I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4291

To provide for the multilateral negotiation of Western Hemisphere environmental, labor, and agricultural standards, to implement as United States

negotiating objectives in any free trade area negotiations pursuant to

the Free Trade Agreement for the Americas certain threshold protections

regarding enforceable worker rights, agricultural standards, and environmental quality, and to implement a corresponding, comprehensive multilateral dispute resolution mechanism to investigate, adjudicate, and

render binding, enforceable judgments against any unfair trade practices

arising within the Western Hemisphere free trade area, including those

involving the systematic denial or practical nullification of certain threshold protections of worker rights, agricultural standards, and environmental quality.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 28, 1996

Mr. BROWN of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to

the Committee on Ways and Means

A BILL

To provide for the multilateral negotiation of Western Hemisphere environmental, labor, and agricultural standards,

to implement as United States negotiating objectives in

any free trade area negotiations pursuant to the Free

Trade Agreement for the Americas certain threshold protections regarding enforceable worker rights, agricultural

standards, and environmental quality, and to implement

a corresponding, comprehensive multilateral dispute reso-
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lution mechanism to investigate, adjudicate, and render

binding, enforceable judgments against any unfair trade

practices arising within the Western Hemisphere free

trade area, including those involving the systematic denial or practical nullification of certain threshold protections of worker rights, agricultural standards, and environmental quality.

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 ‘‘Fair International

5 Standards in Trade for the Americas Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. PRINCIPAL NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES OF THE

7 UNITED STATES.

8 The purposes, policies, and objectives that are appli9 cable with respect to any free-trade area trade agreement

10 negotiated under the authority of such title I in further11 ance of the Free Trade Agreement for the Americas, as

12 proposed at the Summit of the Americas that was held

13 in December, 1994, in Miami, Florida with any country

14 in the Western Hemisphere outside North America (here15 after in this Act referred to as the ‘‘FTAA’’) include the

16 achievement of the overall and principal trade negotiating

17 objectives of the United States set forth in section 1101

18 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988,

19 and the following principal negotiating objectives:
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1 (1) WORKER RIGHTS AND STANDARDS AND

2 PROTECTION.—With a view to establishing open, ex3 panding, mutually beneficial trade among the coun4 tries of the Western Hemisphere, to spreading the

5 benefits of such trade as widely as possible, to pro6 tecting citizens interests, and to enhancing respect

7 for human rights throughout the Western Hemi8 sphere, the principal negotiating objectives of the

9 United States with respect to worker rights and

10 standards, and the protection thereof, in the conduct

11 of international trade, commerce, and finance are—

12 (A) to ensure freedom of association and

13 to affirm the vital role that free and independ14 ent unions play in democratic governance;

15 (B) to ensure the rights of working people

16 to organize, to bargain collectively, and to

17 strike, and to ensure the right of workers’ rep18 resentatives to legal protection in the free exer19 cise of their duties and fundamental human

20 rights;

21 (C) to establish a minimum age for the

22 employment of children at 14 years if the em23 ployment will not result in the neglect of their

24 education and will not harm their health and

25 well-being;
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1 (D) to ensure the right to health at the

2 workplace and to a healthy working environ3 ment, including freedom from exposure to toxic

4 substances;

5 (E) to guarantee the right of all workers to

6 equal protection, including freedom from dis7 crimination in wages or working conditions, re8 gardless of their nationality, race, religion, age,

9 or sex; and

10 (F) to guarantee humane standards of

11 wages and hours of work that take into account

12 different levels of national economic develop13 ment, but provide for improvement concurrently

14 with gains in productivity.

15 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND PROTEC16 TION.—In recognition of the shared responsibility of

17 the countries of the Western Hemisphere as stew18 ards responsible for, and their common interest in,

19 preserving and sustaining the Western Hemisphere’s

20 natural habitat and resources over time, the prin21 cipal negotiating objectives of the United States with

22 respect to environmental quality and protection

23 are—

24 (A) the protection of environmental quality

25 and of the integrity of ecosystems, as well as
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1 the maintenance of scarce biological and phys2 ical resources, in the conduct of international

3 trade, commerce, and finance;

4 (B) the establishment of a process for the

5 full and public disclosure of the kinds, quan6 tities, and risks associated with toxic chemical

7 and hazardous substance discharges into the

8 air, water, and land;

9 (C) the prevention of the export of toxic

10 and hazardous substances and products, such

11 as carcinogens and unsafe drugs, that are

12 banned in the country of origin;

13 (D) the prevention of the export of prod14 ucts (except to the extent of remediation or re15 patriation contracts that already exist) manu16 factured, extracted, harvested, or grown under

17 environmental conditions or workplace safety

18 and health conditions that undermine counter19 part standards, particularly those applicable to

20 the counterpart industry in the importing coun21 try or the counterpart standards, in general, in

22 the importing country; and

23 (E) to require that industries within their

24 national borders reduce the amount and toxicity

25 of hazardous substances that they use, mini-
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1 mize the amount and toxicity of wastes they

2 generate, and demonstrate publicly their use of

3 best available technology for pollution abate4 ment in their production processes.

