II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 995 

To establish congressional trade negotiating objectives and enhanced consultation requirements for trade negotiations, to provide for consideration 

of trade agreements, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 16, 2015 

Mr. HATCH (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To establish congressional trade negotiating objectives and 

enhanced consultation requirements for trade negotiations, to provide for consideration of 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 ‘‘Bipartisan Congres5 sional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TRADE NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES. 

7 (a) OVERALL TRADE NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES.— 

8 The overall trade negotiating objectives of the United 


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1 States for agreements subject to the provisions of section 

2 3 are— 

3 (1) to obtain more open, equitable, and recip4 rocal market access; 

5 (2) to obtain the reduction or elimination of 

6 barriers and distortions that are directly related to 

7 trade and investment and that decrease market op8 portunities for United States exports or otherwise 

9 distort United States trade; 

10 (3) to further strengthen the system of inter11 national trade and investment disciplines and proce12 dures, including dispute settlement; 

13 (4) to foster economic growth, raise living 

14 standards, enhance the competitiveness of the 

15 United States, promote full employment in the 

16 United States, and enhance the global economy; 

17 (5) to ensure that trade and environmental poli18 cies are mutually supportive and to seek to protect 

19 and preserve the environment and enhance the inter20 national means of doing so, while optimizing the use 

21 of the world’s resources; 

22 (6) to promote respect for worker rights and 

23 the rights of children consistent with core labor 

24 standards of the ILO (as set out in section 11(7)) 


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1 and an understanding of the relationship between 

2 trade and worker rights; 

3 (7) to seek provisions in trade agreements 

4 under which parties to those agreements ensure that 

5 they do not weaken or reduce the protections af6 forded in domestic environmental and labor laws as 

7 an encouragement for trade; 

8 (8) to ensure that trade agreements afford 

9 small businesses equal access to international mar10 kets, equitable trade benefits, and expanded export 

11 market opportunities, and provide for the reduction 

12 or elimination of trade and investment barriers that 

13 disproportionately impact small businesses; 

14 (9) to promote universal ratification and full 

15 compliance with ILO Convention No. 182 Con16 cerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for 

17 the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor; 

18 (10) to ensure that trade agreements reflect 

19 and facilitate the increasingly interrelated, multi-sec20 toral nature of trade and investment activity; 

21 (11) to ensure implementation of trade commit22 ments and obligations by strengthening good govern23 ance, transparency, the effective operation of legal 

24 regimes and the rule of law of trading partners of 

25 the United States through capacity building and 


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1 other appropriate means, which are important parts 

2 of the broader effort to create more open democratic 

3 societies and to promote respect for internationally 

4 recognized human rights; 

5 (12) to recognize the growing significance of 

6 the Internet as a trading platform in international 

7 commerce; and 

8 (13) to take into account other legitimate 

9 United States domestic objectives, including, but not 

10 limited to, the protection of legitimate health or 

11 safety, essential security, and consumer interests 

12 and the law and regulations related thereto. 

13 (b) PRINCIPAL TRADE NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES.— 

14 (1) TRADE IN GOODS.—The principal negoti15 ating objectives of the United States regarding trade 

16 in goods are— 

17 (A) to expand competitive market opportu18 nities for exports of goods from the United 

19 States and to obtain fairer and more open con20 ditions of trade, including through the utiliza21 tion of global value chains, by reducing or elimi22 nating tariff and nontariff barriers and policies 

23 and practices of foreign governments directly 

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1 nities for United States exports or otherwise 

2 distort United States trade; and 

3 (B) to obtain reciprocal tariff and non4 tariff barrier elimination agreements, including 

5 with respect to those tariff categories covered in 

6 section 111(b) of the Uruguay Round Agree7 ments Act (19 U.S.C. 3521(b)). 

8 (2) TRADE IN SERVICES.—(A) The principal 

9 negotiating objective of the United States regarding 

10 trade in services is to expand competitive market op11 portunities for United States services and to obtain 

12 fairer and more open conditions of trade, including 

13 through utilization of global value chains, by reduc14 ing or eliminating barriers to international trade in 

15 services, such as regulatory and other barriers that 

16 deny national treatment and market access or un17 reasonably restrict the establishment or operations 

18 of service suppliers. 

19 (B) Recognizing that expansion of trade in 

20 services generates benefits for all sectors of the 

21 economy and facilitates trade, the objective described 

22 in subparagraph (A) should be pursued through all 

23 means, including through a plurilateral agreement 

24 with those countries willing and able to undertake 


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1 high standard services commitments for both exist2 ing and new services. 

3 (3) TRADE IN AGRICULTURE.—The principal 

4 negotiating objective of the United States with re5 spect to agriculture is to obtain competitive opportu6 nities for United States exports of agricultural com7 modities in foreign markets substantially equivalent 

8 to the competitive opportunities afforded foreign ex9 ports in United States markets and to achieve fairer 

10 and more open conditions of trade in bulk, specialty 

11 crop, and value added commodities by— 

12 (A) securing more open and equitable mar13 ket access through robust rules on sanitary and 

14 phytosanitary measures that— 

15 (i) encourage the adoption of inter16 national standards and require a science17 based justification be provided for a sani18 tary or phytosanitary measure if the meas19 ure is more restrictive than the applicable 

20 international standard; 

21 (ii) improve regulatory coherence, pro22 mote the use of systems-based approaches, 

23 and appropriately recognize the equivalence 

24 of health and safety protection systems of 

25 exporting countries; 


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1 (iii) require that measures are trans2 parently developed and implemented, are 

3 based on risk assessments that take into 

4 account relevant international guidelines 

5 and scientific data, and are not more re6 strictive on trade than necessary to meet 

7 the intended purpose; and 

8 (iv) improve import check processes, 

9 including testing methodologies and proce10 dures, and certification requirements, 

11 while recognizing that countries may put in 

12 place measures to protect human, animal, or 

13 plant life or health in a manner consistent with 

14 their international obligations, including the 

15 WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary 

16 and Phytosanitary Measures (referred to in sec17 tion 101(d)(3) of the Uruguay Round Agree18 ments Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(3))); 

19 (B) reducing or eliminating, by a date cer20 tain, tariffs or other charges that decrease mar21 ket opportunities for United States exports— 

22 (i) giving priority to those products 

23 that are subject to significantly higher tar24 iffs or subsidy regimes of major producing 

25 countries; and 


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1 (ii) providing reasonable adjustment 

2 periods for United States import sensitive 

3 products, in close consultation with Con4 gress on such products before initiating 

5 tariff reduction negotiations; 

6 (C) reducing tariffs to levels that are the 

7 same as or lower than those in the United 

8 States; 

9 (D) reducing or eliminating subsidies that 

10 decrease market opportunities for United States 

11 exports or unfairly distort agriculture markets 

12 to the detriment of the United States; 

13 (E) allowing the preservation of programs 

14 that support family farms and rural commu15 nities but do not distort trade; 

16 (F) developing disciplines for domestic sup17 port programs, so that production that is in ex18 cess of domestic food security needs is sold at 

19 world prices; 

20 (G) eliminating government policies that 

21 create price depressing surpluses; 

22 (H) eliminating state trading enterprises 

23 whenever possible; 

24 (I) developing, strengthening, and clari25 fying rules to eliminate practices that unfairly 


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1 decrease United States market access opportu2 nities or distort agricultural markets to the det3 riment of the United States, and ensuring that 

4 such rules are subject to efficient, timely, and 

5 effective dispute settlement, including— 

6 (i) unfair or trade distorting activities 

7 of state trading enterprises and other ad8 ministrative mechanisms, with emphasis on 

9 requiring price transparency in the oper10 ation of state trading enterprises and such 

11 other mechanisms in order to end cross 

12 subsidization, price discrimination, and 

13 price undercutting; 

14 (ii) unjustified trade restrictions or 

15 commercial requirements, such as labeling, 

16 that affect new technologies, including bio17 technology; 

18 (iii) unjustified sanitary or 

19 phytosanitary restrictions, including re20 strictions not based on scientific principles 

21 in contravention of obligations in the Uru22 guay Round Agreements or bilateral or re23 gional trade agreements; 

24 (iv) other unjustified technical bar25 riers to trade; and 


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1 (v) restrictive rules in the administra2 tion of tariff rate quotas; 

3 (J) eliminating practices that adversely af4 fect trade in perishable or cyclical products, 

5 while improving import relief mechanisms to 

6 recognize the unique characteristics of perish7 able and cyclical agriculture; 

8 (K) ensuring that import relief mecha9 nisms for perishable and cyclical agriculture are 

10 as accessible and timely to growers in the 

11 United States as those mechanisms that are 

12 used by other countries; 

13 (L) taking into account whether a party to 

14 the negotiations has failed to adhere to the pro15 visions of already existing trade agreements 

16 with the United States or has circumvented ob17 ligations under those agreements; 

18 (M) taking into account whether a product 

19 is subject to market distortions by reason of a 

20 failure of a major producing country to adhere 

21 to the provisions of already existing trade 

22 agreements with the United States or by the 

23 circumvention by that country of its obligations 

24 under those agreements; 


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1 (N) otherwise ensuring that countries that 

2 accede to the World Trade Organization have 

3 made meaningful market liberalization commit4 ments in agriculture; 

5 (O) taking into account the impact that 

6 agreements covering agriculture to which the 

7 United States is a party have on the United 

8 States agricultural industry; 

9 (P) maintaining bona fide food assistance 

10 programs, market development programs, and 

11 export credit programs; 

12 (Q) seeking to secure the broadest market 

13 access possible in multilateral, regional, and bi14 lateral negotiations, recognizing the effect that 

15 simultaneous sets of negotiations may have on 

16 United States import sensitive commodities (in17 cluding those subject to tariff rate quotas); 

18 (R) seeking to develop an international 

19 consensus on the treatment of seasonal or per20 ishable agricultural products in investigations 

21 relating to dumping and safeguards and in any 

22 other relevant area; 

23 (S) seeking to establish the common base 

24 year for calculating the Aggregated Measure25 ment of Support (as defined in the Agreement 


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1 on Agriculture) as the end of each country’s 

2 Uruguay Round implementation period, as re3 ported in each country’s Uruguay Round mar4 ket access schedule; 

5 (T) ensuring transparency in the adminis6 tration of tariff rate quotas through multilat7 eral, plurilateral, and bilateral negotiations; and 

8 (U) eliminating and preventing the under9 mining of market access for United States 

10 products through improper use of a country’s 

11 system for protecting or recognizing geo12 graphical indications, including failing to ensure 

13 transparency and procedural fairness and pro14 tecting generic terms. 

15 (4) FOREIGN INVESTMENT.—Recognizing that 

16 United States law on the whole provides a high level 

17 of protection for investment, consistent with or 

18 greater than the level required by international law, 

19 the principal negotiating objectives of the United 

20 States regarding foreign investment are to reduce or 

21 eliminate artificial or trade distorting barriers to for22 eign investment, while ensuring that foreign inves23 tors in the United States are not accorded greater 

24 substantive rights with respect to investment protec25 tions than United States investors in the United 


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1 States, and to secure for investors important rights 

2 comparable to those that would be available under 

3 United States legal principles and practice, by— 

4 (A) reducing or eliminating exceptions to 

5 the principle of national treatment; 

6 (B) freeing the transfer of funds relating 

7 to investments; 

8 (C) reducing or eliminating performance 

9 requirements, forced technology transfers, and 

10 other unreasonable barriers to the establish11 ment and operation of investments; 

12 (D) seeking to establish standards for ex13 propriation and compensation for expropriation, 

14 consistent with United States legal principles 

15 and practice; 

16 (E) seeking to establish standards for fair 

17 and equitable treatment, consistent with United 

18 States legal principles and practice, including 

19 the principle of due process; 

20 (F) providing meaningful procedures for 

21 resolving investment disputes; 

22 (G) seeking to improve mechanisms used 

23 to resolve disputes between an investor and a 

24 government through— 


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1 (i) mechanisms to eliminate frivolous 

2 claims and to deter the filing of frivolous 

3 claims; 

4 (ii) procedures to ensure the efficient 

5 selection of arbitrators and the expeditious 

6 disposition of claims; 

7 (iii) procedures to enhance opportuni8 ties for public input into the formulation of 

9 government positions; and 

10 (iv) providing for an appellate body or 

11 similar mechanism to provide coherence to 

12 the interpretations of investment provisions 

13 in trade agreements; and 

14 (H) ensuring the fullest measure of trans15 parency in the dispute settlement mechanism, 

16 to the extent consistent with the need to protect 

17 information that is classified or business con18 fidential, by— 

19 (i) ensuring that all requests for dis20 pute settlement are promptly made public; 

21 (ii) ensuring that— 

22 (I) all proceedings, submissions, 

23 findings, and decisions are promptly 

24 made public; and 


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1 (II) all hearings are open to the 

2 public; and 

3 (iii) establishing a mechanism for ac4 ceptance of amicus curiae submissions 

5 from businesses, unions, and nongovern6 mental organizations. 

