I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1278 

To establish the position of Trade Enforcement Officer and a Trade Enforcement Division in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, 

to require identification of trade enforcement priorities, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 1, 2007 

Mr. CAMP of Michigan (for himself and Mrs. JONES of Ohio) introduced the 

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

A BILL 

To establish the position of Trade Enforcement Officer and 

a Trade Enforcement Division in the Office of the United 

States Trade Representative, to require identification of 

trade enforcement priorities, 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 ‘‘Trade Prosecutor 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF TRADE ENFORCEMENT DIVI2 SION AND POSITION OF TRADE ENFORCE3 MENT OFFICER. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Chapter 4 of title I of the 

5 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2171) is amended by add6 ing at the end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 142. TRADE ENFORCEMENT DIVISION AND TRADE EN8 FORCEMENT OFFICER. 

9 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRADE ENFORCEMENT DI10 VISION.—There is established within the Office of the 

11 United States Trade Representative a Trade Enforcement 

12 Division (in this section referred to as the ‘Division’). 

13 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITION OF TRADE EN14 FORCEMENT OFFICER.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Division shall be head16 ed by a Trade Enforcement Officer. 

17 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT AND NOMINATION.—The 

18 Trade Enforcement Officer shall be appointed by the 

19 President, by and with the advice and consent of the 

20 Senate. As an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

21 the Senate, any nomination of the Trade Enforce22 ment Officer submitted to the Senate for its advice 

23 and consent, and referred to a committee, shall be 

24 referred to the Committee on Finance. 


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1 ‘‘(3) RANK.—The Trade Enforcement Officer 

2 shall hold office at the pleasure of the President and 

3 shall have the rank of Ambassador. 

4 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS OF TRADE ENFORCEMENT OFFI5 CER.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PRINCIPAL FUNCTION.—The principal 

7 function of the Trade Enforcement Officer shall be 

8 to ensure that United States trading partners com9 ply with trade agreements to which the United 

10 States is a party. 

11 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS.—The Trade En12 forcement Officer shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) assist the United States Trade Rep14 resentative in investigating and prosecuting dis15 putes before the World Trade Organization and 

16 pursuant to other trade agreements to which 

17 the United States is a party; 

18 ‘‘(B) assist the United States Trade Rep19 resentative in carrying out the United States 

20 Trade Representative’s functions under section 

21 141(d); 

22 ‘‘(C) make recommendations with respect 

23 to the administration of United States trade 

24 laws relating to foreign government barriers to 


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1 United States goods, services, and intellectual 

2 property, and other trade matters; and 

3 ‘‘(D) perform such other functions as the 

4 United States Trade Representative may direct. 

5 ‘‘(d) OFFICE OF TRADE ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL

6 BUSINESSES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

8 within the Division the Office of Trade Assistance 

9 for Small Businesses. 

10 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS.—The Office of Trade Assist11 ance for Small Businesses shall provide technical 

12 and legal assistance and advice to eligible small busi13 nesses to enable such small businesses to prepare 

14 and file petitions (other than those that, in the opin15 ion of the Office of Trade Assistance for Small Busi16 nesses, are frivolous) under section 302. 

17 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE SMALL BUSINESS DEFINED.— 

18 The term ‘‘eligible small business’’ means any busi19 ness concern that, in the judgment of the Office of 

20 Trade Assistance for Small Businesses, due to its 

21 small size, has neither adequate internal resources 

22 nor financial ability to obtain qualified outside as23 sistance in preparing and filing petitions and com24 plaints under section 302. In determining whether a 

25 business concern is an ‘‘eligible small business,’’ the 


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1 Office of Trade Assistance for Small Businesses may 

2 consult with the Administrator of the Small Busi3 ness Administration and the heads of other appro4 priate Federal departments and agencies. 

5 ‘‘(e) STUDY AND REPORT ON NONTARIFF BARRIERS

6 TO MARKET ACCESS.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this section and annually there8 after, the Trade Enforcement Officer shall report to the 

9 Committee on Finance of the Senate, the Committee on 

10 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, 

11 and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

12 Representatives on nontariff barriers affecting market ac13 cess for United States companies in any other country 

14 with respect to which the United States has entered into 

15 a trade agreement or is negotiating a trade agreement.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con17 tents for the Trade Act of 1974 is amended by inserting 

18 after the item relating to section 141 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 142. Trade Enforcement Division and Trade Enforcement Officer.’’. 

