I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2287 
To assess the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement 
(NAFTA), to require further negotiation of certain provisions of the 
NAFTA, and to provide for the withdrawal from the NAFTA unless 
certain conditions are met. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 22, 2011 
Ms. KAPTUR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To assess the impact of the North American Free Trade 
Agreement (NAFTA), to require further negotiation of 
certain provisions of the NAFTA, and to provide for 
the withdrawal from the NAFTA unless certain condi-
tions are met. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NAFTA Accountability 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) RISING DEFICITS IN UNITED STATES TRADE 
ACCOUNTS.—One of the purposes of the North 
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), as stat-
ed in the preamble, is to ‘‘create an expanded and 
secure market’’ for goods and services. Instead, the 
NAFTA has resulted in a spiraling United States 
trade deficit with Mexico and Canada that exceeded 
$93,000,000,000 
in 
2010, 
and 
more 
than 
$1,300,000,000,000 since the agreement’s inception. 
Rather than continuous development and expansion 
as envisioned and growing trade surpluses for the 
United States, the NAFTA has resulted in United 
States job losses and escalating trade deficits. 
(2) EROSION OF THE UNITED STATES MANU-
FACTURING
BASE.—One of the purposes of the 
NAFTA is to enhance the competitiveness of firms 
in the global market. However, rather than increase 
the ability of the manufacturing sector in the United 
States to compete in the world market, the NAFTA 
has facilitated and accelerated the outsourcing of 
United States manufacturing facilities and jobs to 
lower-wage Mexico. Conservatively, NAFTA has led 
to nearly 1,000,000 American job losses. Conversely, 
Mexico has become an export platform displacing 
United States production. An unprecedented flood of 
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imports of manufactured and agricultural goods now 
enter the United States. Further, Mexico has experi-
enced an outsourcing of productivity to even lower- 
wage China, as Chinese imports to Mexico have 
grown and are imported into the United States. 
(3) NAFTA SHOULD NOT BE EXPANDED.—The 
Congress approved the NAFTA in order to achieve 
economic, social, and environmental benefits for the 
people of the United States. Based on currently 
available information, the goals and objectives of the 
NAFTA are not being achieved. Therefore, the 
NAFTA should not be expanded to include any 
other country. 
(4) NAFTA TO BE RENEGOTIATED AND BENE-
FITS CERTIFIED.—Based on the experience with the 
NAFTA since its implementation, it has become evi-
dent that further negotiation is required to resolve 
fundamental inadequacies within the NAFTA with 
respect to trade balances, currency differentials, 
health and environmental conditions, agricultural 
provisions, systems of justice, and illegal immigra-
tion. If the NAFTA is to continue, Congress must 
require certification of specific measures of eco-
nomic, social, legal, and environmental progress. 
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Otherwise Congress has no choice but to withdraw 
its approval of the NAFTA. 
SEC. 3. CONDITIONS FOR CONTINUED PARTICIPATION IN 
THE NAFTA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) WITHDRAWAL
OF
APPROVAL.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, unless each of 
the conditions described in paragraph (2) is met— 
(A) the approval of the NAFTA by the 
Congress provided for in section 101(a) of the 
North American Free Trade Agreement Imple-
mentation Act (19 U.S.C. 3311(a)) shall cease 
to be effective beginning on the date that is 365 
days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act; and 
(B) not later than 200 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the President 
shall provide written notice of withdrawal to the 
Governments of Canada and Mexico in accord-
ance with Article 2205 of the NAFTA. 
(2) CONDITIONS FOR CONTINUING PARTICIPA-
TION IN NAFTA.—The conditions described in this 
paragraph are met if, not later than 120 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act— 
(A) the President— 
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(i) renegotiates the terms of the 
NAFTA in accordance with paragraphs 
(1), (2), and (3) of subsection (b); and 
(ii) provides the certification to the 
Congress described in subsection (b)(8); 
(B) the Secretary of Labor and the Sec-
retary of Agriculture provide the certification 
described in subsection (b)(4); 
(C) the Secretary of Commerce and the 
Secretary of Agriculture provide the certifi-
cation described in subsection (b)(5); 
(D) the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
Administrator of the Food and Drug Adminis-
tration provide the certification described in 
subsection (b)(6)(A); 
(E) the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency submits the certifi-
cation described in subsection (b)(6)(B); and 
(F) the Attorney General of the United 
States provides the certification described in 
subsection (b)(7). 
(b) AREAS
OF
RENEGOTIATION
AND
CERTIFI-
CATION.—The areas of renegotiation and certification de-
scribed in this subsection are as follows: 
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(1) RENEGOTIATE
THE
NAFTA
TO
CORRECT 
TRADE DEFICITS.—The President is authorized and 
directed to confer with the Governments of Canada 
and Mexico and to renegotiate the terms of the 
NAFTA to provide for implementation of emergency 
adjustments of tariffs, quotas, and other measures 
to stabilize and balance the flow of trade among the 
NAFTA Parties when the United States has an an-
nual deficit in trade of goods and services with an-
other NAFTA Party that— 
(A) exceeds 10 percent of United States 
exports to that Party; or 
(B) equals or exceeds $500,000,000 for 3 
or more consecutive years. 
