I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6180 
To require a review of existing trade agreements and renegotiation of existing 
trade agreements based on the review, to set terms for future trade 
agreements, to express the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the role of Congress in trade policymaking should be strengthened, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 4, 2008 
Mr. MICHAUD (for himself, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. 
CONYERS, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. FILNER, Mr. MURTHA, Ms. 
DELAURO, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. 
LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. ROSS, Mr. VIS-
CLOSKY, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. WOOL-
SEY, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. SHULER, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. LOEBSACK, 
Mr. HALL of New York, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas, Mr. 
CHANDLER, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. HARE, Ms. 
SUTTON, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. AL 
GREEN of Texas, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Ms. SOLIS, Ms. KIL-
PATRICK, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. 
ALLEN, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. 
KAPTUR, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. ARCURI, 
Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mr. KAGEN, and Mr. WILSON 
of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To require a review of existing trade agreements and renego-
tiation of existing trade agreements based on the review, 
to set terms for future trade agreements, to express 
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the sense of the House of Representatives that the role 
of Congress in trade policymaking should be strength-
ened, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Trade Reform, Ac-
countability, Development, and Employment Act of 2008’’ 
or the ‘‘TRADE Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CORE LABOR STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘core 
labor standards’’ means the core labor rights as 
stated in the International Labour Organization con-
ventions dealing with— 
(A) freedom of association and the effec-
tive recognition of the right to collective bar-
gaining; 
(B) the elimination of all forms of forced 
or compulsory labor; 
(C) the effective abolition of child labor; 
and 
(D) the elimination of discrimination with 
respect to employment and occupation. 
(2) MULTILATERAL
ENVIRONMENTAL
AGREE-
MENTS.—The 
term 
‘‘multilateral 
environmental 
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agreements’’ means any international agreement or 
provision thereof to which the United States is a 
party and which is intended to protect, or has the 
effect of protecting, the environment or human 
health. 
(3) TRADE AGREEMENTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘trade agree-
ment’’ includes the Free Trade Agreements en-
tered into with Australia, Bahrain, Chile, 
Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Peru, and 
Singapore, as well as the North American Free 
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Dominican 
Republic-Central 
America-U.S. 
Free 
Trade 
Agreement (CAFTA). 
(B) URUGUAY ROUND AGREEMENTS.—The 
term ‘‘trade agreement’’ includes— 
(i) the General Agreement on Tariffs 
and Trade (GATT 1994) annexed to the 
WTO Agreement; 
(ii) the WTO Agreement described in 
section 2(9) of the Uruguay Round Agree-
ments Act (19 U.S.C. 3501(9)); 
(iii) the agreements described in sec-
tion 101(d) of the Uruguay Round Agree-
ments Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)); 
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(iv) the post Uruguay Round sectoral 
agreements on information technology, 
telecommunications, and financial services; 
and 
(v) any future WTO agreements that 
may result from post Uruguay Round 
WTO negotiations. 
SEC. 3. REVIEW AND REPORT ON EXISTING TRADE AGREE-
MENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 30, [2010], 
and every 2 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of 
the United States shall conduct a review of all trade agree-
ments described in section 2(3) and submit to the Con-
gressional Trade Agreement Review Committee estab-
lished under section 6 a report that includes the informa-
tion required under subsections (b) and (c) and makes the 
recommendations required under subsection (d): 
(1) This review shall relate to the effective op-
eration of the United States trade agreements pro-
gram generally. 
(2) The State Department, Department of Ag-
riculture, Department of Commerce, Department of 
Labor, Department of the Treasury, and other exec-
utive branch agencies shall cooperate with the 
Comptroller General of the United States and the 
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Government Accountability Office in providing ac-
cess to foreign and U.S. Government officials and 
documents to facilitate the report required. 
(3) The Comptroller General of the United 
States and the Government Accountability Office are 
encouraged to use the findings of recent reports and 
those now being produced in compiling the informa-
tion required so as to enhance the efficiency of the 
process. 
