I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4706
To establish a commission to review the dispute settlement reports of the
World Trade Organization, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 21, 2000
Mr. CARDIN 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 establish a commission to review the dispute settlement
reports of the World Trade Organization, 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 ‘‘WTO Dispute Settle-
ment Review Commission Act’’.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States joined the WTO as an
original member with the goal of creating an im-
proved global trading system and providing ex-
panded economic opportunities for United States
firms and workers, while preserving United States
sovereignty.
(2) The American people must receive assur-
ances that United States sovereignty will be pro-
tected, and United States interests will be advanced,
within the global trading system which the WTO will
oversee.
(3) The WTO’s dispute settlement rules are
meant to enhance the likelihood that governments
will observe their WTO obligations. These dispute
settlement rules will help ensure that the United
States will reap the full benefits of its participation
in the WTO.
(4) United States support for the WTO de-
pends on obtaining mutual trade benefits through
the openness of foreign markets and the mainte-
nance of effective United States and WTO remedies
against unfair or otherwise harmful trade practices.
(5) Congress passed the Uruguay Round Agree-
ments Act based on its understanding that effective
trade remedies would not be eroded. These remedies
are essential to continue the process of opening for-
eign markets to imports of goods and services and
to prevent harm to American industry and agri-
culture.
(6) In particular, WTO dispute settlement pan-
els and the Appellate Body should—
(A) operate with fairness and in an impar-
tial manner;
(B) not add to the obligations, or diminish
the rights, of WTO members under the Uru-
guay Round Agreements; and
(C) observe the terms of reference and any
applicable WTO standard of review.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to pro-
vide for the establishment of the WTO Dispute Settlement
Review Commission to achieve the objectives described in
subsection (a)(6).
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com-
mission to be known as the WTO Dispute Settlement Re-
view Commission (hereafter in this Act referred to as the
‘‘Commission’’).
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—
(1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be
composed of 5 members all of whom shall be judges
of the Federal judicial circuits and shall be ap-
pointed by the President, after consultation with the
Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Rep-
resentatives, the Majority Leader and Minority
Leader of the Senate, the chairman and ranking
member of the Committee on Ways and Means of
the House of Representatives, and the chairman and
ranking member of the Committee on Finance of the
Senate.
(2) DATE.—The appointments of the initial
members of the Commission shall be made no later
than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Commission
shall each be appointed for a term of 5 years, except
that of the members first appointed, 3 members
shall be appointed for terms of 3 years and the re-
maining 2 members shall be appointed for terms of
2 years.
(2) VACANCIES.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Any vacancy on the
Commission shall not affect its powers, but
shall be filled in the same manner as the origi-
nal appointment and shall be subject to the
same conditions as the original appointment.
(B) UNEXPIRED
TERM.—An individual
chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed for
the unexpired term of the member replaced.
(d) INITIAL MEETING.—No later than 30 days after
the date on which all members of the Commission have
been appointed, the Commission shall hold its first meet-
ing.
(e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the
call of the Chairperson.
(f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the
Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num-
ber of members may hold hearings.
(g) AFFIRMATIVE DETERMINATIONS.—An affirma-
tive vote by a majority of the members of the Commission
shall be required for any affirmative determination by the
Commission under section 4.
(h) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The
Commission shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chair-
person from among its members.
SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) REVIEW OF WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT RE-
PORTS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Commission shall
review—
(A) all adverse reports of dispute settle-
ment panels and the Appellate Body which
are—
(i) adopted by the Dispute Settlement
Body, and
(ii) the result of a proceeding initiated
against the United States by a WTO mem-
ber; and
(B) upon the request of the Trade Rep-
resentative, any adverse report of a dispute set-
tlement panel or the Appellate Body—
(i) which is adopted by the Dispute
Settlement Body, and
(ii) in which the United States is a
complaining party.
(2) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—With respect to any
report the Commission reviews under paragraph (1),
the Commission shall determine in connection with
each adverse finding whether the panel or the Appel-
late Body, as the case may be—
(A) demonstrably exceeded its authority or
its terms of reference;
(B) added to the obligations, or diminished
the rights, of the United States under the Uru-
guay Round Agreement which is the subject of
the report;
(C) acted arbitrarily or capriciously, en-
gaged in misconduct, or demonstrably departed
from the procedures specified for panels and
the Appellate Body in the applicable Uruguay
Round Agreement; and
(D) deviated from the applicable standard
of review, including in antidumping cases, the
standard of review set forth in Article 17.6 of
the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI
of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
1994.