7 (5) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.—The principal 

8 negotiating objectives of the United States regarding 

9 trade-related intellectual property are— 

10 (A) to further promote adequate and effec11 tive protection of intellectual property rights, 

12 including through— 

13 (i)(I) ensuring accelerated and full 

14 implementation of the Agreement on 

15 Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual 

16 Property Rights referred to in section 

17 101(d)(15) of the Uruguay Round Agree18 ments Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(15)), par19 ticularly with respect to meeting enforce20 ment obligations under that agreement; 

21 and 

22 (II) ensuring that the provisions of 

23 any trade agreement governing intellectual 

24 property rights that is entered into by the 

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1 tion similar to that found in United States 

2 law; 

3 (ii) providing strong protection for 

4 new and emerging technologies and new 

5 methods of transmitting and distributing 

6 products embodying intellectual property, 

7 including in a manner that facilitates le8 gitimate digital trade; 

9 (iii) preventing or eliminating dis10 crimination with respect to matters affect11 ing the availability, acquisition, scope, 

12 maintenance, use, and enforcement of in13 tellectual property rights; 

14 (iv) ensuring that standards of protec15 tion and enforcement keep pace with tech16 nological developments, and in particular 

17 ensuring that rightholders have the legal 

18 and technological means to control the use 

19 of their works through the Internet and 

20 other global communication media, and to 

21 prevent the unauthorized use of their 

22 works; 

23 (v) providing strong enforcement of 

24 intellectual property rights, including 

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1 tive civil, administrative, and criminal en2 forcement mechanisms; and 

3 (vi) preventing or eliminating govern4 ment involvement in the violation of intel5 lectual property rights, including cyber 

6 theft and piracy; 

7 (B) to secure fair, equitable, and non8 discriminatory market access opportunities for 

9 United States persons that rely upon intellec10 tual property protection; and 

11 (C) to respect the Declaration on the 

12 TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, adopted 

13 by the World Trade Organization at the Fourth 

14 Ministerial Conference at Doha, Qatar on No15 vember 14, 2001, and to ensure that trade 

16 agreements foster innovation and promote ac17 cess to medicines. 

18 (6) DIGITAL TRADE IN GOODS AND SERVICES

19 AND CROSS-BORDER DATA FLOWS.—The principal 

20 negotiating objectives of the United States with re21 spect to digital trade in goods and services, as well 

22 as cross-border data flows, are— 

23 (A) to ensure that current obligations, 

24 rules, disciplines, and commitments under the 

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1 gional trade agreements apply to digital trade 

2 in goods and services and to cross-border data 

3 flows; 

4 (B) to ensure that— 

5 (i) electronically delivered goods and 

6 services receive no less favorable treatment 

7 under trade rules and commitments than 

8 like products delivered in physical form; 

9 and 

10 (ii) the classification of such goods 

11 and services ensures the most liberal trade 

12 treatment possible, fully encompassing 

13 both existing and new trade; 

14 (C) to ensure that governments refrain 

15 from implementing trade-related measures that 

16 impede digital trade in goods and services, re17 strict cross-border data flows, or require local 

18 storage or processing of data; 

19 (D) with respect to subparagraphs (A) 

20 through (C), where legitimate policy objectives 

21 require domestic regulations that affect digital 

22 trade in goods and services or cross-border data 

23 flows, to obtain commitments that any such 

24 regulations are the least restrictive on trade, 


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1 nondiscriminatory, and transparent, and pro2 mote an open market environment; and 

3 (E) to extend the moratorium of the World 

4 Trade Organization on duties on electronic 

5 transmissions. 

6 (7) REGULATORY PRACTICES.—The principal 

7 negotiating objectives of the United States regarding 

8 the use of government regulation or other practices 

9 to reduce market access for United States goods, 

10 services, and investments are— 

11 (A) to achieve increased transparency and 

12 opportunity for the participation of affected 

13 parties in the development of regulations; 

14 (B) to require that proposed regulations be 

15 based on sound science, cost benefit analysis, 

16 risk assessment, or other objective evidence; 

17 (C) to establish consultative mechanisms 

18 and seek other commitments, as appropriate, to 

19 improve regulatory practices and promote in20 creased regulatory coherence, including 

21 through— 

22 (i) transparency in developing guide23 lines, rules, regulations, and laws for gov24 ernment procurement and other regulatory 

25 regimes; 


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1 (ii) the elimination of redundancies in 

2 testing and certification; 

3 (iii) early consultations on significant 

4 regulations; 

5 (iv) the use of impact assessments; 

6 (v) the periodic review of existing reg7 ulatory measures; and 

8 (vi) the application of good regulatory 

9 practices; 

10 (D) to seek greater openness, trans11 parency, and convergence of standards develop12 ment processes, and enhance cooperation on 

13 standards issues globally; 

14 (E) to promote regulatory compatibility 

15 through harmonization, equivalence, or mutual 

16 recognition of different regulations and stand17 ards and to encourage the use of international 

18 and interoperable standards, as appropriate; 

19 (F) to achieve the elimination of govern20 ment measures such as price controls and ref21 erence pricing which deny full market access for 

22 United States products; 

23 (G) to ensure that government regulatory 

24 reimbursement regimes are transparent, provide 

25 procedural fairness, are nondiscriminatory, and 


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1 provide full market access for United States 

2 products; and 

3 (H) to ensure that foreign governments— 

4 (i) demonstrate that the collection of 

5 undisclosed proprietary information is lim6 ited to that necessary to satisfy a legiti7 mate and justifiable regulatory interest; 

8 and 

9 (ii) protect such information against 

10 disclosure, except in exceptional cir11 cumstances to protect the public, or where 

12 such information is effectively protected 

13 against unfair competition. 

14 (8) STATE-OWNED AND STATE-CONTROLLED

15 ENTERPRISES.—The principal negotiating objective 

16 of the United States regarding competition by state17 owned and state-controlled enterprises is to seek 

18 commitments that— 

19 (A) eliminate or prevent trade distortions 

20 and unfair competition favoring state-owned 

21 and state-controlled enterprises to the extent of 

22 their engagement in commercial activity, and 

23 (B) ensure that such engagement is based 

24 solely on commercial considerations, 


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1 in particular through disciplines that eliminate or 

2 prevent discrimination and market-distorting sub3 sidies and that promote transparency. 

4 (9) LOCALIZATION BARRIERS TO TRADE.—The 

5 principal negotiating objective of the United States 

6 with respect to localization barriers is to eliminate 

7 and prevent measures that require United States 

8 producers and service providers to locate facilities, 

9 intellectual property, or other assets in a country as 

10 a market access or investment condition, including 

11 indigenous innovation measures. 

12 (10) LABOR AND THE ENVIRONMENT.—The 

13 principal negotiating objectives of the United States 

14 with respect to labor and the environment are— 

15 (A) to ensure that a party to a trade 

16 agreement with the United States— 

17 (i) adopts and maintains measures 

18 implementing internationally recognized 

19 core labor standards (as defined in section 

20 11(17)) and its obligations under common 

21 multilateral environmental agreements (as 

22 defined in section 11(6)), 

23 (ii) does not waive or otherwise dero24 gate from, or offer to waive or otherwise 

25 derogate from— 


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1 (I) its statutes or regulations im2 plementing internationally recognized 

3 core labor standards (as defined in 

4 section 11(17)), in a manner affecting 

5 trade or investment between the 

6 United States and that party, where 

7 the waiver or derogation would be in8 consistent with one or more such 

9 standards, or 

10 (II) its environmental laws in a 

11 manner that weakens or reduces the 

12 protections afforded in those laws and 

13 in a manner affecting trade or invest14 ment between the United States and 

15 that party, except as provided in its 

16 law and provided not inconsistent with 

17 its obligations under common multi18 lateral environmental agreements (as 

19 defined in section 11(6)) or other pro20 visions of the trade agreement specifi21 cally agreed upon, and 

22 (iii) does not fail to effectively enforce 

23 its environmental or labor laws, through a 

24 sustained or recurring course of action or 

25 inaction, 


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1 in a manner affecting trade or investment be2 tween the United States and that party after 

3 entry into force of a trade agreement between 

4 those countries; 

5 (B) to recognize that— 

6 (i) with respect to environment, par7 ties to a trade agreement retain the right 

8 to exercise prosecutorial discretion and to 

9 make decisions regarding the allocation of 

10 enforcement resources with respect to 

11 other environmental laws determined to 

12 have higher priorities, and a party is effec13 tively enforcing its laws if a course of ac14 tion or inaction reflects a reasonable, bona 

15 fide exercise of such discretion, or results 

16 from a reasonable, bona fide decision re17 garding the allocation of resources; and 

18 (ii) with respect to labor, decisions re19 garding the distribution of enforcement re20 sources are not a reason for not complying 

21 with a party’s labor obligations; a party to 

22 a trade agreement retains the right to rea23 sonable exercise of discretion and to make 

24 bona fide decisions regarding the allocation 

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1 tivities among core labor standards, pro2 vided the exercise of such discretion and 

3 such decisions are not inconsistent with its 

4 obligations; 

5 (C) to strengthen the capacity of United 

6 States trading partners to promote respect for 

7 core labor standards (as defined in section 

8 11(7)); 

9 (D) to strengthen the capacity of United 

10 States trading partners to protect the environ11 ment through the promotion of sustainable de12 velopment; 

13 (E) to reduce or eliminate government 

14 practices or policies that unduly threaten sus15 tainable development; 

16 (F) to seek market access, through the 

17 elimination of tariffs and nontariff barriers, for 

18 United States environmental technologies, 

19 goods, and services; 

20 (G) to ensure that labor, environmental, 

21 health, or safety policies and practices of the 

22 parties to trade agreements with the United 

23 States do not arbitrarily or unjustifiably dis24 criminate against United States exports or 

25 serve as disguised barriers to trade; 


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1 (H) to ensure that enforceable labor and 

2 environment obligations are subject to the same 

3 dispute settlement and remedies as other en4 forceable obligations under the agreement; and 

5 (I) to ensure that a trade agreement is not 

6 construed to empower a party’s authorities to 

7 undertake labor or environmental law enforce8 ment activities in the territory of the United 

9 States. 

10 (11) CURRENCY.—The principal negotiating ob11 jective of the United States with respect to currency 

12 practices is that parties to a trade agreement with 

13 the United States avoid manipulating exchange rates 

14 in order to prevent effective balance of payments ad15 justment or to gain an unfair competitive advantage 

16 over other parties to the agreement, such as through 

17 cooperative mechanisms, enforceable rules, reporting, 

18 monitoring, transparency, or other means, as appro19 priate. 

20 (12) WTO AND MULTILATERAL TRADE AGREE21 MENTS.—Recognizing that the World Trade Organi22 zation is the foundation of the global trading system, 

23 the principal negotiating objectives of the United 

24 States regarding the World Trade Organization, the 


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1 Uruguay Round Agreements, and other multilateral 

2 and plurilateral trade agreements are— 

3 (A) to achieve full implementation and ex4 tend the coverage of the World Trade Organiza5 tion and multilateral and plurilateral agree6 ments to products, sectors, and conditions of 

7 trade not adequately covered; 

8 (B) to expand country participation in and 

9 enhancement of the Information Technology 

10 Agreement, the Government Procurement 

11 Agreement, and other plurilateral trade agree12 ments of the World Trade Organization; 

13 (C) to expand competitive market opportu14 nities for United States exports and to obtain 

15 fairer and more open conditions of trade, in16 cluding through utilization of global value 

17 chains, through the negotiation of new WTO 

18 multilateral and plurilateral trade agreements, 

19 such as an agreement on trade facilitation; 

20 (D) to ensure that regional trade agree21 ments to which the United States is not a party 

22 fully achieve the high standards of, and comply 

23 with, WTO disciplines, including Article XXIV 

24 of GATT 1994, Article V and V bis of the Gen25 eral Agreement on Trade in Services, and the 


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1 Enabling Clause, including through meaningful 

2 WTO review of such regional trade agreements; 

3 (E) to enhance compliance by WTO mem4 bers with their obligations as WTO members 

5 through active participation in the bodies of the 

6 World Trade Organization by the United States 

7 and all other WTO members, including in the 

8 trade policy review mechanism and the com9 mittee system of the World Trade Organization, 

10 and by working to increase the effectiveness of 

11 such bodies; and 

12 (F) to encourage greater cooperation be13 tween the World Trade Organization and other 

14 international organizations. 

15 (13) TRADE INSTITUTION TRANSPARENCY.— 

16 The principal negotiating objective of the United 

17 States with respect to transparency is to obtain 

18 wider and broader application of the principle of 

19 transparency in the World Trade Organization, enti20 ties established under bilateral and regional trade 

21 agreements, and other international trade fora 

22 through seeking— 

23 (A) timely public access to information re24 garding trade issues and the activities of such 

25 institutions; 


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1 (B) openness by ensuring public access to 

2 appropriate meetings, proceedings, and submis3 sions, including with regard to trade and invest4 ment dispute settlement; and 

5 (C) public access to all notifications and 

6 supporting documentation submitted by WTO 

7 members. 