(b) INFORMATION
WITH
RESPECT
TO
TRADE 
AGREEMENTS.—The report required under subsection (a) 
shall, with respect to each trade agreement described in 
section 2(3), include the following information covering 
the period between the date on which the agreement en-
tered info force and the date on which the Comptroller 
General completes the review: 
(1) An analysis of the economic impact of each 
trade agreement, including— 
(A) the dollar value in inflation-controlled 
terms of goods exported from the United States 
and imported into the United States by sector, 
State, and year delineated by trade partner 
country; 
(B) job gains and losses in the United 
States by sector and State; 
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(C) median wage levels in the United 
States in inflation-controlled dollar terms by 
sector, State, and year; 
(D) an analysis of production outsourcing 
decisions made by U.S. companies before and 
after the implementation of each trade agree-
ment and the rate of value-added production, 
number of employees, and competitive position 
of industries in the United States significantly 
affected by the agreement; and 
(E) income distribution in the United 
States showing distribution by quintile and pov-
erty rates for the United States. 
(2) A trend analysis of wage levels in inflation- 
controlled dollars on a year-by-year basis in— 
(A) countries with whom the United States 
has trade agreements described in section 
2(3)(A); 
(B) countries who comprise the top U.S. 
WTO trade partners including Belgium, Brazil, 
China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, 
Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, 
Netherlands, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom; 
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(C) countries with whom the United States 
has considered establishing Free Trade Agree-
ments including South Africa and Thailand; 
(D) countries who are party to the Carib-
bean Basin Initiative and the Andean Trade 
Preference Drug Eradication Act; and 
(E) Cambodia and Vietnam. 
(3) An analysis of agriculture and food-related 
outcomes, including— 
(A) the trend of prices in the United 
States for agricultural commodities and food 
products that are imported in significant vol-
umes into the United States from a country 
that is a party to the agreements described in 
section 2(3) on a year-by-year basis; 
(B) an analysis of the effects, if any, on 
price transparency, price discovery, market con-
centration, and fair competition in the markets 
for agricultural commodities and food products 
that are subject to significant volumes of trade 
between the United States and each other coun-
try that is a party to the agreements described 
in section 2(3); 
(C) an analysis of the effects, if any, on 
the cost of farm programs in the United States 
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and each other country under the scope of sec-
tion 3(b)(5); and 
(D) the number of farms operating in the 
United States and the number of acres under 
production for agricultural commodities that 
are exported from the United States to any 
other country that is a party to the agreement 
on a year-by-year basis. 
(4) An analysis of compliance with the terms of 
the relevant agreements in effect between the United 
States and each country listed in section 3(b)(2) in-
cluding a description of any outstanding disputes be-
tween the United States and any country that is a 
party to the agreements listed in section 2(3), and 
the status of all laws, regulations, or policies of the 
United States or any State that any country that is 
a party to such an agreement has challenged, or 
threatened to challenge, under the agreements. 
(5) An analysis of the adequacy of the U.S. ca-
pacity to ensure trade agreement partners’ compli-
ance with Customs and other U.S. regulatory re-
quirements, including as regards the agreements list-
ed in section 2(3): ensuring duty payment and 
amount of duties collected by the United States on 
goods imported into the United States; an analysis 
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of the rate and adequacy of inspections of food and 
other products imported; and an assessment of the 
extent to which goods produced in a country that is 
a party to the agreements listed in section 2(3) are 
transshipped through other countries with which the 
United States has a bilateral or regional agreement 
in effect that may result in a rate of duty on such 
goods that is lower than the rate of duty under the 
agreement. 
(6) A description of any privatization of public 
sector services, in the United States or in any coun-
try that is a party to the agreements listed in sec-
tion 2(3), if those sectors are covered by investment, 
financial services, or services provisions of the agree-
ment, including an analysis of any effect such pri-
vatization has had on the access of consumers to es-
sential services, such as health care, electricity, gas, 
water, telephone service, or other utilities. 
(7) An analysis of the price of pharmaceuticals 
and any effect that changes in the price of pharma-
ceuticals has had on the access of consumers to af-
fordable medicines in the United States or any coun-
try that is a party to the agreements listed in sec-
tion 2(3). 
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(11) An analysis of contracts for the procure-
ment of goods or services by Federal or State gov-
ernment agencies from persons operating in any 
country that is a party to the agreements listed in 
section 2(3). 