(2) RENEGOTIATE
THE
NAFTA
TO
CORRECT 
CURRENCY DISTORTIONS.—The President is author-
ized and directed to confer with the Governments of 
Canada and Mexico and to renegotiate the terms of 
the NAFTA to provide for the implementation of 
emergency adjustments of tariffs, quotas, and other 
measures to mitigate the adverse effects of rapid or 
substantial changes in exchange rates between the 
United States dollar and the currency of another 
NAFTA Party. 
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(3) RENEGOTIATE THE NAFTA TO CORRECT AG-
RICULTURAL PROVISIONS.—The President is author-
ized and directed to confer with the Governments of 
Canada and Mexico and to renegotiate the terms of 
the NAFTA to establish and strengthen provisions 
to prevent imports of agricultural commodities from 
any NAFTA Party from unfairly displacing United 
States production, to provide improved mechanisms 
for relief for United States producers that are ad-
versely impacted by such imports, and to address the 
serious and growing problem of Mexico’s displaced 
ejido peasant farmers and crime associated with law-
lessness in the United States–Mexico border zone. 
(4) CERTIFICATION
OF
GAINS
IN
UNITED 
STATES JOBS AND LIVING STANDARDS.—If the Sec-
retary of Labor and the Secretary of Agriculture, 
after consultation with appropriate government 
agencies and citizen organizations, determine that— 
(A) the number of jobs resulting from in-
creased exports of United States goods and 
services to other NAFTA Parties exceeds the 
number of jobs lost because of imports of goods 
and services from other NAFTA Parties since 
January 1, 1994; and 
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(B) the purchasing power of wage-earners 
in the United States has increased since Janu-
ary 1, 1994, 
the Secretaries shall so certify to the Congress. 
(5) CERTIFICATION OF INCREASED DOMESTIC 
MANUFACTURING.—If the Secretary of Commerce 
and the Secretary of Agriculture, after consultation 
with the appropriate government agencies and cit-
izen organizations, determine that the export of 
United States manufactured and agricultural goods 
to the NAFTA Parties exceeds the imports of manu-
factured and agricultural goods from the NAFTA 
Parties, the Secretaries shall so certify to the Con-
gress. In making the determination, the Secretaries 
shall not include any goods originating outside the 
United States that are exported to another NAFTA 
Party, nor imports from another NAFTA Party that 
are destined for other countries. 
(6) CERTIFICATION RELATING TO HEALTH AND 
ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of Ag-
riculture and the Administrator of the Food 
and Drug Administration, after consultation 
with appropriate government agencies and cit-
izen organizations, determine, with respect to 
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imports from NAFTA Parties, that since Janu-
ary 1, 1994, there has been a reduced incidence 
of contaminated and adulterated food, food con-
taining additives or pesticide residues exceeding 
United States standards, or food containing ad-
ditives or pesticide residues which cannot be le-
gally used in the United States, the Secretary 
and Administrator shall so certify to the Con-
gress. In making this determination, all foods 
and food products, including fruits, vegetables, 
grains, oilseeds, and meats, both fresh and 
processed, shall be reviewed. 
(B) BORDER
AREA
POLLUTION.—If the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency determines that conditions affecting 
public health in the United States–Mexico bor-
der zone have not worsened since January 1, 
1994, the Administrator shall so certify to the 
Congress. 
(7) CERTIFICATION
RELATING
TO
ILLEGAL 
DRUGS.—If the Attorney General of the United 
States determines, after a review by the Drug En-
forcement Administration and consultation with ap-
propriate government agencies and citizen organiza-
tions, that increased imports from the NAFTA Par-
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ties are not resulting in an increase in crime with il-
legal drugs or other controlled substances from Mex-
ico or Canada, the Attorney General shall so certify 
to the Congress. 
(8) CERTIFICATION RELATING TO DEMOCRACY 
AND
HUMAN
FREEDOMS.—If the President, after 
consultation with appropriate government agencies, 
international organizations, and citizen organiza-
tions, determines that the Government of Mexico— 
(A) is elected in free and fair elections; 
(B) protects the rights of its citizens to or-
ganize into political parties; 
(C) protects the rights of its citizens to 
free speech and the right of the news media to 
operate without fear of government control or 
reprisal; 
(D) protects the rights of its citizens to as-
semble and to organize associations to advance 
human rights and economic opportunities; and 
(E) receives fair and impartial litigation of 
suits and trials according to the rule of law in 
a transparent justice system, 
the President shall so certify to the Congress. 
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SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT NAFTA NOT BE EX-
PANDED. 
Until such time as the conditions described in section 
3(b) are met, it is the sense of the Congress that the Presi-
dent should not engage in negotiations to expand the 
NAFTA to include other countries and that trade pro-
motion authority should not be renewed with respect to 
the approval of any such expansion of the NAFTA. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) NAFTA.—The term ‘‘NAFTA’’ means the 
North American Free Trade Agreement entered into 
between the United States, Canada, and Mexico on 
December 17, 1992. 
(2) NAFTA 
PARTY.—The term ‘‘NAFTA 
Party’’ means the United States, Canada, or Mexico. 
(3) UNITED STATES–MEXICO BORDER ZONE.— 
The term ‘‘United States–Mexico border zone’’ 
means the area that comprises the 12-mile zone on 
the Mexican side of the United States–Mexico border 
and the counties within any State of the United 
States that are contiguous with Mexico. 
Æ 
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