8 (14) ANTI-CORRUPTION.—The principal negoti9 ating objectives of the United States with respect to 

10 the use of money or other things of value to influ11 ence acts, decisions, or omissions of foreign govern12 ments or officials or to secure any improper advan13 tage in a manner affecting trade are— 

14 (A) to obtain high standards and effective 

15 domestic enforcement mechanisms applicable to 

16 persons from all countries participating in the 

17 applicable trade agreement that prohibit such 

18 attempts to influence acts, decisions, or omis19 sions of foreign governments or officials or to 

20 secure any such improper advantage; 

21 (B) to ensure that such standards level the 

22 playing field for United States persons in inter23 national trade and investment; and 

24 (C) to seek commitments to work jointly to 

25 encourage and support anti-corruption and 


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1 anti-bribery initiatives in international trade 

2 fora, including through the Convention on Com3 bating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in 

4 International Business Transactions of the Or5 ganization for Economic Cooperation and De6 velopment, done at Paris December 17, 1997 

7 (commonly known as the ‘‘OECD Anti-Bribery 

8 Convention’’). 

9 (15) DISPUTE SETTLEMENT AND ENFORCE10 MENT.—The principal negotiating objectives of the 

11 United States with respect to dispute settlement and 

12 enforcement of trade agreements are— 

13 (A) to seek provisions in trade agreements 

14 providing for resolution of disputes between 

15 governments under those trade agreements in 

16 an effective, timely, transparent, equitable, and 

17 reasoned manner, requiring determinations 

18 based on facts and the principles of the agree19 ments, with the goal of increasing compliance 

20 with the agreements; 

21 (B) to seek to strengthen the capacity of 

22 the Trade Policy Review Mechanism of the 

23 World Trade Organization to review compliance 

24 with commitments; 


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1 (C) to seek adherence by panels convened 

2 under the Dispute Settlement Understanding 

3 and by the Appellate Body to— 

4 (i) the mandate of those panels and 

5 the Appellate Body to apply the WTO 

6 Agreement as written, without adding to or 

7 diminishing rights and obligations under 

8 the Agreement; and 

9 (ii) the standard of review applicable 

10 under the Uruguay Round Agreement in11 volved in the dispute, including greater 

12 deference, where appropriate, to the fact 

13 finding and technical expertise of national 

14 investigating authorities; 

15 (D) to seek provisions encouraging the 

16 early identification and settlement of disputes 

17 through consultation; 

18 (E) to seek provisions to encourage the 

19 provision of trade-expanding compensation if a 

20 party to a dispute under the agreement does 

21 not come into compliance with its obligations 

22 under the agreement; 

23 (F) to seek provisions to impose a penalty 

24 upon a party to a dispute under the agreement 

25 that— 


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1 (i) encourages compliance with the ob2 ligations of the agreement; 

3 (ii) is appropriate to the parties, na4 ture, subject matter, and scope of the vio5 lation; and 

6 (iii) has the aim of not adversely af7 fecting parties or interests not party to the 

8 dispute while maintaining the effectiveness 

9 of the enforcement mechanism; and 

10 (G) to seek provisions that treat United 

11 States principal negotiating objectives equally 

12 with respect to— 

13 (i) the ability to resort to dispute set14 tlement under the applicable agreement; 

15 (ii) the availability of equivalent dis16 pute settlement procedures; and 

17 (iii) the availability of equivalent rem18 edies. 

19 (16) TRADE REMEDY LAWS.—The principal ne20 gotiating objectives of the United States with respect 

21 to trade remedy laws are— 

22 (A) to preserve the ability of the United 

23 States to enforce rigorously its trade laws, in24 cluding the antidumping, countervailing duty, 

25 and safeguard laws, and avoid agreements that 


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1 lessen the effectiveness of domestic and inter2 national disciplines on unfair trade, especially 

3 dumping and subsidies, or that lessen the effec4 tiveness of domestic and international safeguard 

5 provisions, in order to ensure that United 

6 States workers, agricultural producers, and 

7 firms can compete fully on fair terms and enjoy 

8 the benefits of reciprocal trade concessions; and 

9 (B) to address and remedy market distor10 tions that lead to dumping and subsidization, 

11 including overcapacity, cartelization, and mar12 ket access barriers. 

13 (17) BORDER TAXES.—The principal negoti14 ating objective of the United States regarding border 

15 taxes is to obtain a revision of the rules of the World 

16 Trade Organization with respect to the treatment of 

17 border adjustments for internal taxes to redress the 

18 disadvantage to countries relying primarily on direct 

19 taxes for revenue rather than indirect taxes. 

20 (18) TEXTILE NEGOTIATIONS.—The principal 

21 negotiating objectives of the United States with re22 spect to trade in textiles and apparel articles are to 

23 obtain competitive opportunities for United States 

24 exports of textiles and apparel in foreign markets 

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1 nities afforded foreign exports in United States mar2 kets and to achieve fairer and more open conditions 

3 of trade in textiles and apparel. 

4 (c) CAPACITY BUILDING AND OTHER PRIORITIES.— 

5 In order to address and maintain United States competi6 tiveness in the global economy, the President shall— 

7 (1) direct the heads of relevant Federal agen8 cies— 

9 (A) to work to strengthen the capacity of 

10 United States trading partners to carry out ob11 ligations under trade agreements by consulting 

12 with any country seeking a trade agreement 

13 with the United States concerning that coun14 try’s laws relating to customs and trade facilita15 tion, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, 

16 technical barriers to trade, intellectual property 

17 rights, labor, and the environment; and 

18 (B) to provide technical assistance to that 

19 country if needed; 

20 (2) seek to establish consultative mechanisms 

21 among parties to trade agreements to strengthen the 

22 capacity of United States trading partners to de23 velop and implement standards for the protection of 

24 the environment and human health based on sound 

25 science; 


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1 (3) promote consideration of multilateral envi2 ronmental agreements and consult with parties to 

3 such agreements regarding the consistency of any 

4 such agreement that includes trade measures with 

5 existing environmental exceptions under Article XX 

6 of GATT 1994; and 

7 (4) submit to the Committee on Ways and 

8 Means of the House of Representatives and the 

9 Committee on Finance of the Senate an annual re10 port on capacity-building activities undertaken in 

11 connection with trade agreements negotiated or 

12 being negotiated pursuant to this Act. 

13 SEC. 3. TRADE AGREEMENTS AUTHORITY. 

14 (a) AGREEMENTS REGARDING TARIFF BARRIERS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the President de16 termines that one or more existing duties or other 

17 import restrictions of any foreign country or the 

18 United States are unduly burdening and restricting 

19 the foreign trade of the United States and that the 

20 purposes, policies, priorities, and objectives of this 

21 Act will be promoted thereby, the President— 

22 (A) may enter into trade agreements with 

23 foreign countries before— 

24 (i) July 1, 2018; or 


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1 (ii) July 1, 2021, if trade authorities 

2 procedures are extended under subsection 

3 (c); and 

4 (B) may, subject to paragraphs (2) and 

5 (3), proclaim— 

6 (i) such modification or continuance 

7 of any existing duty, 

8 (ii) such continuance of existing duty 

9 free or excise treatment, or 

10 (iii) such additional duties, 

11 as the President determines to be required or 

12 appropriate to carry out any such trade agree13 ment. 

14 Substantial modifications to, or substantial addi15 tional provisions of, a trade agreement entered into 

16 after July 1, 2018, or July 1, 2021, if trade authori17 ties procedures are extended under subsection (c), 

18 shall not be eligible for approval under this Act. 

19 (2) NOTIFICATION.—The President shall notify 

20 Congress of the President’s intention to enter into 

21 an agreement under this subsection. 

22 (3) LIMITATIONS.—No proclamation may be 

23 made under paragraph (1) that— 

24 (A) reduces any rate of duty (other than a 

25 rate of duty that does not exceed 5 percent ad 


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1 valorem on the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act) to a rate of duty which is less than 50 per3 cent of the rate of such duty that applies on 

4 such date of enactment; 

5 (B) reduces the rate of duty below that ap6 plicable under the Uruguay Round Agreements 

7 or a successor agreement, on any import sen8 sitive agricultural product; or 

9 (C) increases any rate of duty above the 

10 rate that applied on the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act. 

12 (4) AGGREGATE REDUCTION; EXEMPTION FROM

13 STAGING.— 

14 (A) AGGREGATE REDUCTION.—Except as 

15 provided in subparagraph (B), the aggregate re16 duction in the rate of duty on any article which 

17 is in effect on any day pursuant to a trade 

18 agreement entered into under paragraph (1) 

19 shall not exceed the aggregate reduction which 

20 would have been in effect on such day if— 

21 (i) a reduction of 3 percent ad valorem or a reduction of 1 22 ⁄10 of the total re23 duction, whichever is greater, had taken ef24 fect on the effective date of the first reduc25 tion proclaimed under paragraph (1) to 


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1 carry out such agreement with respect to 

2 such article; and 

3 (ii) a reduction equal to the amount 

4 applicable under clause (i) had taken effect 

5 at 1-year intervals after the effective date 

6 of such first reduction. 

7 (B) EXEMPTION FROM STAGING.—No 

8 staging is required under subparagraph (A) 

9 with respect to a duty reduction that is pro10 claimed under paragraph (1) for an article of a 

11 kind that is not produced in the United States. 

12 The United States International Trade Com13 mission shall advise the President of the iden14 tity of articles that may be exempted from stag15 ing under this subparagraph. 

16 (5) ROUNDING.—If the President determines 

17 that such action will simplify the computation of re18 ductions under paragraph (4), the President may 

19 round an annual reduction by an amount equal to 

20 the lesser of— 

21 (A) the difference between the reduction 

22 without regard to this paragraph and the next 

23 lower whole number; or 

(B) 1 24 ⁄2 of 1 percent ad valorem. 


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1 (6) OTHER LIMITATIONS.—A rate of duty re2 duction that may not be proclaimed by reason of 

3 paragraph (3) may take effect only if a provision au4 thorizing such reduction is included within an imple5 menting bill provided for under section 6 and that 

6 bill is enacted into law. 

7 (7) OTHER TARIFF MODIFICATIONS.—Notwith8 standing paragraphs (1)(B), (3)(A), (3)(C), and (4) 

9 through (6), and subject to the consultation and lay10 over requirements of section 115 of the Uruguay 

11 Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3524), the Presi12 dent may proclaim the modification of any duty or 

13 staged rate reduction of any duty set forth in Sched14 ule XX, as defined in section 2(5) of that Act (19 

15 U.S.C. 3501(5)), if the United States agrees to such 

16 modification or staged rate reduction in a negotia17 tion for the reciprocal elimination or harmonization 

18 of duties under the auspices of the World Trade Or19 ganization. 

20 (8) AUTHORITY UNDER URUGUAY ROUND

21 AGREEMENTS ACT NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing in this 

22 subsection shall limit the authority provided to the 

23 President under section 111(b) of the Uruguay 

24 Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3521(b)). 


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1 (b) AGREEMENTS REGARDING TARIFF AND NON2 TARIFF BARRIERS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—(A) Whenever the President 

4 determines that— 

5 (i) 1 or more existing duties or any other 

6 import restriction of any foreign country or the 

7 United States or any other barrier to, or other 

8 distortion of, international trade unduly bur9 dens or restricts the foreign trade of the United 

10 States or adversely affects the United States 

11 economy, or 

12 (ii) the imposition of any such barrier or 

13 distortion is likely to result in such a burden, 

14 restriction, or effect, 

15 and that the purposes, policies, priorities, and objec16 tives of this Act will be promoted thereby, the Presi17 dent may enter into a trade agreement described in 

18 subparagraph (B) during the period described in 

19 subparagraph (C). 

20 (B) The President may enter into a trade 

21 agreement under subparagraph (A) with foreign 

22 countries providing for— 

23 (i) the reduction or elimination of a duty, 

24 restriction, barrier, or other distortion described 

25 in subparagraph (A); or 


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1 (ii) the prohibition of, or limitation on the 

2 imposition of, such barrier or other distortion. 

3 (C) The President may enter into a trade 

4 agreement under this paragraph before— 

5 (i) July 1, 2018; or 

6 (ii) July 1, 2021, if trade authorities pro7 cedures are extended under subsection (c). 

8 Substantial modifications to, or substantial addi9 tional provisions of, a trade agreement entered into 

10 after July 1, 2018, or July 1, 2021, if trade authori11 ties procedures are extended under subsection (c), 

12 shall not be eligible for approval under this Act. 

13 (2) CONDITIONS.—A trade agreement may be 

14 entered into under this subsection only if such 

15 agreement makes progress in meeting the applicable 

16 objectives described in subsections (a) and (b) of 

17 section 2 and the President satisfies the conditions 

18 set forth in sections 4 and 5. 

19 (3) BILLS QUALIFYING FOR TRADE AUTHORI20 TIES PROCEDURES.—(A) The provisions of section 

21 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 (in this Act referred 

22 to as ‘‘trade authorities procedures’’) apply to a bill 

23 of either House of Congress which contains provi24 sions described in subparagraph (B) to the same ex25 tent as such section 151 applies to implementing 


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1 bills under that section. A bill to which this para2 graph applies shall hereafter in this Act be referred 

3 to as an ‘‘implementing bill’’. 

4 (B) The provisions referred to in subparagraph 

5 (A) are— 

6 (i) a provision approving a trade agree7 ment entered into under this subsection and ap8 proving the statement of administrative action, 

9 if any, proposed to implement such trade agree10 ment; and 

11 (ii) if changes in existing laws or new stat12 utory authority are required to implement such 

13 trade agreement or agreements, only such pro14 visions as are strictly necessary or appropriate 

15 to implement such trade agreement or agree16 ments, either repealing or amending existing 

17 laws or providing new statutory authority. 

18 (c) EXTENSION DISAPPROVAL PROCESS FOR CON19 GRESSIONAL TRADE AUTHORITIES PROCEDURES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sec21 tion 6(b)— 

22 (A) the trade authorities procedures apply 

23 to implementing bills submitted with respect to 

24 trade agreements entered into under subsection 

25 (b) before July 1, 2018; and 


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1 (B) the trade authorities procedures shall 

2 be extended to implementing bills submitted 

3 with respect to trade agreements entered into 

4 under subsection (b) after June 30, 2018, and 

5 before July 1, 2021, if (and only if)— 

6 (i) the President requests such exten7 sion under paragraph (2); and 

8 (ii) neither House of Congress adopts 

9 an extension disapproval resolution under 

10 paragraph (5) before July 1, 2018. 

11 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS BY THE PRESI12 DENT.—If the President is of the opinion that the 

13 trade authorities procedures should be extended to 

14 implementing bills described in paragraph (1)(B), 

15 the President shall submit to Congress, not later 

16 than April 1, 2018, a written report that contains a 

17 request for such extension, together with— 

18 (A) a description of all trade agreements 

19 that have been negotiated under subsection (b) 

20 and the anticipated schedule for submitting 

21 such agreements to Congress for approval; 

22 (B) a description of the progress that has 

23 been made in negotiations to achieve the pur24 poses, policies, priorities, and objectives of this 


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1 Act, and a statement that such progress justi2 fies the continuation of negotiations; and 

3 (C) a statement of the reasons why the ex4 tension is needed to complete the negotiations. 

