a good being exported from the 

16 United States; or 

17 (ii) currency or noninterest bearing 

18 deposits. 

19 (C) CONSIDERATION BY BOARD OF GOV20 ERNORS.—Not less frequently than annually, 

21 the Board of Governors shall consider whether 

22 to identify additional asset classes or trans23 actions under subparagraph (A)(v). 

24 (12) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

25 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 


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1 (A) a citizen or resident of the United 

2 States; or 

3 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

4 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 

5 United States. 

6 SEC. 4. EXCHANGE RATE MANAGEMENT POLICY AND 

7 MECHANISMS. 

8 (a) AMENDMENT TO FEDERAL RESERVE ACT.—Sec9 tion 2A of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 225a) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘the United States exchange 

12 rate and’’ after ‘‘shall maintain’’; and 

13 (2) by inserting ‘‘current account balance (as 

14 defined in section 3 of the Competitive Dollar for 

15 Jobs and Prosperity Act),’’ after ‘‘stable prices,’’. 

16 (b) EXCHANGE RATE MANAGEMENT POLICY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Governors of 

18 the Federal Reserve System shall establish an ex19 change rate management policy to achieve and main20 tain a current account balance. 

21 (2) MECHANISMS.—To achieve a current ac22 count balance as required by paragraph (1), the 

23 Board of Governors— 

24 (A) shall use the market access charge im25 posed under section 5; and 


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1 (B) may engage in foreign exchange inter2 vention. 

3 SEC. 5. MARKET ACCESS CHARGE. 

4 (a) IMPOSITION.—On and after the date that is 180 

5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, there 

6 shall be imposed a market access charge on each covered 

7 buyer in a covered transaction. 

8 (b) CALCULATION OF RATE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Governors of 

10 the Federal Reserve System shall establish and ad11 just the rate of the market access charge at a rate 

12 that— 

13 (A) achieves a current account balance not 

14 later than 5 years after the date of the enact15 ment of this Act; and 

16 (B) maintains a current account balance 

17 thereafter. 

18 (2) EFFECTS OF NONCRISIS MOVEMENTS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara20 graph (B), the Board of Governors may take 

21 into consideration the minimization of disrup22 tive effects on output, employment, interest 

23 rates, and foreign exchange, securities, and 

24 asset markets. 


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1 (B) LIMITATION.—The Board of Gov2 ernors may not adjust the market access charge 

3 in reaction to noncrisis movements in the mar4 kets described in subparagraph (A). 

5 (3) ALTERNATE INITIAL MARKET ACCESS

6 CHARGE.—If, on the date that is 180 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of Gov8 ernors has not established the initial rate for the 

9 market access charge, the initial market access 

10 charge shall be established at the rate of 50 basis 

11 points of the value of a covered transaction. 

12 (c) COLLECTION AND REPORTING.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The market access charge 

14 shall be collected from a covered buyer in a covered 

15 transaction as follows: 

16 (A) In the case of a covered transaction in17 volving a registered security, the transfer agent 

18 shall collect the market access charge. 

19 (B) In the case of a covered transaction 

20 not involving a registered security and through 

21 which a domestic financial institution receives 

22 funds from the covered buyer, the domestic fi23 nancial institution shall collect the market ac24 cess charge. 


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1 (C) In the case of any covered transaction 

2 not described in subparagraph (A) or (B), the 

3 United States person that is the counterparty 

4 to the covered buyer or otherwise receives funds 

5 from the covered buyer pursuant to the covered 

6 transaction shall collect the market access 

7 charge. 

8 (2) TRANSFER TO TREASURY.—At the end of 

9 each month, each person collecting a market access 

10 charge under paragraph (1) shall transfer to the 

11 Secretary the amount of all market access charges 

12 collected by the person during that month in such 

13 manner as the Secretary may prescribe. 

14 (3) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall require 

15 each person collecting a market access charge under 

16 paragraph (1) with respect to a covered transaction 

17 to keep records and file reports with the Secretary 

18 that include, in the manner and to the extent the 

19 Secretary prescribes— 

20 (A) the identity and address of partici21 pants in the transaction; 

22 (B) a description of the legal capacity in 

23 which each participant in the transaction is act24 ing; 

25 (C) the identity of real parties in interest; 


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1 (D) a description of the transaction, in2 cluding the nature of the United States asset 

3 involved and the price paid; 

4 (E) the amount of the market access 

5 charge collected and the amount retained as a 

6 service fee pursuant to paragraph (4); and 

7 (F) such other information as the Sec8 retary may prescribe. 

9 (4) SERVICE FEE.—A person collecting a mar10 ket access charge under paragraph (1) may retain, 

11 from the amount of the market access charge col12 lected, a service fee, in an amount prescribed by the 

13 Secretary, to compensate the person for the adminis14 trative costs of collecting the market access charge. 

15 (5) PENALTIES.— 

16 (A) TRANSFER AGENTS.—A transfer agent 

17 that violates the requirements of this subsection 

18 shall be subject to a penalty under section 32 

19 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 

20 U.S.C. 78ff) to the same extent as if that agent 

21 violated a provision of that Act. 

22 (B) DOMESTIC FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

23 AND OTHER UNITED STATES PERSONS.—A do24 mestic financial institution or other United 

25 States person that violates the requirements of 


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1 this subsection shall be subject to a penalty 

2 under section 5321(a)(1) or 5322(a) of title 31, 

3 United States Code, to the same extent as if 

4 that institution violated a provision of sub5 chapter II of chapter 53 of that title. 

6 (d) DEPOSIT IN TREASURY.—The Secretary shall de7 posit all amounts received under subsection (c)(2) into the 

8 general fund of the Treasury. 

9 SEC. 6. REGULATIONS. 

10 The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as are 

11 necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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