5 (3) UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES.—In acknowl6 edging different, evolving comparative advantages

7 among trading nations, but with a view to distin8 guishing between acceptable and unacceptable means

9 of competition among trading nations, the principal

10 negotiating objectives of the United States with re11 spect to unfair trade practices shall include the

12 adoption, as a principle, and in enforcement action

13 that the systematic denial or practical nullification

14 of the protections accorded worker rights and stand15 ards and environmental quality (within the context

16 of paragraphs (1) and (2)) as a means for any coun17 try or its industries to gain competitive advantage

18 in international trade, commerce, and finance is an

19 actionable unfair trade practice.

20 (4) COMPREHENSIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—

21 The principal negotiating objectives of the United

22 States are to achieve a process for the settlement of

23 disputes that arise between or among the signatories

24 with respect to unfair trade practices, including not

25 only those involving commonly identified unfair
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1 trade barriers, but unfair practices, within the con2 text of the negotiating objectives listed in para3 graphs (1), (2), and (3) involving the systematic de4 nial or practical nullification of worker rights and

5 standards and failure to apply or enforce standards

6 relating to environmental quality or protection, re7 sulting in distortions to international trade, com8 merce, and finance. Such a process shall include—

9 (A) notification by each signatory nation to

10 the other signatories regarding changes in law

11 or practice that will materially affect the agree12 ment;

13 (B) provision, on a sequential basis and

14 subject to reasonable time limits, for consulta15 tion between or among signatories, for medi16 ation, and, if necessary, for binding arbitration;

17 (C) the establishment of a multilateral

18 commission, with authority to investigate, adju19 dicate, issue binding judgments, and take en20 forcement action, in a timely manner regarding

21 the issues in dispute pursuant to subparagraph

22 (B)—

23 (i) that consists of equal numbers of

24 experts from the signatory nations (with

25 United States experts being subject to the
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1 advice and consent of the United States

2 Senate), and

3 (ii) the chairmanship of which will be

4 filled by individuals who—

5 (I) are citizens of the respective

6 signatories,

7 (II) serve on a rotational basis

8 among the signatories for 2-year

9 terms, except that no individual may

10 serve in such office for more than one

11 term, and

12 (III) are appointed to such office

13 by the respective chief executive offi14 cers of the signatories (and any chair15 person appointed from the United

16 States is subject to the advice and

17 consent of the United States);

18 (D) provision for the multilateral commis19 sion, in its proceedings and deliberations, to

20 consult with a wide array of representative or21 ganizations, in addition to government agencies,

22 with expertise in labor, environmental, agricul23 tural, and scientific matters in each of the sig24 natory nations;
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1 (E) provision for the multilateral commis2 sion to enforce its judgments, as appropriate,

3 by authorizing an aggrieved signatory nation

4 to—

5 (i) suspend, withdraw, or prevent the

6 application of the benefits of trade agree7 ment concessions to carry out any trade

8 agreement entered into pursuant to the

9 FTAA with the offending signatory nation,

10 (ii) impose proportionate duties on

11 specific products, companies, or industries,

12 or other offsetting import restrictions on

13 the goods of, and offsetting fees or restric14 tions on the services of, the offending sig15 natory nation for such time as the multi16 lateral commission determines, or

17 (iii) enter into binding agreements

18 with the offending signatory nation that

19 commit such nation to—

20 (I) eliminate, or phase out, the

21 act, policy, or practice that constitutes

22 an unfair trade practice and that is

23 the subject of the action to be taken

24 under clause (i) or (ii),
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1 (II) eliminate any burden or re2 striction on Western Hemisphere

3 trade, as defined in the FTAA, result4 ing from such unfair trade practice,

5 (III) provide the aggrieved signa6 tory nation with compensatory trade

7 benefits that are satisfactory to the

8 multilateral commission and meet the

9 requirements of subparagraph (F), or

10 (IV) enter into debt-for-science

11 exchanges, or similar arrangements,

12 as appropriate, that are satisfactory

13 to the multilateral commission and

14 that serve, as potential funding

15 sources for remedies recommended

16 under paragraph (5), to ameliorate

17 the issues in dispute pursuant to sub18 paragraph (B);

19 (F) provision that any binding agreement

20 described in subparagraph (E)(iii)(III) provide

21 compensatory trade benefits (including, but not

22 limited to, appropriate fees on trans-border

23 movements of products, services, or capital)