5 (3) OTHER REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

6 (A) REPORT BY THE ADVISORY COM7 MITTEE.—The President shall promptly inform 

8 the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and 

9 Negotiations established under section 135 of 

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

11 decision of the President to submit a report to 

12 Congress under paragraph (2). The Advisory 

13 Committee shall submit to Congress as soon as 

14 practicable, but not later than June 1, 2018, a 

15 written report that contains— 

16 (i) its views regarding the progress 

17 that has been made in negotiations to 

18 achieve the purposes, policies, priorities, 

19 and objectives of this Act; and 

20 (ii) a statement of its views, and the 

21 reasons therefor, regarding whether the ex22 tension requested under paragraph (2) 

23 should be approved or disapproved. 

24 (B) REPORT BY INTERNATIONAL TRADE

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1 form the United States International Trade 

2 Commission of the decision of the President to 

3 submit a report to Congress under paragraph 

4 (2). The International Trade Commission shall 

5 submit to Congress as soon as practicable, but 

6 not later than June 1, 2018, a written report 

7 that contains a review and analysis of the eco8 nomic impact on the United States of all trade 

9 agreements implemented between the date of 

10 the enactment of this Act and the date on 

11 which the President decides to seek an exten12 sion requested under paragraph (2). 

13 (4) STATUS OF REPORTS.—The reports sub14 mitted to Congress under paragraphs (2) and (3), or 

15 any portion of such reports, may be classified to the 

16 extent the President determines appropriate. 

17 (5) EXTENSION DISAPPROVAL RESOLUTIONS.— 

18 (A) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘‘exten19 sion disapproval resolution’’ means a resolution of 

20 either House of Congress, the sole matter after the 

21 resolving clause of which is as follows: ‘‘That the 

22 llll disapproves the request of the President 

23 for the extension, under section 3(c)(1)(B)(i) of the 

24 Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Ac25 countability Act of 2015, of the trade authorities 


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1 procedures under that Act to any implementing bill 

2 submitted with respect to any trade agreement en3 tered into under section 3(b) of that Act after June 

4 30, 2018.’’, with the blank space being filled with 

5 the name of the resolving House of Congress. 

6 (B) Extension disapproval resolutions— 

7 (i) may be introduced in either House of 

8 Congress by any member of such House; and 

9 (ii) shall be referred, in the House of Rep10 resentatives, to the Committee on Ways and 

11 Means and, in addition, to the Committee on 

12 Rules. 

13 (C) The provisions of subsections (d) and (e) of 

14 section 152 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

15 2192) (relating to the floor consideration of certain 

16 resolutions in the House and Senate) apply to exten17 sion disapproval resolutions. 

18 (D) It is not in order for— 

19 (i) the House of Representatives to con20 sider any extension disapproval resolution not 

21 reported by the Committee on Ways and Means 

22 and, in addition, by the Committee on Rules; 

23 (ii) the Senate to consider any extension 

24 disapproval resolution not reported by the Com25 mittee on Finance; or 


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1 (iii) either House of Congress to consider 

2 an extension disapproval resolution after June 

3 30, 2018. 

4 (d) COMMENCEMENT OF NEGOTIATIONS.—In order 

5 to contribute to the continued economic expansion of the 

6 United States, the President shall commence negotiations 

7 covering tariff and nontariff barriers affecting any indus8 try, product, or service sector, and expand existing sec9 toral agreements to countries that are not parties to those 

10 agreements, in cases where the President determines that 

11 such negotiations are feasible and timely and would ben12 efit the United States. Such sectors include agriculture, 

13 commercial services, intellectual property rights, industrial 

14 and capital goods, government procurement, information 

15 technology products, environmental technology and serv16 ices, medical equipment and services, civil aircraft, and in17 frastructure products. In so doing, the President shall 

18 take into account all of the negotiating objectives set forth 

19 in section 2. 

20 SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT, CONSULTATIONS, 

21 AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION. 

22 (a) CONSULTATIONS WITH MEMBERS OF CON23 GRESS.— 


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1 (1) CONSULTATIONS DURING NEGOTIATIONS.— 

2 In the course of negotiations conducted under this 

3 Act, the United States Trade Representative shall— 

4 (A) meet upon request with any Member of 

5 Congress regarding negotiating objectives, the 

6 status of negotiations in progress, and the na7 ture of any changes in the laws of the United 

8 States or the administration of those laws that 

9 may be recommended to Congress to carry out 

10 any trade agreement or any requirement of, 

11 amendment to, or recommendation under, that 

12 agreement; 

13 (B) upon request of any Member of Con14 gress, provide access to pertinent documents re15 lating to the negotiations, including classified 

16 materials; 

17 (C) consult closely and on a timely basis 

18 with, and keep fully apprised of the negotia19 tions, the Committee on Ways and Means of 

20 the House of Representatives and the Com21 mittee on Finance of the Senate; 

22 (D) consult closely and on a timely basis 

23 with, and keep fully apprised of the negotia24 tions, the House Advisory Group on Negotia25 tions and the Senate Advisory Group on NegoVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Apr 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995

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1 tiations convened under subsection (c) and all 

2 committees of the House of Representatives and 

3 the Senate with jurisdiction over laws that 

4 could be affected by a trade agreement result5 ing from the negotiations; and 

6 (E) with regard to any negotiations and 

7 agreement relating to agricultural trade, also 

8 consult closely and on a timely basis (including 

9 immediately before initialing an agreement) 

10 with, and keep fully apprised of the negotia11 tions, the Committee on Agriculture of the 

12 House of Representatives and the Committee 

13 on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 

14 Senate. 

15 (2) CONSULTATIONS PRIOR TO ENTRY INTO

16 FORCE.—Prior to exchanging notes providing for the 

17 entry into force of a trade agreement, the United 

18 States Trade Representative shall consult closely 

19 and on a timely basis with Members of Congress and 

20 committees as specified in paragraph (1), and keep 

21 them fully apprised of the measures a trading part22 ner has taken to comply with those provisions of the 

23 agreement that are to take effect on the date that 

24 the agreement enters into force. 


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1 (3) ENHANCED COORDINATION WITH CON2 GRESS.— 

3 (A) WRITTEN GUIDELINES.—The United 

4 States Trade Representative, in consultation 

5 with the chairmen and the ranking members of 

6 the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

7 House of Representatives and the Committee 

8 on Finance of the Senate, respectively— 

9 (i) shall, not later than 120 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, de11 velop written guidelines on enhanced co12 ordination with Congress, including coordi13 nation with designated congressional advis14 ers under subsection (b), regarding nego15 tiations conducted under this Act; and 

16 (ii) may make such revisions to the 

17 guidelines as may be necessary from time 

18 to time. 

19 (B) CONTENT OF GUIDELINES.—The 

20 guidelines developed under subparagraph (A) 

21 shall enhance coordination with Congress 

22 through procedures to ensure— 

23 (i) timely briefings upon request of 

24 any Member of Congress regarding negoti25 ating objectives, the status of negotiations 


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1 in progress conducted under this Act, and 

2 the nature of any changes in the laws of 

3 the United States or the administration of 

4 those laws that may be recommended to 

5 Congress to carry out any trade agreement 

6 or any requirement of, amendment to, or 

7 recommendation under, that agreement; 

8 and 

9 (ii) the sharing of detailed and timely 

10 information with Members of Congress, 

11 and their staff with proper security clear12 ances as appropriate, regarding those ne13 gotiations and pertinent documents related 

14 to those negotiations (including classified 

15 information), and with committee staff 

16 with proper security clearances as would be 

17 appropriate in the light of the responsibil18 ities of that committee over the trade 

19 agreements programs affected by those ne20 gotiations. 

21 (C) DISSEMINATION.—The United States 

22 Trade Representative shall disseminate the 

23 guidelines developed under subparagraph (A) to 

24 all Federal agencies that could have jurisdiction 

25 over laws affected by trade negotiations. 


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1 (b) DESIGNATED CONGRESSIONAL ADVISERS.— 

2 (1) DESIGNATION.— 

3 (A) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—In 

4 each Congress, any Member of the House of 

5 Representatives may be designated as a con6 gressional adviser on trade policy and negotia7 tions by the Speaker of the House of Rep8 resentatives, after consulting with the chairman 

9 and ranking member of the Committee on Ways 

10 and Means and the chairman and ranking 

11 member of the committee from which the Mem12 ber will be selected. 

13 (B) SENATE.—In each Congress, any 

14 Member of the Senate may be designated as a 

15 congressional adviser on trade policy and nego16 tiations by the President pro tempore of the 

17 Senate, after consultation with the chairman 

18 and ranking member of the Committee on Fi19 nance and the chairman and ranking member 

20 of the committee from which the Member will 

21 be selected. 

22 (2) CONSULTATIONS WITH DESIGNATED CON23 GRESSIONAL ADVISERS.—In the course of negotia24 tions conducted under this Act, the United States 

25 Trade Representative shall consult closely and on a 


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1 timely basis (including immediately before initialing 

2 an agreement) with, and keep fully apprised of the 

3 negotiations, the congressional advisers for trade 

4 policy and negotiations designated under paragraph 

5 (1). 

6 (3) ACCREDITATION.—Each Member of Con7 gress designated as a congressional adviser under 

8 paragraph (1) shall be accredited by the United 

9 States Trade Representative on behalf of the Presi10 dent as an official adviser to the United States dele11 gations to international conferences, meetings, and 

12 negotiating sessions relating to trade agreements. 

13 (c) CONGRESSIONAL ADVISORY GROUPS ON NEGO14 TIATIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—By not later than 60 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not 

17 later than 30 days after the convening of each Con18 gress, the chairman of the Committee on Ways and 

19 Means of the House of Representatives shall convene 

20 the House Advisory Group on Negotiations and the 

21 chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Sen22 ate shall convene the Senate Advisory Group on Ne23 gotiations (in this subsection referred to collectively 

24 as the ‘‘congressional advisory groups’’). 

25 (2) MEMBERS AND FUNCTIONS.— 


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1 (A) MEMBERSHIP OF THE HOUSE ADVI2 SORY GROUP ON NEGOTIATIONS.—In each Con3 gress, the House Advisory Group on Negotia4 tions shall be comprised of the following Mem5 bers of the House of Representatives: 

6 (i) The chairman and ranking mem7 ber of the Committee on Ways and Means, 

8 and 3 additional members of such Com9 mittee (not more than 2 of whom are 

10 members of the same political party). 

11 (ii) The chairman and ranking mem12 ber, or their designees, of the committees 

13 of the House of Representatives that would 

14 have, under the Rules of the House of 

15 Representatives, jurisdiction over provi16 sions of law affected by a trade agreement 

17 negotiation conducted at any time during 

18 that Congress and to which this Act would 

19 apply. 

20 (B) MEMBERSHIP OF THE SENATE ADVI21 SORY GROUP ON NEGOTIATIONS.—In each Con22 gress, the Senate Advisory Group on Negotia23 tions shall be comprised of the following Mem24 bers of the Senate: 


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1 (i) The chairman and ranking mem2 ber of the Committee on Finance and 3 

3 additional members of such Committee 

4 (not more than 2 of whom are members of 

5 the same political party). 

6 (ii) The chairman and ranking mem7 ber, or their designees, of the committees 

8 of the Senate that would have, under the 

9 Rules of the Senate, jurisdiction over pro10 visions of law affected by a trade agree11 ment negotiation conducted at any time 

12 during that Congress and to which this Act 

13 would apply. 

14 (C) ACCREDITATION.—Each member of 

15 the congressional advisory groups described in 

16 subparagraphs (A)(i) and (B)(i) shall be ac17 credited by the United States Trade Represent18 ative on behalf of the President as an official 

19 adviser to the United States delegation in nego20 tiations for any trade agreement to which this 

21 Act applies. Each member of the congressional 

22 advisory groups described in subparagraphs 

23 (A)(ii) and (B)(ii) shall be accredited by the 

24 United States Trade Representative on behalf 

25 of the President as an official adviser to the 


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1 United States delegation in the negotiations by 

2 reason of which the member is in one of the 

3 congressional advisory groups. 

4 (D) CONSULTATION AND ADVICE.—The 

5 congressional advisory groups shall consult with 

6 and provide advice to the Trade Representative 

7 regarding the formulation of specific objectives, 

8 negotiating strategies and positions, the devel9 opment of the applicable trade agreement, and 

10 compliance and enforcement of the negotiated 

11 commitments under the trade agreement. 

12 (E) CHAIR.—The House Advisory Group 

13 on Negotiations shall be chaired by the Chair14 man of the Committee on Ways and Means of 

15 the House of Representatives and the Senate 

16 Advisory Group on Negotiations shall be 

17 chaired by the Chairman of the Committee on 

18 Finance of the Senate. 

19 (F) COORDINATION WITH OTHER COMMIT20 TEES.—Members of any committee represented 

21 on one of the congressional advisory groups 

22 may submit comments to the member of the ap23 propriate congressional advisory group from 

24 that committee regarding any matter related to 


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1 a negotiation for any trade agreement to which 

2 this Act applies. 

3 (3) GUIDELINES.— 

4 (A) PURPOSE AND REVISION.—The United 

5 States Trade Representative, in consultation 

6 with the chairmen and the ranking members of 

7 the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

8 House of Representatives and the Committee 

9 on Finance of the Senate, respectively— 

10 (i) shall, not later than 120 days after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, de12 velop written guidelines to facilitate the 

13 useful and timely exchange of information 

14 between the Trade Representative and the 

15 congressional advisory groups; and 

16 (ii) may make such revisions to the 

17 guidelines as may be necessary from time 

18 to time. 