19 (c) COMPENSATION FOR TRADE ENFORCEMENT OF20 FICER.—Section 5314 of title 5, United States Code, is 

21 amended by inserting ‘‘Trade Enforcement Officer.’’ as a 

22 new item after ‘‘Chief Agricultural Negotiator.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. IDENTIFICATION OF TRADE ENFORCEMENT PRIOR2 ITIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Trade Act of 1974 

4 (19 U.S.C. 2411 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 311. IDENTIFICATION OF TRADE ENFORCEMENT PRI7 ORITIES. 

8 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION AND ANNUAL REPORT.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 75 days 

10 after the submission of the report required by sec11 tion 181(b), the Trade Representative shall annu12 ally— 

13 ‘‘(A) identify United States trade enforce14 ment priorities; 

15 ‘‘(B) identify enforcement actions that the 

16 Trade Representative has taken during the pre17 vious year and review the impact such enforce18 ment actions have had on foreign trade bar19 riers; 

20 ‘‘(C) identify priority foreign country trade 

21 practices on which the Trade Representative 

22 will focus enforcement efforts; 

23 ‘‘(D) submit to the Committee on Finance 

24 of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and 

25 Means of the House of Representatives a report 


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1 on the priorities, actions, and practices identi2 fied in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C); and 

3 ‘‘(E) publish the report required by sub4 paragraph (D) in the Federal Register. 

5 ‘‘(2) FACTORS TO CONSIDER.—In identifying 

6 priority foreign country trade practices under para7 graph (1)(C), the Trade Representative shall focus 

8 on the practices the elimination of which the Trade 

9 Representative determines will have the most poten10 tial to increase United States economic growth, ei11 ther directly or through the establishment of a bene12 ficial precedent. The Trade Representative shall take 

13 into account all relevant factors, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) the major barriers and trade dis15 torting practices described in the most recent 

16 available report submitted under section 181(b); 

17 ‘‘(B) the findings and practices described 

18 in the most recent available report required 

19 under— 

20 ‘‘(i) section 182; 

21 ‘‘(ii) section 1377 of the Omnibus 

22 Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 

23 (19 U.S.C. 3106); 


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1 ‘‘(iii) section 3005 of the Omnibus 

2 Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 

3 (22 U.S.C. 5305); 

4 ‘‘(iv) section 421 of the U.S.–China 

5 Relations Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 6951); 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(v) any other report prepared by the 

8 Trade Representative or any other agency 

9 relating to international trade and invest10 ment; 

11 ‘‘(C) the trade agreements to which a for12 eign country is a party and the compliance of 

13 the foreign country with such agreements; 

14 ‘‘(D) the medium- and long-term implica15 tions of foreign government procurement plans; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(E) the international competitive position 

18 and export potential of United States products 

19 and services. 

20 ‘‘(3) OTHER ITEMS IN REPORT.—The Trade 

21 Representative may include in the report required by 

22 paragraph (1)(D) a description of foreign country 

23 trade practices that may in the future warrant iden24 tification as priority foreign country trade practices. 


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1 ‘‘(4) PRIORITIES NOT IDENTIFIED.—If the 

2 Trade Representative does not identify a priority 

3 foreign country trade practice in the report required 

4 by paragraph (1)(D), the Trade Representative shall 

5 set out in detail in such report the reasons for fail6 ing to do so. 

7 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days 

9 after the submission of the report required by sec10 tion 181(b), the Trade Representative shall consult 

11 with the Committee on Finance of the Senate and 

12 the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

13 Representatives with respect to the priorities, ac14 tions, and practices to be identified in the report re15 quired by subsection (a)(1)(D). 