24 that benefit the economic sector which includes

25 the domestic industry in the aggrieved signatory
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1 nation that would benefit from the elimination

2 of the act, policy, or practice that constitutes an

3 unfair trade practice and that is the subject of

4 the action to be taken under subparagraph (E),

5 or benefit the economic sector within the ag6 grieved signatory nation as closely related as

7 possible to such sector, unless—

8 (i) the provision of such trade benefits

9 is not feasible, or

10 (ii) trade benefits that benefit any

11 other economic sector within the aggrieved

12 signatory nation would be clearly and sub13 stantially more satisfactory than such

14 trade benefits;

15 (G) provision for the multilateral commis16 sion, in taking action against unfair trade prac17 tices, as defined in the FTAA, to avoid dimin18 ishing higher protections accorded worker rights

19 and standards and environmental quality and

20 protection and to give preference to the prompt

21 elimination of the act, policy, or practice at

22 issue over—

23 (i) the imposition of duties or other

24 offsetting import restrictions or compen25 satory trade benefits, or
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1 (ii) the entering into of debt relief ar2 rangements described in subparagraph

3 (E)(iii)(IV);

4 (H) provision for the government of any

5 signatory nation or any informed person within

6 a signatory nation to file a petition requesting

7 the multilateral commission to take action

8 under subparagraph (E) against any unfair

9 trade practice, including the systematic denial

10 or practical nullification of worker rights and

11 standards and failure to apply or enforce stand12 ards relating to environmental quality or pro13 tection (referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2)),

14 and setting forth the allegations in support of

15 the request in public hearings and written testi16 mony; and

17 (I) provision for the proceedings, record,

18 and decisions (along with the supporting ration19 ale) of the multilateral commission to be made

20 public information.

21 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—In the event of the establish23 ment of a multilateral Commission described in paragraph

24 (4) of section 2, the Director of the Office of Science and

25 Technology Policy shall establish, through the Federal Co-
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1 ordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Tech2 nology, an interagency committee to provide technical as3 sistance, advice, and recommendations to United States

4 experts on the multilateral commission. The interagency

5 committee shall include one representative from each of

6 the following agencies:

7 (1) The National Science Foundation.

8 (2) The Environmental Protection Agency.

9 (3) Department of Labor.

10 (4) The Department of the Interior.

11 (5) The Department of Agriculture.

12 (6) The Department of Energy.

13 (7) The National Institute of Standards and

14 Technology.

15 (8) The Department of Justice.

16 (b) SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS.—In addition to the gen17 eral functions referred to in subsection (a), the inter18 agency committee established under such subsection shall

19 evaluate the scientific and technological aspects of certain

20 disputes brought before the multilateral commission that

21 pertain to environmental quality and protection and to

22 workplace safety and health, and shall determine if viola23 tions related to the disputes reflect—
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1 (1) inadequate or insufficient application of

2 known technologies and techniques for mitigation of

3 the violations, or

4 (2) need for additional research on, and the de5 velopment of, new technologies and techniques for

6 mitigation of the violations.

7 Consistent with paragraph (4)(G) of section 2, and after

8 consultations with State and local government officials

9 and a wide array of representative organizations with ex10 pertise in environmental, labor, agricultural, and scientific

11 matters, the interagency committee shall recommend to

12 the United States experts on the multilateral commission,

13 when appropriate, specific technological remedies to elimi14 nate violations or further research that is needed to de15 velop scientific and technological remedies.

16 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR FUTURE TRADE AGREEMENTS

17 PURSUANT TO THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

18 FOR THE AMERICAS AND ANY INTERIM

19 AGREEMENTS.

20 The authority of the President to enter into any trade

21 agreement under subsection (b) or (c) of section 1102 of

22 the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19

23 U.S.C. 2902) after January 1, 1995, or other authority

24 provided by statute to enter into trade agreements de25 scribed in such subsections, may be exercised only if the
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1 trade agreement contains provisions that require each

2 party to the agreement to—

3 (1) adopt and enforce laws to afford to workers

4 in that country (including any designated zone in

5 that country) worker rights and standards described

6 in paragraph (1) of section 2;

7 (2) adopt and enforce laws to promote respect

8 for environmental quality and protection in that

9 country (including any designated zone in that coun10 try) described in paragraph (2) of section 2;

11 (3) treat as actionable unfair trade practices

12 the systematic or practical nullification of the pro13 tection accorded worker rights and standards and

14 environmental quality (within the context of para15 graphs (1) and (2) of section 2) as a means for any

16 country or its industries to gain competitive advan17 tage in international trade, commerce, or finance;

18 and

19 (4) comply with the procedures, binding rulings,

20 and enforcement actions of the dispute resolution

21 mechanism developed pursuant to paragraph (4) of

22 section 2.

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