19 (B) CONTENT.—The guidelines developed 

20 under subparagraph (A) shall provide for, 

21 among other things— 

22 (i) detailed briefings on a fixed time23 table to be specified in the guidelines of 

24 the congressional advisory groups regard25 ing negotiating objectives and positions 


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1 and the status of the applicable negotia2 tions, beginning as soon as practicable 

3 after the congressional advisory groups are 

4 convened, with more frequent briefings as 

5 trade negotiations enter the final stage; 

6 (ii) access by members of the congres7 sional advisory groups, and staff with 

8 proper security clearances, to pertinent 

9 documents relating to the negotiations, in10 cluding classified materials; 

11 (iii) the closest practicable coordina12 tion between the Trade Representative and 

13 the congressional advisory groups at all 

14 critical periods during the negotiations, in15 cluding at negotiation sites; 

16 (iv) after the applicable trade agree17 ment is concluded, consultation regarding 

18 ongoing compliance and enforcement of ne19 gotiated commitments under the trade 

20 agreement; and 

21 (v) the timeframe for submitting the 

22 report required under section 5(d)(3). 

23 (4) REQUEST FOR MEETING.—Upon the re24 quest of a majority of either of the congressional ad25 visory groups, the President shall meet with that 


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1 congressional advisory group before initiating nego2 tiations with respect to a trade agreement, or at any 

3 other time concerning the negotiations. 

4 (d) CONSULTATIONS WITH THE PUBLIC.— 

5 (1) GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.— 

6 The United States Trade Representative, in con7 sultation with the chairmen and the ranking mem8 bers of the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

9 House of Representatives and the Committee on Fi10 nance of the Senate, respectively— 

11 (A) shall, not later than 120 days after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, develop writ13 ten guidelines on public access to information 

14 regarding negotiations conducted under this 

15 Act; and 

16 (B) may make such revisions to the guide17 lines as may be necessary from time to time. 

18 (2) PURPOSES.—The guidelines developed 

19 under paragraph (1) shall— 

20 (A) facilitate transparency; 

21 (B) encourage public participation; and 

22 (C) promote collaboration in the negotia23 tion process. 

24 (3) CONTENT.—The guidelines developed under 

25 paragraph (1) shall include procedures that— 


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1 (A) provide for rapid disclosure of informa2 tion in forms that the public can readily find 

3 and use; and 

4 (B) provide frequent opportunities for pub5 lic input through Federal Register requests for 

6 comment and other means. 

7 (4) DISSEMINATION.—The United States Trade 

8 Representative shall disseminate the guidelines de9 veloped under paragraph (1) to all Federal agencies 

10 that could have jurisdiction over laws affected by 

11 trade negotiations. 

12 (e) CONSULTATIONS WITH ADVISORY COMMIT13 TEES.— 

14 (1) GUIDELINES FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH ADVI15 SORY COMMITTEES.—The United States Trade Rep16 resentative, in consultation with the chairmen and 

17 the ranking members of the Committee on Ways and 

18 Means of the House of Representatives and the 

19 Committee on Finance of the Senate, respectively— 

20 (A) shall, not later than 120 days after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, develop writ22 ten guidelines on enhanced coordination with 

23 advisory committees established pursuant to 

24 section 135 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 


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1 U.S.C. 2155) regarding negotiations conducted 

2 under this Act; and 

3 (B) may make such revisions to the guide4 lines as may be necessary from time to time. 

5 (2) CONTENT.—The guidelines developed under 

6 paragraph (1) shall enhance coordination with advi7 sory committees described in that paragraph 

8 through procedures to ensure— 

9 (A) timely briefings of advisory committees 

10 and regular opportunities for advisory commit11 tees to provide input throughout the negotiation 

12 process on matters relevant to the sectors or 

13 functional areas represented by those commit14 tees; and 

15 (B) the sharing of detailed and timely in16 formation with each member of an advisory 

17 committee regarding negotiations and pertinent 

18 documents related to the negotiation (including 

19 classified information) on matters relevant to 

20 the sectors or functional areas the member rep21 resents, and with a designee with proper secu22 rity clearances of each such member as appro23 priate. 

24 (3) DISSEMINATION.—The United States Trade 

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1 veloped under paragraph (1) to all Federal agencies 

2 that could have jurisdiction over laws affected by 

3 trade negotiations. 

4 (f) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITION OF CHIEF TRANS5 PARENCY OFFICER IN THE OFFICE OF THE UNITED

6 STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE.—Section 141(b) of the 

7 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2171(b)) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para9 graph (4); and 

10 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(3) There shall be in the Office one Chief Trans13 parency Officer. The Chief Transparency Officer shall 

14 consult with Congress on transparency policy, coordinate 

15 transparency in trade negotiations, engage and assist the 

16 public, and advise the United States Trade Representative 

17 on transparency policy.’’. 

18 SEC. 5. NOTICE, CONSULTATIONS, AND REPORTS. 

19 (a) NOTICE, CONSULTATIONS, AND REPORTS BE20 FORE NEGOTIATION.— 

21 (1) NOTICE.—The President, with respect to 

22 any agreement that is subject to the provisions of 

23 section 3(b), shall— 

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1 ten notice to Congress of the President’s inten2 tion to enter into the negotiations with that 

3 country and set forth in the notice the date on 

4 which the President intends to initiate those ne5 gotiations, the specific United States objectives 

6 for the negotiations with that country, and 

7 whether the President intends to seek an agree8 ment, or changes to an existing agreement; 

9 (B) before and after submission of the no10 tice, consult regarding the negotiations with the 

11 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

12 Representatives and the Committee on Finance 

13 of the Senate, such other committees of the 

14 House and Senate as the President deems ap15 propriate, and the House Advisory Group on 

16 Negotiations and the Senate Advisory Group on 

17 Negotiations convened under section 4(c); 

18 (C) upon the request of a majority of the 

19 members of either the House Advisory Group 

20 on Negotiations or the Senate Advisory Group 

21 on Negotiations convened under section 4(c), 

22 meet with the requesting congressional advisory 

23 group before initiating the negotiations or at 

24 any other time concerning the negotiations; and 


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1 (D) after consulting with the Committee 

2 on Ways and Means and the Committee on Fi3 nance, and at least 30 calendar days before ini4 tiating negotiations with a country, publish on 

5 a publicly available Internet website of the Of6 fice of the United States Trade Representative, 

7 and regularly update thereafter, a detailed and 

8 comprehensive summary of the specific objec9 tives with respect to the negotiations, and a de10 scription of how the agreement, if successfully 

11 concluded, will further those objectives and ben12 efit the United States. 

13 (2) NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING AGRI14 CULTURE.— 

15 (A) ASSESSMENT AND CONSULTATIONS

16 FOLLOWING ASSESSMENT.—Before initiating or 

17 continuing negotiations the subject matter of 

18 which is directly related to the subject matter 

19 under section 2(b)(3)(B) with any country, the 

20 President shall— 

21 (i) assess whether United States tar22 iffs on agricultural products that were 

23 bound under the Uruguay Round Agree24 ments are lower than the tariffs bound by 

25 that country; 


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1 (ii) consider whether the tariff levels 

2 bound and applied throughout the world 

3 with respect to imports from the United 

4 States are higher than United States tar5 iffs and whether the negotiation provides 

6 an opportunity to address any such dis7 parity; and 

8 (iii) consult with the Committee on 

9 Ways and Means and the Committee on 

10 Agriculture of the House of Representa11 tives and the Committee on Finance and 

12 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

13 and Forestry of the Senate concerning the 

14 results of the assessment, whether it is ap15 propriate for the United States to agree to 

16 further tariff reductions based on the con17 clusions reached in the assessment, and 

18 how all applicable negotiating objectives 

19 will be met. 

20 (B) SPECIAL CONSULTATIONS ON IMPORT

21 SENSITIVE PRODUCTS.—(i) Before initiating ne22 gotiations with regard to agriculture and, with 

23 respect to agreements described in paragraphs 

24 (2) and (3) of section 7(a), as soon as prac25 ticable after the date of the enactment of this 


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1 Act, the United States Trade Representative 

2 shall— 

3 (I) identify those agricultural products 

4 subject to tariff rate quotas on the date of 

5 enactment of this Act, and agricultural 

6 products subject to tariff reductions by the 

7 United States as a result of the Uruguay 

8 Round Agreements, for which the rate of 

9 duty was reduced on January 1, 1995, to 

10 a rate which was not less than 97.5 per11 cent of the rate of duty that applied to 

12 such article on December 31, 1994; 

13 (II) consult with the Committee on 

14 Ways and Means and the Committee on 

15 Agriculture of the House of Representa16 tives and the Committee on Finance and 

17 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

18 and Forestry of the Senate concerning— 

19 (aa) whether any further tariff 

20 reductions on the products identified 

21 under subclause (I) should be appro22 priate, taking into account the impact 

23 of any such tariff reduction on the 

24 United States industry producing the 

25 product concerned; 


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1 (bb) whether the products so 

2 identified face unjustified sanitary or 

3 phytosanitary restrictions, including 

4 those not based on scientific principles 

5 in contravention of the Uruguay 

6 Round Agreements; and 

7 (cc) whether the countries par8 ticipating in the negotiations maintain 

9 export subsidies or other programs, 

10 policies, or practices that distort world 

11 trade in such products and the impact 

12 of such programs, policies, and prac13 tices on United States producers of 

14 the products; 

15 (III) request that the International 

16 Trade Commission prepare an assessment 

17 of the probable economic effects of any 

18 such tariff reduction on the United States 

19 industry producing the product concerned 

20 and on the United States economy as a 

21 whole; and 

22 (IV) upon complying with subclauses 

23 (I), (II), and (III), notify the Committee 

24 on Ways and Means and the Committee on 

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1 tives and the Committee on Finance and 

2 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

3 and Forestry of the Senate of those prod4 ucts identified under subclause (I) for 

5 which the Trade Representative intends to 

6 seek tariff liberalization in the negotiations 

7 and the reasons for seeking such tariff lib8 eralization. 

9 (ii) If, after negotiations described in 

10 clause (i) are commenced— 

11 (I) the United States Trade Rep12 resentative identifies any additional agri13 cultural product described in clause (i)(I) 

14 for tariff reductions which were not the 

15 subject of a notification under clause 

16 (i)(IV), or 

17 (II) any additional agricultural prod18 uct described in clause (i)(I) is the subject 

19 of a request for tariff reductions by a 

20 party to the negotiations, 

21 the Trade Representative shall, as soon as prac22 ticable, notify the committees referred to in 

23 clause (i)(IV) of those products and the reasons 

24 for seeking such tariff reductions. 


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1 (3) NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING THE FISHING

2 INDUSTRY.—Before initiating, or continuing, nego3 tiations that directly relate to fish or shellfish trade 

4 with any country, the President shall consult with 

5 the Committee on Ways and Means and the Com6 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep7 resentatives, and the Committee on Finance and the 

8 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor9 tation of the Senate, and shall keep the Committees 

10 apprised of the negotiations on an ongoing and time11 ly basis. 

12 (4) NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING TEXTILES.—Be13 fore initiating or continuing negotiations the subject 

14 matter of which is directly related to textiles and ap15 parel products with any country, the President 

16 shall— 

17 (A) assess whether United States tariffs on 

18 textile and apparel products that were bound 

19 under the Uruguay Round Agreements are 

20 lower than the tariffs bound by that country 

21 and whether the negotiation provides an oppor22 tunity to address any such disparity; and 

23 (B) consult with the Committee on Ways 

24 and Means of the House of Representatives and 

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1 cerning the results of the assessment, whether 

2 it is appropriate for the United States to agree 

3 to further tariff reductions based on the conclu4 sions reached in the assessment, and how all 

5 applicable negotiating objectives will be met. 

6 (5) ADHERENCE TO EXISTING INTERNATIONAL

7 TRADE AND INVESTMENT AGREEMENT OBLIGA8 TIONS.—In determining whether to enter into nego9 tiations with a particular country, the President 

10 shall take into account the extent to which that 

11 country has implemented, or has accelerated the im12 plementation of, its international trade and invest13 ment commitments to the United States, including 

14 pursuant to the WTO Agreement. 

15 (b) CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS BEFORE

16 ENTRY INTO AGREEMENT.— 

17 (1) CONSULTATION.—Before entering into any 

18 trade agreement under section 3(b), the President 

19 shall consult with— 

20 (A) the Committee on Ways and Means of 

21 the House of Representatives and the Com22 mittee on Finance of the Senate; 

23 (B) each other committee of the House 

24 and the Senate, and each joint committee of 

25 Congress, which has jurisdiction over legislation 


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1 involving subject matters which would be af2 fected by the trade agreement; and 

3 (C) the House Advisory Group on Negotia4 tions and the Senate Advisory Group on Nego5 tiations convened under section 4(c). 

6 (2) SCOPE.—The consultation described in 

7 paragraph (1) shall include consultation with respect 

8 to— 

9 (A) the nature of the agreement; 

10 (B) how and to what extent the agreement 

11 will achieve the applicable purposes, policies, 

12 priorities, and objectives of this Act; and 

13 (C) the implementation of the agreement 

14 under section 6, including the general effect of 

15 the agreement on existing laws. 

16 (3) REPORT REGARDING UNITED STATES

17 TRADE REMEDY LAWS.— 

18 (A) CHANGES IN CERTAIN TRADE LAWS.— 

19 The President, not less than 180 calendar days 

20 before the day on which the President enters 

21 into a trade agreement under section 3(b), shall 

22 report to the Committee on Ways and Means of 

23 the House of Representatives and the Com24 mittee on Finance of the Senate— 


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1 (i) the range of proposals advanced in 

2 the negotiations with respect to that agree3 ment, that may be in the final agreement, 

4 and that could require amendments to title 

5 VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 

6 1671 et seq.) or to chapter 1 of title II of 

7 the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2251 et 

8 seq.); and 

9 (ii) how these proposals relate to the 

10 objectives described in section 2(b)(16). 