(c) INFORMATION ON COUNTRIES THAT ARE PAR-
TIES TO TRADE AGREEMENTS.—With respect to each 
country with respect to which the United States has a 
trade agreement listed in section 2(3) in effect, the report 
required under subsection (a) shall include information re-
garding whether that country— 
(1) has a democratic form of government; 
(2) respects [core] labor rights, as defined by 
the Committee of Experts on the Application of Con-
ventions and Recommendations and the Conference 
Committee on the Application of Standards of the 
International Labour Organization; 
(3) respects fundamental human rights, as de-
termined by the Secretary of State in the annual 
country reports on human rights of the Department 
of State; 
(4) is designated as a country of particular con-
cern with respect to religious freedom under section 
402(b)(1) of the International Religious Freedom 
Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)); 
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(5) is on a list described in subparagraph (B) 
or (C) of section 110(b)(1) of the Trafficking Vic-
tims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)(1)) 
(commonly known as tier 2 or tier 3 of the Traf-
ficking in Persons List of the Department of State); 
(6) has taken effective measures to combat and 
prevent public and private corruption, including 
measures with respect to tax evasion and money 
laundering; 
(7) complies with the multilateral environmental 
agreements to which the country is a party; 
(8) has in force adequate labor and environ-
mental laws and regulations, has devoted sufficient 
resources to implementing such laws and regula-
tions, and has an adequate record of enforcement of 
such law and regulations; 
(9) adequately protects intellectual property 
rights; and 
(10) provides for governmental transparency, 
due process of law, and respect for international 
agreements. 
(d) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Each report required 
under subsection (a) shall include recommendations of the 
Comptroller General for addressing the problems with re-
spect to an agreement identified under subsections (b) and 
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(c). The recommendations shall include suggestions for re-
negotiating the agreement to meet the requirements de-
scribed in section 4(b) and for negotiations with respect 
to new trade agreements. 
(e) CITATIONS.—The Comptroller General shall in-
clude in the report required under subsection (a) citations 
to the sources of data used in preparing the report and 
a description of the methodologies employed in preparing 
the report. 
(f) PUBLIC COMMENT.—In preparing each report re-
quired under subsection (a), the Comptroller General 
shall— 
(1) hold at least 3 hearings that are open to the 
public; and 
(2) provide an opportunity for members of the 
public to testify and submit written comments. 
(g) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The information in each 
report required under subsection (a) shall be made avail-
able to the public not later than 14 days after the Comp-
troller General completes that report. 
SEC. 4. INCLUSION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS IN TRADE 
AGREEMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 151 of 
the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2191) or any other pro-
vision of law, any bill implementing a trade agreement be-
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tween the United States and another country that is intro-
duced in Congress after the date of the enactment of this 
Act shall not be subject to expedited consideration or spe-
cial procedures regarding amendment or debate unless the 
trade agreement meets the requirements described in sub-
section (b). 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—Each trade agreement nego-
tiated between the United States and another country 
shall meet the following requirements: 
(1) LABOR STANDARDS.—The labor provisions 
shall— 
(A) be included in the core text of the 
agreement; 
(B) require each country that is a party to 
the agreement to adopt into domestic law and 
enforce effectively core labor standards; 
(C) provide that failures to meet the labor 
standards required by the agreement shall be 
subject to dispute resolution and enforcement 
mechanisms and penalties that are at least as 
effective as the mechanisms and penalties that 
apply to the commercial provisions of the agree-
ment; 
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(D) strengthen the capacity of each coun-
try that is a party to the agreement to promote 
and enforce core labor standards; 
(E)(i) establish a commission composed of 
11 representatives specializing in international 
and comparative labor rights of which five shall 
be representatives of independent labor unions 
of countries who are parties to the agreement 
and two shall be academic researchers; 
(ii) provide the commission with sufficient 
resources and staff to rigorously and continu-
ously carry out its functions; 
(iii) vest the commission with authority to 
establish specific indicators of compliance with 
the obligations set forth in subparagraphs (B), 
(C), and (D); 
(iv) vest the commission with authority to 
operate with the rights of a Party in the agree-
ment’s dispute resolution system— 
(I) initiate complaints in an agree-
ment’s dispute settlement system under ex-
pedited procedures included in section 
4(11) with respect to violations of the obli-
gations set forth in subparagraphs (B), 
(C), and (D) thus ensuring that labor 
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