I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2714
To require the inclusion of provisions relating to worker rights and environ-
mental standards in any trade agreement entered into under any future
trade negotiating authority.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DECEMBER 5, 1995
Mr. SANDERS (for himself, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. MILLER of Cali-
fornia, Mr. YATES, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. OWENS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. KAP-
TUR, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. STARK, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. CONYERS, Mr.
TRAFICANT, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. EVANS, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. DEL-
LUMS, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. WATT of North Carolina, Ms. RIV-
ERS, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. FILNER, Mr. VENTO, Mr. BONIOR, Ms.
MCKINNEY, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. NADLER, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr.
FATTAH, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. OLVER, Ms. BROWN of Florida, and Ms.
ROYBAL-ALLARD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To require the inclusion of provisions relating to worker
rights and environmental standards in any trade agree-
ment entered into under any future trade negotiating
authority.
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 ‘‘Fair International
Standards in Trade (FIST) Act’’.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR FUTURE TRADE AGREE-
MENTS.
The authority of the President to enter into any trade
agreement under subsection (b) or (c) of section 1102 of
the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19
U.S.C. 2902) after January 1, 1995, or other authority
provided by statute to enter into trade agreements de-
scribed in such subsections, may be exercised only if the
trade agreement contains provisions that require each
party to the agreement to—
(1) adopt and enforce laws to afford inter-
nationally recognized worker rights to workers in
that country (including any designated zone in that
country);
(2) adopt and enforce laws to promote respect
for internationally recognized environmental stand-
ards in that country (including any designated zone
in that country); and
(3) treat as an actionable unfair trade practice
the systematic denial or practical nullification of
internationally recognized worker rights or inter-
nationally recognized environmental standards as a
means for any signatory country or its industries to
gain a competitive advantage in international trade,
commerce, or finance.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘internationally recognized worker
rights’’ has the meaning given that term in section
502(a)(4) of the Trade Act of 1974;
(2) the term ‘‘internationally recognized envi-
ronmental standards’’ includes—
(A) mitigation of global climate change;
(B) reduction in the consumption and pro-
duction of ozone-depleting substances;
(C) reduction in ship pollution of the
oceans from such sources as oil, noxious bulk
liquids, hazardous freight, sewage, and garbage;
(D) a ban on international ocean dumping
of high-level radioactive waste, chemical warfare
agents, and hazardous substances;
(E) 
government 
control 
of 
the
transboundary movement of hazardous waste
materials and their disposal for the purpose of
reducing global pollution on account of such
materials;
(F) preservation of endangered species;
(G) conservation of biological diversity;