11 (B) RESOLUTIONS.—(i) At any time after 

12 the transmission of the report under subpara13 graph (A), if a resolution is introduced with re14 spect to that report in either House of Con15 gress, the procedures set forth in clauses (iii) 

16 through (vii) shall apply to that resolution if— 

17 (I) no other resolution with respect to 

18 that report has previously been reported in 

19 that House of Congress by the Committee 

20 on Ways and Means or the Committee on 

21 Finance, as the case may be, pursuant to 

22 those procedures; and 

23 (II) no procedural disapproval resolu24 tion under section 6(b) introduced with re25 spect to a trade agreement entered into 


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1 pursuant to the negotiations to which the 

2 report under subparagraph (A) relates has 

3 previously been reported in that House of 

4 Congress by the Committee on Ways and 

5 Means or the Committee on Finance, as 

6 the case may be. 

7 (ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the 

8 term ‘‘resolution’’ means only a resolution of ei9 ther House of Congress, the matter after the 

10 resolving clause of which is as follows: ‘‘That 

11 the llll finds that the proposed changes 

12 to United States trade remedy laws contained 

13 in the report of the President transmitted to 

14 Congress on llll under section 5(b)(3) of 

15 the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities 

16 and Accountability Act of 2015 with respect to 

17 llll, are inconsistent with the negotiating 

18 objectives described in section 2(b)(16) of that 

19 Act.’’, with the first blank space being filled 

20 with the name of the resolving House of Con21 gress, the second blank space being filled with 

22 the appropriate date of the report, and the 

23 third blank space being filled with the name of 

24 the country or countries involved. 


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1 (iii) Resolutions in the House of Rep2 resentatives— 

3 (I) may be introduced by any Member 

4 of the House; 

5 (II) shall be referred to the Com6 mittee on Ways and Means and, in addi7 tion, to the Committee on Rules; and 

8 (III) may not be amended by either 

9 Committee. 

10 (iv) Resolutions in the Senate— 

11 (I) may be introduced by any Member 

12 of the Senate; 

13 (II) shall be referred to the Com14 mittee on Finance; and 

15 (III) may not be amended. 

16 (v) It is not in order for the House of Rep17 resentatives to consider any resolution that is 

18 not reported by the Committee on Ways and 

19 Means and, in addition, by the Committee on 

20 Rules. 

21 (vi) It is not in order for the Senate to 

22 consider any resolution that is not reported by 

23 the Committee on Finance. 

24 (vii) The provisions of subsections (d) and 

25 (e) of section 152 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 


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1 U.S.C. 2192) (relating to floor consideration of 

2 certain resolutions in the House and Senate) 

3 shall apply to resolutions. 

4 (4) ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORTS.—The re5 port required under section 135(e)(1) of the Trade 

6 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155(e)(1)) regarding any 

7 trade agreement entered into under subsection (a) or 

8 (b) of section 3 shall be provided to the President, 

9 Congress, and the United States Trade Representa10 tive not later than 30 days after the date on which 

11 the President notifies Congress under section 

12 3(a)(2) or 6(a)(1)(A) of the intention of the Presi13 dent to enter into the agreement. 

14 (c) INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION ASSESS15 MENT.— 

16 (1) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION TO COMMIS17 SION.—The President, not later than 90 calendar 

18 days before the day on which the President enters 

19 into a trade agreement under section 3(b), shall pro20 vide the International Trade Commission (referred 

21 to in this subsection as the ‘‘Commission’’) with the 

22 details of the agreement as it exists at that time and 

23 request the Commission to prepare and submit an 

24 assessment of the agreement as described in para25 graph (2). Between the time the President makes 


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1 the request under this paragraph and the time the 

2 Commission submits the assessment, the President 

3 shall keep the Commission current with respect to 

4 the details of the agreement. 

5 (2) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 105 calendar 

6 days after the President enters into a trade agree7 ment under section 3(b), the Commission shall sub8 mit to the President and Congress a report assessing 

9 the likely impact of the agreement on the United 

10 States economy as a whole and on specific industry 

11 sectors, including the impact the agreement will have 

12 on the gross domestic product, exports and imports, 

13 aggregate employment and employment opportuni14 ties, the production, employment, and competitive 

15 position of industries likely to be significantly af16 fected by the agreement, and the interests of United 

17 States consumers. 

18 (3) REVIEW OF EMPIRICAL LITERATURE.—In 

19 preparing the assessment under paragraph (2), the 

20 Commission shall review available economic assess21 ments regarding the agreement, including literature 

22 regarding any substantially equivalent proposed 

23 agreement, and shall provide in its assessment a de24 scription of the analyses used and conclusions drawn 

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1 sensus and divergence between the various analyses 

2 and conclusions, including those of the Commission 

3 regarding the agreement. 

4 (4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The President 

5 shall make each assessment under paragraph (2) 

6 available to the public. 

7 (d) REPORTS SUBMITTED TO COMMITTEES WITH

8 AGREEMENT.— 

9 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS AND RE10 PORTS.—The President shall— 

11 (A) conduct environmental reviews of fu12 ture trade and investment agreements, con13 sistent with Executive Order 13141 (64 Fed. 

14 Reg. 63169), dated November 16, 1999, and its 

15 relevant guidelines; and 

16 (B) submit a report on those reviews and 

17 on the content and operation of consultative 

18 mechanisms established pursuant to section 

19 2(c) to the Committee on Ways and Means of 

20 the House of Representatives and the Com21 mittee on Finance of the Senate at the time the 

22 President submits to Congress a copy of the 

23 final legal text of an agreement pursuant to 

24 section 6(a)(1)(E). 


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1 (2) EMPLOYMENT IMPACT REVIEWS AND RE2 PORTS.—The President shall— 

3 (A) review the impact of future trade 

4 agreements on United States employment, in5 cluding labor markets, modeled after Executive 

6 Order 13141 (64 Fed. Reg. 63169) to the ex7 tent appropriate in establishing procedures and 

8 criteria; and 

9 (B) submit a report on such reviews to the 

10 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

11 Representatives and the Committee on Finance 

12 of the Senate at the time the President submits 

13 to Congress a copy of the final legal text of an 

14 agreement pursuant to section 6(a)(1)(E). 

15 (3) REPORT ON LABOR RIGHTS.—The President 

16 shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means 

17 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

18 on Finance of the Senate, on a timeframe deter19 mined in accordance with section 4(c)(3)(B)(v)— 

20 (A) a meaningful labor rights report of the 

21 country, or countries, with respect to which the 

22 President is negotiating; and 

23 (B) a description of any provisions that 

24 would require changes to the labor laws and 

25 labor practices of the United States. 


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1 (4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The President 

2 shall make all reports required under this subsection 

3 available to the public. 

4 (e) IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT PLAN.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the time the President 

6 submits to Congress a copy of the final legal text of 

7 an agreement pursuant to section 6(a)(1)(E), the 

8 President shall also submit to Congress a plan for 

9 implementing and enforcing the agreement. 

10 (2) ELEMENTS.—The implementation and en11 forcement plan required by paragraph (1) shall in12 clude the following: 

13 (A) BORDER PERSONNEL REQUIRE14 MENTS.—A description of additional personnel 

15 required at border entry points, including a list 

16 of additional customs and agricultural inspec17 tors. 

18 (B) AGENCY STAFFING REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 A description of additional personnel required 

20 by Federal agencies responsible for monitoring 

21 and implementing the trade agreement, includ22 ing personnel required by the Office of the 

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1 quired to implement sanitary and phytosanitary 

2 measures in order to obtain market access for 

3 United States exports), the Department of 

4 Homeland Security, the Department of the 

5 Treasury, and such other agencies as may be 

6 necessary. 

7 (C) CUSTOMS INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIRE8 MENTS.—A description of the additional equip9 ment and facilities needed by U.S. Customs and 

10 Border Protection. 

11 (D) IMPACT ON STATE AND LOCAL GOV12 ERNMENTS.—A description of the impact the 

13 trade agreement will have on State and local 

14 governments as a result of increases in trade. 

15 (E) COST ANALYSIS.—An analysis of the 

16 costs associated with each of the items listed in 

17 subparagraphs (A) through (D). 

18 (3) BUDGET SUBMISSION.—The President shall 

19 include a request for the resources necessary to sup20 port the plan required by paragraph (1) in the first 

21 budget of the President submitted to Congress 

22 under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 

23 Code, after the date of the submission of the plan. 


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1 (4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The President 

2 shall make the plan required under this subsection 

3 available to the public. 

4 (f) OTHER REPORTS.— 

5 (1) REPORT ON PENALTIES.—Not later than 

6 one year after the imposition by the United States 

7 of a penalty or remedy permitted by a trade agree8 ment to which this Act applies, the President shall 

9 submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

10 House of Representatives and the Committee on Fi11 nance of the Senate a report on the effectiveness of 

12 the penalty or remedy applied under United States 

13 law in enforcing United States rights under the 

14 trade agreement, which shall address whether the 

15 penalty or remedy was effective in changing the be16 havior of the targeted party and whether the penalty 

17 or remedy had any adverse impact on parties or in18 terests not party to the dispute. 

19 (2) REPORT ON IMPACT OF TRADE PROMOTION

20 AUTHORITY.—Not later than one year after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act, and not later than 5 

22 years thereafter, the United States International 

23 Trade Commission shall submit to the Committee on 

24 Ways and Means of the House of Representatives 

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1 port on the economic impact on the United States 

2 of all trade agreements with respect to which Con3 gress has enacted an implementing bill under trade 

4 authorities procedures since January 1, 1984. 

5 (3) ENFORCEMENT CONSULTATIONS AND RE6 PORTS.—(A) The United States Trade Representa7 tive shall consult with the Committee on Ways and 

8 Means of the House of Representatives and the 

9 Committee on Finance of the Senate after accept10 ance of a petition for review or taking an enforce11 ment action in regard to an obligation under a trade 

12 agreement, including a labor or environmental obli13 gation. During such consultations, the United States 

14 Trade Representative shall describe the matter, in15 cluding the basis for such action and the application 

16 of any relevant legal obligations. 

17 (B) As part of the report required pursuant to 

18 section 163 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

19 2213), the President shall report annually to Con20 gress on enforcement actions taken pursuant to a 

21 trade agreement to which the United States is a 

22 party, as well as on any public reports issued by 

23 Federal agencies on enforcement matters relating to 

24 a trade agreement. 


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1 (g) ADDITIONAL COORDINATION WITH MEMBERS.— 

2 Any Member of the House of Representatives may submit 

3 to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

4 Representatives and any Member of the Senate may sub5 mit to the Committee on Finance of the Senate the views 

6 of that Member on any matter relevant to a proposed 

7 trade agreement, and the relevant Committee shall receive 

8 those views for consideration. 

9 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF TRADE AGREEMENTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

11 (1) NOTIFICATION AND SUBMISSION.—Any 

12 agreement entered into under section 3(b) shall 

13 enter into force with respect to the United States if 

14 (and only if)— 

15 (A) the President, at least 90 calendar 

16 days before the day on which the President en17 ters into the trade agreement, notifies the 

18 House of Representatives and the Senate of the 

19 President’s intention to enter into the agree20 ment, and promptly thereafter publishes notice 

21 of such intention in the Federal Register; 

22 (B) the President, at least 60 days before 

23 the day on which the President enters into the 

24 agreement, publishes the text of the agreement 

25 on a publicly available Internet website of the 


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1 Office of the United States Trade Representa2 tive; 

3 (C) within 60 days after entering into the 

4 agreement, the President submits to Congress a 

5 description of those changes to existing laws 

6 that the President considers would be required 

7 in order to bring the United States into compli8 ance with the agreement; 

9 (D) the President, at least 30 days before 

10 submitting to Congress the materials under 

11 subparagraph (E), submits to Congress— 

12 (i) a draft statement of any adminis13 trative action proposed to implement the 

14 agreement; and 

15 (ii) a copy of the final legal text of the 

16 agreement; 

17 (E) after entering into the agreement, the 

18 President submits to Congress, on a day on 

19 which both Houses of Congress are in session, 

20 a copy of the final legal text of the agreement, 

21 together with— 

22 (i) a draft of an implementing bill de23 scribed in section 3(b)(3); 


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1 (ii) a statement of any administrative 

2 action proposed to implement the trade 

3 agreement; and 

4 (iii) the supporting information de5 scribed in paragraph (2)(A); 

6 (F) the implementing bill is enacted into 

7 law; and 

8 (G) the President, not later than 30 days 

9 before the date on which the agreement enters 

10 into force with respect to a party to the agree11 ment, submits written notice to Congress that 

12 the President has determined that the party 

13 has taken measures necessary to comply with 

14 those provisions of the agreement that are to 

15 take effect on the date on which the agreement 

16 enters into force. 

17 (2) SUPPORTING INFORMATION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The supporting infor19 mation required under paragraph (1)(E)(iii) 

20 consists of— 

21 (i) an explanation as to how the im22 plementing bill and proposed administra23 tive action will change or affect existing 

24 law; and 

25 (ii) a statement— 


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1 (I) asserting that the agreement 

2 makes progress in achieving the appli3 cable purposes, policies, priorities, and 

4 objectives of this Act; and 

5 (II) setting forth the reasons of 

6 the President regarding— 

7 (aa) how and to what extent 

8 the agreement makes progress in 

9 achieving the applicable purposes, 

10 policies, and objectives referred 

11 to in subclause (I); 

12 (bb) whether and how the 

13 agreement changes provisions of 

14 an agreement previously nego15 tiated; 

16 (cc) how the agreement 

17 serves the interests of United 

18 States commerce; and 

19 (dd) how the implementing 

20 bill meets the standards set forth 

21 in section 3(b)(3). 