(3) AFFIRMATIVE DETERMINATION.—The Com-
mission shall make an affirmative determination
under this paragraph with respect to the action of
a panel or the Appellate Body, if the Commission
determines that—
(A) any of the matters described in sub-
paragraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph
(2) has occurred; and
(B) the action of the panel or the Appel-
late Body materially affected the outcome of the
report of the panel or Appellate Body.
(b) DETERMINATION; REPORT.—
(1) DETERMINATION.—No later than 120 days
after the date on which a report of a panel or the
Appellate Body described in subsection (a)(1) is
adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body, the Com-
mission shall make a written determination with re-
spect to the matters described in paragraphs (2) and
(3) of subsection (a).
(2) REPORTS.—The Commission shall promptly
report the determinations described in paragraph (1)
to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House
of Representatives, the Committee on Finance of the
Senate, and the Trade Representative.
SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold a public
hearing to solicit views concerning a report of a dispute
settlement panel or the Appellate Body described in sec-
tion 4(a)(1), if the Commission considers such hearing to
be necessary to carry out the purpose of this Act. The
Commission shall provide reasonable notice of a hearing
held pursuant to this subsection.
(b) INFORMATION FROM INTERESTED PARTIES AND
FEDERAL AGENCIES.—
(1) NOTICE OF PANEL OR APPELLATE BODY
REPORT.—The Trade Representative shall advise the
Commission no later than 5 business days after the
date the Dispute Settlement Body adopts a report of
a panel or the Appellate Body that is to be reviewed
by the Commission under section 4(a)(1).
(2) SUBMISSIONS AND REQUESTS FOR INFOR-
MATION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall
promptly publish in the Federal Register notice
of the advice received from the Trade Rep-
resentative, along with notice of an opportunity
for interested parties to submit written com-
ments to the Commission. The Commission
shall make comments submitted pursuant to the
preceding sentence available to the public.
(B) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGEN-
CIES
AND
DEPARTMENTS.—The Commission
may also secure directly from any Federal de-
partment or agency such information as the
Commission considers necessary to carry out
the provisions of this Act. Upon the request of
the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of
such department or agency shall furnish the in-
formation requested to the Commission.
(3) ACCESS TO PANEL AND APPELLATE BODY
DOCUMENTS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Trade Representa-
tive shall make available to the Commission all
submissions and relevant documents relating to
a report of a panel or the Appellate Body de-
scribed in section 4(a)(1), including any infor-
mation contained in such submissions identified
by the provider of the information as propri-
etary information or information designated as
confidential by a foreign government.
(B) 
PUBLIC
ACCESS.—Any 
document
which the Trade Representative submits to the
Commission shall be available to the public, ex-
cept information which is identified as propri-
etary or confidential.
(c) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES; CON-
FIDENTIALITY.—
(1) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.—Any agency
or department of the United States that is des-
ignated by the President shall provide administrative
services, funds, facilities, staff, or other support
services to the Commission to assist the Commission
with the performance of the Commission’s functions.
(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Commission shall
protect from disclosure any document or information
submitted to it by a department or agency of the
United States which the agency or department re-
quests be kept confidential. The Commission shall
not be considered to be an agency for purposes of
section 552 of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 6. REVIEW OF DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES
AND PARTICIPATION IN THE WTO.
(a) AFFIRMATIVE REPORT BY COMMISSION.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—If a joint resolution de-
scribed in subsection (b)(1) is enacted into law pur-
suant to the provisions of subsection (c), the Presi-
dent should undertake negotiations to amend or
modify the Uruguay Round Agreement to which
such joint resolution relates.
(2) 3 AFFIRMATIVE
REPORTS
BY
COMMIS-
SION.—If a joint resolution described in subsection
(b)(2) is enacted into law pursuant to the provisions
of subsection (c), the approval of the Congress, pro-
vided for under section 101(a) of the Uruguay
Round Agreements Act, of the WTO Agreement
shall cease to be effective in accordance with the
provisions of the joint resolution.