16 ‘‘(2) VOTE OF COMMITTEE.—If, as a result of 

17 the consultations described in paragraph (1), either 

18 the Committee on Finance of the Senate or the 

19 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

20 Representatives requests identification of a priority 

21 foreign country trade practice by majority vote, the 

22 Trade Representative shall include such identifica23 tion in the report required by subsection (a)(1)(D). 

24 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION NOT TO INCLUDE PRI25 ORITY FOREIGN COUNTRY TRADE PRACTICES.—The 


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1 Trade Representative may determine not to include 

2 the identification of a priority foreign country trade 

3 practice requested under paragraph (2) in the report 

4 required by subsection (a)(1)(D) only if— 

5 ‘‘(A) the Trade Representative finds 

6 that— 

7 ‘‘(i) such practice is already being ad8 dressed— 

9 ‘‘(I) under provisions of United 

10 States trade law; 

11 ‘‘(II) under the Uruguay Round 

12 Agreements (as defined in section 

13 2(7) of the Uruguay Round Agree14 ments Act (19 U.S.C. 3501(7))); 

15 ‘‘(III) under any bilateral or re16 gional trade agreement; or 

17 ‘‘(IV) as part of trade negotia18 tions with the foreign country or other 

19 countries engaging in such practice; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(ii) progress is being made toward 

22 the elimination of such practice; or 

23 ‘‘(B) the Trade Representative finds that 

24 identification of such practice as a priority forVerDate Aug 31 2005 16:54 Mar 03, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1278.IH H1278

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1 eign country trade practice would be contrary 

2 to the interests of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(4) REASONS FOR DETERMINATION.—In the 

4 case of a determination made pursuant to paragraph 

5 (3), the Trade Representative shall set forth in de6 tail the reasons for that determination in the report 

7 required by subsection (a)(1)(D). 

8 ‘‘(c) INVESTIGATION AND RESOLUTION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon submission of the re10 port required by subsection (a)(1)(D), the Trade 

11 Representative shall, with respect to any priority for12 eign country trade practice identified, seek satisfac13 tory resolution with the country or countries engag14 ing in such practice under the auspices of the World 

15 Trade Organization, pursuant to a bilateral or re16 gional trade agreement to which the United States 

17 is a party, or by any other means. A satisfactory 

18 resolution may include elimination of the practice or, 

19 if not feasible, providing for compensatory trade 

20 benefits. 

21 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATIONS; INVESTIGATIONS.—Not 

22 later than 120 days after the transmission of the re23 port required by subsection (a)(1)(D), the Trade 

24 Representative shall, with respect to any priority for25 eign country trade practice identified— 


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1 ‘‘(A) initiate dispute settlement consulta2 tions in the World Trade Organization; 

3 ‘‘(B) initiate dispute settlement consulta4 tions under the applicable provisions of any bi5 lateral or regional trade agreement to which the 

6 United States is a party; 

7 ‘‘(C) initiate an investigation under section 

8 302(b); 

9 ‘‘(D) seek to negotiate an agreement that 

10 provides for the elimination of the priority for11 eign country trade practice or, if elimination of 

12 the practice is not feasible, an agreement that 

13 provides for compensatory trade benefits; or 

14 ‘‘(E) take any other action necessary to 

15 eliminate the priority foreign country trade 

16 practice. 

17 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—On the day on which the Trade 

18 Representative takes action under subparagraph (E) 

19 of paragraph (2), the Trade Representative shall 

20 submit to Congress a report— 

21 ‘‘(A) describing the action taken under 

22 subparagraph (E) of paragraph (2) and the 

23 reasons for taking the action; and 

24 ‘‘(B) stating in detail the reasons the 

25 Trade Representative did not take action under 


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1 subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph 

2 (2). 

3 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL REPORTING.—The Trade Rep4 resentative shall report to the Committee on Finance of 

5 the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

6 House of Representatives not later than 6 months after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act and every 6 months 

8 thereafter on— 

9 ‘‘(1) the progress being made to realize the 

10 trade enforcement priorities identified in subsection 

11 (a)(1)(A); and 

12 ‘‘(2) the steps being taken to address the pri13 ority foreign country trade practices identified in 

14 subsection (a)(1)(C).’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con16 tents of the Trade Act of 1974 is amended by inserting 

17 after the item relating to section 310 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 311. Identification of trade enforcement priorities.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

20 as may be necessary to carry out this Act for each fiscal 

21 year. 

Æ 


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