I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6795 
To establish an Emergency Commission To End the Trade Deficit. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 1, 2008 
Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. HINCHEY, 
Ms. KAPTUR, and Mr. ELLISON) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To establish an Emergency Commission To End the Trade 
Deficit. 
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 ‘‘End the Trade Deficit 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) In 1998, the United States trade balance 
was $166,140,000,000, leading the Congress to au-
thorize the Trade Deficit Review Commission. The 
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Commission was tasked to study ‘‘the nature, 
causes, and consequences of the United States mer-
chandise trade and current account deficits’’. 
(2) In 2007, the trade deficit ballooned to 
$700,258,000,000. And in 2006, the United States 
amassed the largest negative trade balance in its his-
tory, amounting to $753,283,000,000. 
(3) The United States has had 32 years of con-
secutive 
annual 
trade 
deficits, 
totaling 
$6,432,445,000,000. And in the last ten years, the 
annual trade balance has increased by a magnitude 
of seven. 
(4) The positive net international asset position 
that the United States built up over 100 years was 
eliminated in the 1980s. The United States today 
has become the world’s largest debtor nation, with a 
net debt of more than $2,441,800,000,000. 
(5) In recent times, the trade deficit has re-
tarded growth in the Nation’s gross domestic prod-
uct, increased the costs of servicing higher net for-
eign debt, and made the United States more depend-
ent on international financial considerations. 
(6) The United States merchandise trade deficit 
is characterized by large bilateral trade imbalances 
with a handful of countries. In 2007, 15 countries 
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accounted for 75 percent of the United States trade 
deficit in goods. The People’s Republic of China, 
Canada, Mexico, and Japan account for one-half of 
the trade deficit alone. 
(7) The United States manufacturing sector 
employed 13,919,000 people in 2007. But decline in 
manufacturing has meant the United States has lost 
3,718,000 manufacturing jobs since 1998. 
(8) Elimination of the United States trade def-
icit by the year 2019 would support millions of addi-
tional manufacturing jobs in the United States. 
(9) While the United States has one of the 
most open borders and economies in the world, the 
United States faces significant tariff and nontariff 
trade barriers with its trading partners. Current 
overall trade balances do not reflect the actual com-
petitiveness or productivity of the United States 
economy. Instead, they demonstrate the underlying 
structural nature of the trade deficits. 
(10) The United States is once again at a crit-
ical juncture in trade policy development. The struc-
tural nature of the United States trade deficit and 
its persistent growth must be reversed. The causes 
and consequences of the trade deficit must be docu-
mented and a plan must be developed to eliminate 
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the merchandise trade deficit within the next 10 
years. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com-
mission to be known as the Emergency Commission To 
End the Trade Deficit (in this Act referred to as the 
‘‘Commission’’). 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Commission is to 
develop a trade policy plan to eliminate the United States 
merchandise trade deficit by January 1, 2019, and to de-
velop a competitive trade policy for the 21st century. The 
plan shall include strategies necessary to achieve a balance 
of trade that fully reflects the competitiveness and produc-
tivity of the United States and also improves the standard 
of living of United States citizens. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.— 
(1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 
composed of 11 members, of whom— 
(A) three shall be appointed by the Presi-
dent, of whom one shall be appointed to rep-
resent labor interests, one shall be appointed to 
represent small businesses, and one shall be ap-
pointed to represent consumer protection inter-
ests; 
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(B) one Senator and one other person shall 
be appointed by the President pro tempore of 
the Senate, upon the recommendation of the 
majority leader of the Senate; 
(C) one Senator and one other person shall 
be appointed by the President pro tempore of 
the Senate, upon the recommendation of the 
minority leader of the Senate; 
(D) one Member of the House of Rep-
resentatives and one other person shall be ap-
pointed by the Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives; and 
(E) one Member of the House of Rep-
resentatives and one other person shall be ap-
pointed by the minority leader of the House of 
Representatives. 
(2) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.— 
(A) PRESIDENTIAL
APPOINTMENTS.—Of 
the persons appointed under paragraph (1)(A), 
not more than one may be an officer, employee, 
or paid consultant of the executive branch. 
(B) OTHER APPOINTMENTS.—Persons ap-
pointed under subparagraph (B), (C), (D), or 
(E) of paragraph (1) who are not Members of 
Congress shall be persons who— 
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(i) have expertise in economics, inter-
national trade, manufacturing, labor, envi-
ronment, or business, or have other perti-
nent qualifications or experience; and 
(ii) are not officers or employees of 
the United States. 
(C) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—In appoint-
ing members of the Commission, every effort 
shall be made to ensure that the members— 
(i) are representative of a broad cross- 
section of economic and trade perspectives 
within the United States; and 
(ii) provide fresh insights to achieving 
a trade deficit reduction plan. 
(d) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Members shall be appointed 
not later than 60 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act and the appointment shall be for 
the life of the Commission. 
(2) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis-
sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 
the same manner as the original appointment was 
made. 
(e) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 
the date on which all members of the Commission have 
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been appointed, the Commission shall hold its first meet-
ing. 
(f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 
call of the Chairperson. 
(g) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 
members of the Commission shall elect a chairperson and 
vice chairperson from among the members of the Commis-
sion. 
(h) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 
Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction 
of business. 
(i) VOTING.—Each member of the Commission shall 
be entitled to one vote, which shall be equal to the vote 
of every other member of the Commission. 
SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be respon-
sible for developing a comprehensive trade policy plan, by 
examining the economic policies, trade, tax, and invest-
ment laws, and other legal incentives and restrictions that 
are relevant to reducing the United States trade deficit. 
(b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall ex-
amine and make recommendations to Congress and the 
President on the following: 
(1) The manner in which the Government of 
the United States establishes and administers the 
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Nation’s fundamental trade policies and objectives, 
including— 
(A) the relationship of the merchandise 
trade balance to the overall well-being of the 
United States economy and, in particular, the 
impact the trade balance has on wages and em-
ployment in the different sectors of the United 
States economy; 
(B) the relationship of United States for-
eign policy objectives to trade policy and the ex-
tent to which foreign policy considerations re-
ceive a priority over trade objectives; 
(C) the effects the trade deficits in the 
areas of manufacturing and technology have on 
defense production and innovation capabilities 
of the United States; 
(D) the extent to which United States 
monetary policies and the need for foreign cap-
ital to finance the current account deficit influ-
ence trade objectives; 
(E) the coordination, allocation, and ac-
countability of trade responsibilities among 
Federal departments and agencies; and 
(F) the methods for improving and en-
hancing systematic congressional review of for-
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eign policy and trade policy as part of a plan 
to establish a coordinated set of national eco-
nomic priorities. 
(2) The causes and consequences of both the 
overall trade deficit and specific bilateral trade defi-
cits, including— 
(A) identification and quantification of the 
macroeconomic, sectoral, and bilateral trade 
factors contributing to the United States trade 
deficit with different countries; 
(B) identification and quantification of the 
impact of the trade deficit on the domestic 
economy, on the industrial base, on manufac-
turing capacity, on the number and quality of 
jobs, on productivity, on wages, on health, safe-
ty, and environmental standards, and on the 
standard of living in the United States; 
(C) identification and quantification of in-
dividual industrial, manufacturing, and produc-
tion sectors, and intra-industry and intra-com-
pany transactions that contribute to or are af-
fected by United States trade deficits; 
(D) a review of the adequacy of the cur-
rent collection and reporting of trade data, and 
the identification and development of additional 
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