(b) JOINT RESOLUTIONS DESCRIBED.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection
(a)(1), a joint resolution is described in this para-
graph if it is a joint resolution of the 2 Houses of
Congress and the matter after the resolving clause
of such joint resolution is as follows: ‘‘That the Con-
gress calls upon the President to undertake negotia-
tions to amend or modify the matter relating to
llllll that is the subject of the affirmative
report submitted to the Congress by the WTO Dis-
pute Settlement Review Commission on ll’’, the
first blank space being filled with the specific provi-
sions of the Uruguay Round Agreement with respect
to which the President is to undertake negotiations
and the second blank space being filled with the date
that the affirmative report, which was made under
section 4(a) and which has given rise to the joint
resolution, was submitted to the Congress by the
Commission pursuant to section 4(b).
(2) WITHDRAWAL RESOLUTION.—For purposes
of subsection (a)(2), a joint resolution is described
in this paragraph if it is a joint resolution of the 2
Houses of Congress and the matter after the resolv-
ing clause of such joint resolution is as follows:
‘‘That, in light of the 3 affirmative reports sub-
mitted to the Congress by the WTO Dispute Settle-
ment Review Commission during the preceding 5-
year period, and the failure to remedy the problems
identified in the reports through negotiations, it is
no longer in the overall national interest of the
United States to be a member of the WTO, and ac-
cordingly the Congress withdraws its approval, pro-
vided under section 101(a) of the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act, of the WTO Agreement as defined
in section 2(9) of that Act.’’.
(c) PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The requirements of this
subsection are met if the joint resolution is enacted
in accordance with this subsection, and—
(A) in the case of a joint resolution de-
scribed in subsection (b)(1), the Congress
adopts and transmits the joint resolution to the
President before the end of the 90-day period
(excluding any day described in section 154(b)
of the Trade Act of 1974) beginning on the
date on which the Congress receives an affirma-
tive report from the Commission pursuant to
section 4(b)(2); or
(B) in the case of a joint resolution de-
scribed in subsection (b)(2), the Commission
has submitted 3 affirmative reports pursuant to
section 4(b)(2) during a 5-year period, and the
Congress adopts and transmits the joint resolu-
tion to the President before the end of the 90-
day period (excluding any day described in sec-
tion 154(b) of the Trade Act of 1974) begin-
ning on the date on which the Congress receives
the third such affirmative report.
(2) PRESIDENTIAL
VETO.—In any case in
which the President vetoes the joint resolution, the
requirements of this subsection are met if each
House of Congress votes to override that veto on or
before the later of the last day of the 90-day period
referred to in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph
(1), whichever is applicable, or the last day of the
15-day period (excluding any day described in sec-
tion 154(b) of the Trade Act of 1974) beginning on
the date on which the Congress receives the veto
message from the President.
(3) INTRODUCTION.—
(A) TIME.—A joint resolution to which
this section applies may be introduced at any
time on or after the date on which the Commis-
sion transmits to the Congress an affirmative
report pursuant to section 4(b)(2), and—
(i) in the case of a joint resolution de-
scribed in subsection (b)(1), before the end
of the 90-day period referred to in para-
graph (1)(A); and
(ii) in the case of a joint resolution
described in subsection (b)(2), before the
end of the 90-day period referred to in
paragraph (1)(B).
(B) ANY
MEMBER
MAY
INTRODUCE.—A
joint resolution described in subsection (b) may
be introduced in either House of the Congress
by any Member of such House.
(4) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.—
(A) GENERAL RULE.—Subject to the pro-
visions of this subsection, the provisions of sub-
sections (b), (d), (e), and (f) of section 152 of
the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2192(b), (d),
(e), and (f)) apply to joint resolutions described
in subsection (b) to the same extent as such
provisions apply to resolutions under such sec-
tion.
(B) REPORT
OR
DISCHARGE
OF
COM-
MITTEE.—If the committee of either House to
which a joint resolution has been referred has
not reported it by the close of the 45th day
after its introduction (excluding any day de-
scribed in section 154(b) of the Trade Act of
1974), such committee shall be automatically
discharged from further consideration of the
joint resolution and it shall be placed on the
appropriate calendar.
(C) FINANCE AND WAYS AND MEANS COM-
MITTEES.—It is not in order for—
(i) the Senate to consider any joint
resolution unless it has been reported by
the Committee on Finance or the com-
mittee has been discharged under subpara-
graph (B); or
(ii) the House of Representatives to
consider any joint resolution unless it has
been reported by the Committee on Ways
and Means or the committee has been dis-
charged under subparagraph (B).
(D) SPECIAL RULE FOR HOUSE.—A mo-
tion in the House of Representatives to proceed
to the consideration of a joint resolution may
only be made on the second legislative day after
the calendar day on which the Member making