22 (B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Presi23 dent shall make the supporting information de24 scribed in subparagraph (A) available to the 

25 public. 


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1 (3) RECIPROCAL BENEFITS.—In order to en2 sure that a foreign country that is not a party to a 

3 trade agreement entered into under section 3(b) 

4 does not receive benefits under the agreement unless 

5 the country is also subject to the obligations under 

6 the agreement, the implementing bill submitted with 

7 respect to the agreement shall provide that the bene8 fits and obligations under the agreement apply only 

9 to the parties to the agreement, if such application 

10 is consistent with the terms of the agreement. The 

11 implementing bill may also provide that the benefits 

12 and obligations under the agreement do not apply 

13 uniformly to all parties to the agreement, if such ap14 plication is consistent with the terms of the agree15 ment. 

16 (4) DISCLOSURE OF COMMITMENTS.—Any 

17 agreement or other understanding with a foreign 

18 government or governments (whether oral or in writ19 ing) that— 

20 (A) relates to a trade agreement with re21 spect to which Congress enacts an imple22 menting bill under trade authorities procedures; 

23 and 


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1 (B) is not disclosed to Congress before an 

2 implementing bill with respect to that agree3 ment is introduced in either House of Congress, 

4 shall not be considered to be part of the agreement 

5 approved by Congress and shall have no force and 

6 effect under United States law or in any dispute set7 tlement body. 

8 (b) LIMITATIONS ON TRADE AUTHORITIES PROCE9 DURES.— 

10 (1) FOR LACK OF NOTICE OR CONSULTA11 TIONS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The trade authorities 

13 procedures shall not apply to any implementing 

14 bill submitted with respect to a trade agreement 

15 or trade agreements entered into under section 

16 3(b) if during the 60-day period beginning on 

17 the date that one House of Congress agrees to 

18 a procedural disapproval resolution for lack of 

19 notice or consultations with respect to such 

20 trade agreement or agreements, the other 

21 House separately agrees to a procedural dis22 approval resolution with respect to such trade 

23 agreement or agreements. 

24 (B) PROCEDURAL DISAPPROVAL RESOLU25 TION.—(i) For purposes of this paragraph, the 


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1 term ‘‘procedural disapproval resolution’’ means 

2 a resolution of either House of Congress, the 

3 sole matter after the resolving clause of which 

4 is as follows: ‘‘That the President has failed or 

5 refused to notify or consult in accordance with 

6 the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities 

7 and Accountability Act of 2015 on negotiations 

8 with respect to llllllll and, there9 fore, the trade authorities procedures under 

10 that Act shall not apply to any implementing 

11 bill submitted with respect to such trade agree12 ment or agreements.’’, with the blank space 

13 being filled with a description of the trade 

14 agreement or agreements with respect to which 

15 the President is considered to have failed or re16 fused to notify or consult. 

17 (ii) For purposes of clause (i) and para18 graphs (3)(C) and (4)(C), the President has 

19 ‘‘failed or refused to notify or consult in accord20 ance with the Bipartisan Congressional Trade 

21 Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015’’ on 

22 negotiations with respect to a trade agreement 

23 or trade agreements if— 

24 (I) the President has failed or refused 

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1 ance with sections 4 and 5 and this section 

2 with respect to the negotiations, agree3 ment, or agreements; 

4 (II) guidelines under section 4 have 

5 not been developed or met with respect to 

6 the negotiations, agreement, or agree7 ments; 

8 (III) the President has not met with 

9 the House Advisory Group on Negotiations 

10 or the Senate Advisory Group on Negotia11 tions pursuant to a request made under 

12 section 4(c)(4) with respect to the negotia13 tions, agreement, or agreements; or 

14 (IV) the agreement or agreements fail 

15 to make progress in achieving the pur16 poses, policies, priorities, and objectives of 

17 this Act. 

18 (2) PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERING RESOLU19 TIONS.—(A) Procedural disapproval resolutions— 

20 (i) in the House of Representatives— 

21 (I) may be introduced by any Member 

22 of the House; 

23 (II) shall be referred to the Com24 mittee on Ways and Means and, in addi25 tion, to the Committee on Rules; and 


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1 (III) may not be amended by either 

2 Committee; and 

3 (ii) in the Senate— 

4 (I) may be introduced by any Member 

5 of the Senate; 

6 (II) shall be referred to the Com7 mittee on Finance; and 

8 (III) may not be amended. 

9 (B) The provisions of subsections (d) and (e) of 

10 section 152 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

11 2192) (relating to the floor consideration of certain 

12 resolutions in the House and Senate) apply to a pro13 cedural disapproval resolution introduced with re14 spect to a trade agreement if no other procedural 

15 disapproval resolution with respect to that trade 

16 agreement has previously been reported in that 

17 House of Congress by the Committee on Ways and 

18 Means or the Committee on Finance, as the case 

19 may be, and if no resolution described in clause (ii) 

20 of section 5(b)(3)(B) with respect to that trade 

21 agreement has been reported in that House of Con22 gress by the Committee on Ways and Means or the 

23 Committee on Finance, as the case may be, pursu24 ant to the procedures set forth in clauses (iii) 

25 through (vii) of such section. 


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1 (C) It is not in order for the House of Rep2 resentatives to consider any procedural disapproval 

3 resolution not reported by the Committee on Ways 

4 and Means and, in addition, by the Committee on 

5 Rules. 

6 (D) It is not in order for the Senate to consider 

7 any procedural disapproval resolution not reported 

8 by the Committee on Finance. 

9 (3) CONSIDERATION IN SENATE OF CONSULTA10 TION AND COMPLIANCE RESOLUTION TO REMOVE

11 TRADE AUTHORITIES PROCEDURES.— 

12 (A) REPORTING OF RESOLUTION.—If, 

13 when the Committee on Finance of the Senate 

14 meets on whether to report an implementing 

15 bill with respect to a trade agreement or agree16 ments entered into under section 3(b), the com17 mittee fails to favorably report the bill, the 

18 committee shall report a resolution described in 

19 subparagraph (C). 

20 (B) APPLICABILITY OF TRADE AUTHORI21 TIES PROCEDURES.—The trade authorities pro22 cedures shall not apply in the Senate to any im23 plementing bill submitted with respect to a 

24 trade agreement or agreements described in 

25 subparagraph (A) if the Committee on Finance 


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1 reports a resolution described in subparagraph 

2 (C) and such resolution is agreed to by the Sen3 ate. 

4 (C) RESOLUTION DESCRIBED.—A resolu5 tion described in this subparagraph is a resolu6 tion of the Senate originating from the Com7 mittee on Finance the sole matter after the re8 solving clause of which is as follows: ‘‘That the 

9 President has failed or refused to notify or con10 sult in accordance with the Bipartisan Congres11 sional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act 

12 of 2015 on negotiations with respect to 

13 lllll and, therefore, the trade authori14 ties procedures under that Act shall not apply 

15 in the Senate to any implementing bill sub16 mitted with respect to such trade agreement or 

17 agreements.’’, with the blank space being filled 

18 with a description of the trade agreement or 

19 agreements described in subparagraph (A). 

20 (D) PROCEDURES.—If the Senate does not 

21 agree to a motion to invoke cloture on the mo22 tion to proceed to a resolution described in sub23 paragraph (C), the resolution shall be com24 mitted to the Committee on Finance. 


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1 (4) CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE OF REP2 RESENTATIVES OF A CONSULTATION AND COMPLI3 ANCE RESOLUTION.— 

4 (A) QUALIFICATIONS FOR REPORTING RES5 OLUTION.—If— 

6 (i) the Committee on Ways and 

7 Means of the House of Representatives re8 ports an implementing bill with respect to 

9 a trade agreement or agreements entered 

10 into under section 3(b) with other than a 

11 favorable recommendation; and 

12 (ii) a Member of the House of Rep13 resentatives has introduced a consultation 

14 and compliance resolution on the legislative 

15 day following the filing of a report to ac16 company the implementing bill with other 

17 than a favorable recommendation, 

18 then the Committee on Ways and Means shall 

19 consider a consultation and compliance resolu20 tion pursuant to subparagraph (B). 

21 (B) COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION OF A

22 QUALIFYING RESOLUTION.—(i) Not later than 

23 the fourth legislative day after the date of intro24 duction of the resolution, the Committee on 

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1 lution meeting the qualifications set forth in 

2 subparagraph (A). 

3 (ii) After consideration of one such resolu4 tion by the Committee on Ways and Means, 

5 this subparagraph shall not apply to any other 

6 such resolution. 

7 (iii) If the Committee on Ways and Means 

8 has not reported the resolution by the sixth leg9 islative day after the date of its introduction, 

10 that committee shall be discharged from further 

11 consideration of the resolution. 

12 (C) CONSULTATION AND COMPLIANCE RES13 OLUTION DESCRIBED.—A consultation and 

14 compliance resolution— 

15 (i) is a resolution of the House of 

16 Representatives, the sole matter after the 

17 resolving clause of which is as follows: 

18 ‘‘That the President has failed or refused 

19 to notify or consult in accordance with the 

20 Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities 

21 and Accountability Act of 2015 on negotia22 tions with respect to lllll and, 

23 therefore, the trade authorities procedures 

24 under that Act shall not apply in the 

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1 menting bill submitted with respect to such 

2 trade agreement or agreements.’’, with the 

3 blank space being filled with a description 

4 of the trade agreement or agreements de5 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 

6 (ii) shall be referred to the Committee 

7 on Ways and Means. 

8 (D) APPLICABILITY OF TRADE AUTHORI9 TIES PROCEDURES.—The trade authorities pro10 cedures shall not apply in the House of Rep11 resentatives to any implementing bill submitted 

12 with respect to a trade agreement or agree13 ments which are the object of a consultation 

14 and compliance resolution if such resolution is 

15 adopted by the House. 

16 (5) FOR FAILURE TO MEET OTHER REQUIRE17 MENTS.—Not later than December 15, 2015, the 

18 Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the 

19 Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, 

20 the Attorney General, and the United States Trade 

21 Representative, shall transmit to Congress a report 

22 setting forth the strategy of the executive branch to 

23 address concerns of Congress regarding whether dis24 pute settlement panels and the Appellate Body of 

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1 tions, or diminished rights, of the United States, as 

2 described in section 2(b)(15)(C). Trade authorities 

3 procedures shall not apply to any implementing bill 

4 with respect to an agreement negotiated under the 

5 auspices of the World Trade Organization unless the 

6 Secretary of Commerce has issued such report by 

7 the deadline specified in this paragraph. 

8 (c) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND

9 SENATE.—Subsection (b) of this section, section 3(c), and 

10 section 5(b)(3) are enacted by Congress— 

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

12 the House of Representatives and the Senate, re13 spectively, and as such are deemed a part of the 

14 rules of each House, respectively, and such proce15 dures supersede other rules only to the extent that 

16 they are inconsistent with such other rules; and 

17 (2) with the full recognition of the constitu18 tional right of either House to change the rules (so 

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

20 any time, in the same manner, and to the same ex21 tent as any other rule of that House. 


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1 SEC. 7. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TRADE AGREEMENTS FOR 

2 WHICH NEGOTIATIONS HAVE ALREADY 

3 BEGUN. 

4 (a) CERTAIN AGREEMENTS.—Notwithstanding the 

5 prenegotiation notification and consultation requirement 

6 described in section 5(a), if an agreement to which section 

7 3(b) applies— 

8 (1) is entered into under the auspices of the 

9 World Trade Organization, 

10 (2) is entered into with the Trans-Pacific Part11 nership countries with respect to which notifications 

12 have been made in a manner consistent with section 

13 5(a)(1)(A) as of the date of the enactment of this 

14 Act, 

15 (3) is entered into with the European Union, 

16 (4) is an agreement with respect to inter17 national trade in services entered into with WTO 

18 members with respect to which a notification has 

19 been made in a manner consistent with section 

20 5(a)(1)(A) as of the date of the enactment of this 

21 Act, or 

22 (5) is an agreement with respect to environ23 mental goods entered into with WTO members with 

24 respect to which a notification has been made in a 

25 manner consistent with section 5(a)(1)(A) as of the 

26 date of the enactment of this Act, 


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1 and results from negotiations that were commenced before 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, subsection (b) shall 

3 apply. 

4 (b) TREATMENT OF AGREEMENTS.—In the case of 

5 any agreement to which subsection (a) applies, the appli6 cability of the trade authorities procedures to imple7 menting bills shall be determined without regard to the 

8 requirements of section 5(a) (relating only to notice prior 

9 to initiating negotiations), and any resolution under para10 graph (1)(B), (3)(C), or (4)(C) of section 6(b) shall not 

11 be in order on the basis of a failure or refusal to comply 

12 with the provisions of section 5(a), if (and only if) the 

13 President, as soon as feasible after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act— 

15 (1) notifies Congress of the negotiations de16 scribed in subsection (a), the specific United States 

17 objectives in the negotiations, and whether the Presi18 dent is seeking a new agreement or changes to an 

19 existing agreement; and 

20 (2) before and after submission of the notice, 

21 consults regarding the negotiations with the commit22 tees referred to in section 5(a)(1)(B) and the House 

23 and Senate Advisory Groups on Negotiations con24 vened under section 4(c). 


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1 SEC. 8. SOVEREIGNTY. 

2 (a) UNITED STATES LAW TO PREVAIL IN EVENT OF

3 CONFLICT.—No provision of any trade agreement entered 

4 into under section 3(b), nor the application of any such 

5 provision to any person or circumstance, that is incon6 sistent with any law of the United States, any State of 

7 the United States, or any locality of the United States 

8 shall have effect. 

