(A) the highest annual rate of compensa-
tion of any officer of the Senate; or 
(B) the highest annual rate of compensa-
tion of any officer of the House of Representa-
tives. 
(c) PERSONNEL.—The Congressional Trade Enforcer 
shall appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel 
as may be necessary to carry out the functions described 
in subsection (d). All personnel of the Office shall be ap-
pointed without regard to political affiliation and solely on 
the basis of their fitness to perform their duties. The Con-
gressional Trade Enforcer may prescribe the duties and 
responsibilities of the personnel of the Office, and delegate 
to them authority to perform any of the duties, powers, 
and functions imposed on the Office. For purposes of pay 
(other than the pay of the Congressional Trade Enforcer) 
and employment benefits, rights, and privileges, all per-
sonnel of the Office shall be treated as if they were em-
ployees of the House of Representatives. 
(d) PURPOSE AND FUNCTIONS.— 
(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Congres-
sional Trade Enforcer shall be to ensure compliance 
by trading partners of the United States with trade 
agreements to which the United States and such 
trading partners are parties. 
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(2) FUNCTIONS; ACTIONS BY USTR.— 
(A) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Congressional 
Trade Enforcer shall have the authority to in-
vestigate foreign trade practices that are bar-
riers to United States exports and issue indict-
ments in cases where such practices violate any 
of the Uruguay Round Agreements or any bilat-
eral or regional trade agreement to which the 
United States is a party. 
(B) SUBMISSION OF INDICTMENTS.—The 
Congressional Trade Enforcer shall submit in-
dictments referred to in subparagraph (A) to 
the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee on 
Finance of the Senate, and the United States 
Trade Representative. 
(C) ACTION PURSUANT TO INDICTMENT.— 
Within 30 days after receiving an indictment 
under subparagraph (B), the Trade Representa-
tive should commence dispute resolution proce-
dures in the appropriate forum against the 
country or countries that are the subject of the 
indictment unless— 
(i) before the date of filing, the for-
eign country or countries involved enter 
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into an agreement with the United States 
to eliminate the practice that is incon-
sistent with its international obligations; or 
(ii) in extraordinary cases, the filing 
of the case would cause serious harm to 
the national security of the United States. 
(D) REPORT.—If the Trade Representative 
does not commence dispute resolution proce-
dures under subparagraph (C) pursuant to an 
indictment under subparagraph (B), the Trade 
Representative shall, not later than 60 days 
after receiving the indictment, submit to the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Finance 
of the Senate a report containing the reasons 
therefor and shall publish notice of the decision, 
together with a summary of such reasons, in 
the Federal Register. 
(3) VOTE BY CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 
During the 60-day period after the Trade Represent-
ative submits a report under subparagraph (D), the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Finance of 
the Senate may each vote to indicate the agreement 
or disagreement of the committee with the decision 
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of the Trade Representative not to commence dis-
pute resolution procedures. 
(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
(A) INDICTMENT.—The term ‘‘indictment’’ 
means a formal written analysis setting forth 
the legal explanation of the manner in which a 
foreign trade practice of a country or countries 
violates any of the Uruguay Round Agreements 
or any bilateral or regional trade agreement to 
which the United States is a party. 
(B) URUGUAY ROUND AGREEMENTS.—The 
term ‘‘Uruguay Round Agreements’’ means any 
of the agreements approved by the Congress 
under section 101(a)(1) of the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(a)(1)). 
(e) OFFICE OF MARKET ACCESS ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 
the Office of the Congressional Trade Enforcer an 
Office of Market Access Assistance. 
(2) FUNCTIONS.—The Office of Market Access 
Assistance shall provide technical and legal assist-
ance and advice to eligible small businesses to enable 
such small businesses to prepare and file petitions 
(other than those which, in the opinion of the Office 
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of Market Access Assistance, are frivolous) under 
section 302 of the Trade Act of 1974. 
(3) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 
‘‘eligible small business’’ means any business con-
cern which, in the judgment of the Office of Market 
Access Assistance, due to its small size, has neither 
adequate internal resources nor financial ability to 
obtain qualified outside assistance in preparing and 
filing petitions and complaints under section 302 of 
the Trade Act of 1974. In determining whether a 
business concern is an ‘‘eligible small business,’’ the 
Office of Market Access Assistance may consult with 
the Administrator of the Small Business Administra-
tion and the heads of other appropriate Federal de-
partments and agencies. 
(f) RELATIONSHIP TO EXECUTIVE BRANCH.—The 
Congressional Trade Enforcer is authorized to secure in-
formation, data, estimates, and statistics directly from the 
various departments, agencies, and establishments of the 
executive branch of Government and the regulatory agen-
cies and commissions of the Government. All such depart-
ments, agencies, establishments, and regulatory agencies 
and commissions shall furnish the Congressional Trade 
Enforcer with any available material that the Congres-
sional Trade Enforcer determines to be necessary in the 
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performance of the functions of the Office. The Congres-
sional Trade Enforcer is also authorized, upon agreement 
with the head of any such department, agency, establish-
ment, or regulatory agency or commission, to use its serv-
ices, facilities, and personnel, with or without reimburse-
ment; and the head of each such department, agency, es-
tablishment, or regulatory agency or commission is au-
thorized to provide to the Office such services, facilities, 
and personnel. 
(g) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AGENCIES OF CON-
GRESS.—In carrying out the functions of the Office, and 
for the purpose of coordinating the operations of the Of-
fice with those of other congressional agencies with a view 
to using most effectively the information, services, and ca-
pabilities of all such agencies in carrying out the respon-
sibilities assigned to each, the Congressional Trade En-
forcer is authorized to obtain information, data, estimates, 
and statistics developed by the Government Accountability 
Office and the Library of Congress, and (upon agreement 
with them) to use their services, facilities, and personnel, 
with or without reimbursement. The Comptroller General 
and the Librarian of Congress are authorized to provide 
the Office with the information, data, estimates, and sta-
tistics, and the services, facilities, and personnel, referred 
to in the preceding sentence. 
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