9 (b) AMENDMENTS OR MODIFICATIONS OF UNITED

10 STATES LAW.—No provision of any trade agreement en11 tered into under section 3(b) shall prevent the United 

12 States, any State of the United States, or any locality of 

13 the United States from amending or modifying any law 

14 of the United States, that State, or that locality (as the 

15 case may be). 

16 (c) DISPUTE SETTLEMENT REPORTS.—Reports, in17 cluding findings and recommendations, issued by dispute 

18 settlement panels convened pursuant to any trade agree19 ment entered into under section 3(b) shall have no binding 

20 effect on the law of the United States, the Government 

21 of the United States, or the law or government of any 

22 State or locality of the United States. 

23 SEC. 9. INTERESTS OF SMALL BUSINESSES. 

24 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con25 gress that— 


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1 (1) the United States Trade Representative 

2 should facilitate participation by small businesses in 

3 the trade negotiation process; and 

4 (2) the functions of the Office of the United 

5 States Trade Representative relating to small busi6 nesses should continue to be reflected in the title of 

7 the Assistant United States Trade Representative 

8 assigned the responsibility for small businesses. 

9 (b) CONSIDERATION OF SMALL BUSINESS INTER10 ESTS.—The Assistant United States Trade Representative 

11 for Small Business, Market Access, and Industrial Com12 petitiveness shall be responsible for ensuring that the in13 terests of small businesses are considered in all trade ne14 gotiations in accordance with the objective described in 

15 section 2(a)(8). 

16 SEC. 10. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS; APPLICATION OF 

17 CERTAIN PROVISIONS. 

18 (a) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) ADVICE FROM UNITED STATES INTER20 NATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION.—Section 131 of the 

21 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2151) is amended— 

22 (A) in subsection (a)— 

23 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sec24 tion 2103(a) or (b) of the Bipartisan 

25 Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘subsection (a) or (b) of sec2 tion 3 of the Bipartisan Congressional 

3 Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 

4 2015’’; and 

5 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘sec6 tion 2103(b) of the Bipartisan Trade Pro7 motion Authority Act of 2002’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘section 3(b) of the Bipartisan Con9 gressional Trade Priorities and Account10 ability Act of 2015’’; 

11 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘section 

12 2103(a)(3)(A) of the Bipartisan Trade Pro13 motion Authority Act of 2002’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘section 3(a)(4)(A) of the Bipartisan Congres15 sional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act 

16 of 2015’’; and 

17 (C) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘section 

18 2103 of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Au19 thority Act of 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

20 3(a) of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Pri21 orities and Accountability Act of 2015’’. 

22 (2) HEARINGS.—Section 132 of the Trade Act 

23 of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2152) is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘section 2103 of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion 

25 Authority Act of 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3 of 


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1 the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and 

2 Accountability Act of 2015’’. 

3 (3) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Section 133(a) of the 

4 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2153(a)) is amended 

5 by striking ‘‘section 2103 of the Bipartisan Trade 

6 Promotion Authority Act of 2002’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘section 3 of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade 

8 Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015’’. 

9 (4) PREREQUISITES FOR OFFERS.—Section 134 

10 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2154) is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘section 2103 of the Bipartisan 

12 Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002’’ each place 

13 it appears and inserting ‘‘section 3 of the Bipartisan 

14 Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability 

15 Act of 2015’’. 

16 (5) INFORMATION AND ADVICE FROM PRIVATE

17 AND PUBLIC SECTORS.—Section 135 of the Trade 

18 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155) is amended— 

19 (A) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by striking 

20 ‘‘section 2103 of the Bipartisan Trade Pro21 motion Authority Act of 2002’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘section 3 of the Bipartisan Congressional 

23 Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 

24 2015’’; and 

25 (B) in subsection (e)— 


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1 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (I) by striking ‘‘section 2103 of 

3 the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Au4 thority Act of 2002’’ each place it ap5 pears and inserting ‘‘section 3 of the 

6 Bipartisan Congressional Trade Prior7 ities and Accountability Act of 2015’’; 

8 and 

9 (II) by striking ‘‘not later than 

10 the date on which the President noti11 fies the Congress under section 

12 2105(a)(1)(A) of the Bipartisan 

13 Trade Promotion Authority Act of 

14 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘not later than 

15 the date that is 30 days after the date 

16 on which the President notifies Con17 gress under section 6(a)(1)(A) of the 

18 Bipartisan Congressional Trade Prior19 ities and Accountability Act of 2015’’; 

20 and 

21 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘sec22 tion 2102 of the Bipartisan Trade Pro23 motion Authority Act of 2002’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘section 2 of the Bipartisan CongresVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Apr 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00104 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995

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1 sional Trade Priorities and Accountability 

2 Act of 2015’’. 

3 (6) PROCEDURES RELATING TO IMPLEMENTING

4 BILLS.—Section 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 

5 U.S.C. 2191) is amended— 

6 (A) in subsection (b)(1), in the matter pre7 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘section 

8 2105(a)(1) of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion 

9 Authority Act of 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

10 6(a)(1) of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade 

11 Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015’’; and 

12 (B) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘sec13 tion 2105(a)(1) of the Bipartisan Trade Pro14 motion Authority Act of 2002’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘section 6(a)(1) of the Bipartisan Congres16 sional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act 

17 of 2015’’. 

18 (7) TRANSMISSION OF AGREEMENTS TO CON19 GRESS.—Section 162(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 

20 (19 U.S.C. 2212(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

21 2103 of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority 

22 Act of 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3 of the Bipar23 tisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Account24 ability Act of 2015’’. 


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1 (b) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.—For 

2 purposes of applying sections 125, 126, and 127 of the 

3 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2135, 2136, and 2137)— 

4 (1) any trade agreement entered into under sec5 tion 3 shall be treated as an agreement entered into 

6 under section 101 or 102 of the Trade Act of 1974 

7 (19 U.S.C. 2111 or 2112), as appropriate; and 

8 (2) any proclamation or Executive order issued 

9 pursuant to a trade agreement entered into under 

10 section 3 shall be treated as a proclamation or Exec11 utive order issued pursuant to a trade agreement en12 tered into under section 102 of the Trade Act of 

13 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2112). 

14 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE.—The term 

17 ‘‘Agreement on Agriculture’’ means the agreement 

18 referred to in section 101(d)(2) of the Uruguay 

19 Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(2)). 

20 (2) AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS.—The term 

21 ‘‘Agreement on Safeguards’’ means the agreement 

22 referred to in section 101(d)(13) of the Uruguay 

23 Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(13)). 

24 (3) AGREEMENT ON SUBSIDIES AND COUNTER25 VAILING MEASURES.—The term ‘‘Agreement on SubVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Apr 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S995.IS S995

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1 sidies and Countervailing Measures’’ means the 

2 agreement referred to in section 101(d)(12) of the 

3 Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 

4 3511(d)(12)). 

5 (4) ANTIDUMPING AGREEMENT.—The term 

6 ‘‘Antidumping Agreement’’ means the Agreement on 

7 Implementation of Article VI of the General Agree8 ment on Tariffs and Trade 1994 referred to in sec9 tion 101(d)(7) of the Uruguay Round Agreements 

10 Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(7)). 

11 (5) APPELLATE BODY.—The term ‘‘Appellate 

12 Body’’ means the Appellate Body established under 

13 Article 17.1 of the Dispute Settlement Under14 standing. 

15 (6) COMMON MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL

16 AGREEMENT.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘common 

18 multilateral environmental agreement’’ means 

19 any agreement specified in subparagraph (B) or 

20 included under subparagraph (C) to which both 

21 the United States and one or more other par22 ties to the negotiations are full parties, includ23 ing any current or future mutually agreed upon 

24 protocols, amendments, annexes, or adjust25 ments to such an agreement. 


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1 (B) AGREEMENTS SPECIFIED.—The agree2 ments specified in this subparagraph are the 

3 following: 

4 (i) The Convention on International 

5 Trade in Endangered Species of Wild 

6 Fauna and Flora, done at Washington 

7 March 3, 1973 (27 UST 1087; TIAS 

8 8249). 

9 (ii) The Montreal Protocol on Sub10 stances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, 

11 done at Montreal September 16, 1987. 

12 (iii) The Protocol of 1978 Relating to 

13 the International Convention for the Pre14 vention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, 

15 done at London February 17, 1978. 

16 (iv) The Convention on Wetlands of 

17 International Importance Especially as 

18 Waterfowl Habitat, done at Ramsar Feb19 ruary 2, 1971 (TIAS 11084). 

20 (v) The Convention on the Conserva21 tion of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, 

22 done at Canberra May 20, 1980 (33 UST 

23 3476). 


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1 (vi) The International Convention for 

2 the Regulation of Whaling, done at Wash3 ington December 2, 1946 (62 Stat. 1716). 

4 (vii) The Convention for the Estab5 lishment of an Inter-American Tropical 

6 Tuna Commission, done at Washington 

7 May 31, 1949 (1 UST 230). 

8 (C) ADDITIONAL AGREEMENTS.—Both the 

9 United States and one or more other parties to 

10 the negotiations may agree to include any other 

11 multilateral environmental or conservation 

12 agreement to which they are full parties as a 

13 common multilateral environmental agreement 

14 under this paragraph. 

15 (7) CORE LABOR STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘core 

16 labor standards’’ means— 

17 (A) freedom of association; 

18 (B) the effective recognition of the right to 

19 collective bargaining; 

20 (C) the elimination of all forms of forced 

21 or compulsory labor; 

22 (D) the effective abolition of child labor 

23 and a prohibition on the worst forms of child 

24 labor; and 


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1 (E) the elimination of discrimination in re2 spect of employment and occupation. 

3 (8) DISPUTE SETTLEMENT UNDERSTANDING.— 

4 The term ‘‘Dispute Settlement Understanding’’ 

5 means the Understanding on Rules and Procedures 

6 Governing the Settlement of Disputes referred to in 

7 section 101(d)(16) of the Uruguay Round Agree8 ments Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(16)). 

9 (9) ENABLING CLAUSE.—The term ‘‘Enabling 

10 Clause’’ means the Decision on Differential and 

11 More Favourable Treatment, Reciprocity and Fuller 

12 Participation of Developing Countries (L/4903), 

13 adopted November 28, 1979, under GATT 1947 (as 

14 defined in section 2 of the Uruguay Round Agree15 ments Act (19 U.S.C. 3501)). 

16 (10) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—The term ‘‘envi17 ronmental laws’’, with respect to the laws of the 

18 United States, means environmental statutes and 

19 regulations enforceable by action of the Federal Gov20 ernment. 

21 (11) GATT 1994.—The term ‘‘GATT 1994’’ 

22 has the meaning given that term in section 2 of the 

23 Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3501). 

24 (12) GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN

25 SERVICES.—The term ‘‘General Agreement on Trade 


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1 in Services’’ means the General Agreement on Trade 

2 in Services (referred to in section 101(d)(14) of the 

3 Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 

4 3511(d)(14))). 

5 (13) GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT AGREE6 MENT.—The term ‘‘Government Procurement Agree7 ment’’ means the Agreement on Government Pro8 curement referred to in section 101(d)(17) of the 

9 Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 

10 3511(d)(17)). 

11 (14) ILO.—The term ‘‘ILO’’ means the Inter12 national Labor Organization. 

13 (15) IMPORT SENSITIVE AGRICULTURAL PROD14 UCT.—The term ‘‘import sensitive agricultural prod15 uct’’ means an agricultural product— 

16 (A) with respect to which, as a result of 

17 the Uruguay Round Agreements, the rate of 

18 duty was the subject of tariff reductions by the 

19 United States and, pursuant to such Agree20 ments, was reduced on January 1, 1995, to a 

21 rate that was not less than 97.5 percent of the 

22 rate of duty that applied to such article on De23 cember 31, 1994; or 

24 (B) which was subject to a tariff rate 

25 quota on the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (16) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AGREE2 MENT.—The term ‘‘Information Technology Agree3 ment’’ means the Ministerial Declaration on Trade 

4 in Information Technology Products of the World 

5 Trade Organization, agreed to at Singapore Decem6 ber 13, 1996. 

7 (17) INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED CORE

8 LABOR STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘internationally rec9 ognized core labor standards’’ means the core labor 

10 standards only as stated in the ILO Declaration on 

11 Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its 

12 Follow-Up (1998). 

13 (18) LABOR LAWS.—The term ‘‘labor laws’’ 

14 means the statutes and regulations, or provisions 

15 thereof, of a party to the negotiations that are di16 rectly related to core labor standards as well as 

17 other labor protections for children and minors and 

18 acceptable conditions of work with respect to min19 imum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety 

20 and health, and for the United States, includes Fed21 eral statutes and regulations addressing those stand22 ards, protections, or conditions, but does not include 

23 State or local labor laws. 

24 (19) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

25 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 


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1 (A) a United States citizen; 

2 (B) a partnership, corporation, or other 

3 legal entity that is organized under the laws of 

4 the United States; and 

5 (C) a partnership, corporation, or other 

6 legal entity that is organized under the laws of 

7 a foreign country and is controlled by entities 

8 described in subparagraph (B) or United States 

9 citizens, or both. 

10 (20) URUGUAY ROUND AGREEMENTS.—The 

11 term ‘‘Uruguay Round Agreements’’ has the mean12 ing given that term in section 2(7) of the Uruguay 

13 Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3501(7)). 

14 (21) WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION; WTO.—The 

15 terms ‘‘World Trade Organization’’ and ‘‘WTO’’ 

16 mean the organization established pursuant to the 

17 WTO Agreement. 

18 (22) WTO AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘WTO 

19 Agreement’’ means the Agreement Establishing the 

20 World Trade Organization entered into on April 15, 

21 1994. 

22 (23) WTO MEMBER.—The term ‘‘WTO mem23 ber’’ has the meaning given that term in section 


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1 2(10) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 

2 U.S.C. 3501(10)). 

Æ 


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