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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databases and economic measurements that 
may be needed to properly quantify the factors 
described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C); 
(E) the relationship that tariff and non-
tariff barriers have to trade deficits and the ex-
tent to which trade deficits have become struc-
tural; 
(F) the extent to which there is reciprocal 
market access in each country with which the 
United States has a persistent and substantial 
bilateral trade deficit; and 
(G) the role of transhipments on bilateral 
trade, including foreign imports and exports, 
with special attention to transhipments through 
countries receiving trade preferences under the 
North American Free Trade Agreement. 
(3) The relationship of United States trade 
deficits to both comparative and competitive trade 
advantages within the global economy, including— 
(A) a systematic analysis of the United 
States trade patterns with different trading 
partners, to what extent the trade patterns are 
based on comparative and competitive trade ad-
vantages, and how the trade advantages relate 
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to the goods that are exported to and imported 
from different trading partners; 
(B) the extent to which the increased mo-
bility of capital and technology has changed 
both comparative and competitive trade advan-
tages; 
(C) identification and quantification of 
goods imported into the United States that are 
produced with child or forced labor, or under 
social and environmental conditions that do not 
comply with United States law; 
(D) the impact that labor standards (in-
cluding the ability of labor to organize, bargain 
collectively, and exercise human rights) have on 
world trade; 
(E) the impact that currency exchange 
rates and the manipulation of exchange rates 
have on world trade and trade deficits; 
(F) the effect that offset and technology 
transfer agreements have on the long-term com-
petitiveness of the United States manufacturing 
sectors; and 
(G) the extent to which international 
agreements affect United States competitive-
ness. 
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(4) The flow of investments both into and out 
of the United States, including— 
(A) the impact such investments have on 
the United States trade deficit and living stand-
ards of United States production workers; 
(B) the impact such investments have on 
United States labor, community, environmental, 
health, and safety standards; 
(C) the extent to which United States tax 
laws, such as income deferral, contribute to the 
movement of manufacturing facilities and jobs 
to foreign locations; 
(D) the identification and quantification of 
domestic plant closures and the movement of 
such plants to foreign locations for production 
of goods for the United States market; 
(E) the impact of implied or threatened 
plant closings and movement of jobs to foreign 
locations on United States wage rates and 
working conditions; 
(F) the effect of investment flows on wages 
in countries with developed economies and on 
countries of the former Soviet Union; and 
(G) the effect of barriers to United States 
foreign direct investment in developed and de-
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veloping countries, particularly countries with 
which the United States has a trade deficit. 
(5) Evaluation of current policies and sugges-
tions for alternative strategies for the United States 
to systematically reduce the trade deficit and im-
prove the economic well-being of United States citi-
zens, including suggestions for— 
(A) the development of bilateral and multi-
lateral trade relationships based on market ac-
cess reciprocity; 
(B) the retention and expansion of the 
manufacturing, agricultural, and technology 
sectors in the United States; 
(C) the discouragement of the expatriation 
of United States plants, jobs, and production to 
countries that have achieved competitive advan-
tages by permitting lower wages or lower 
health, safety, and environmental standards, or 
by imposing requirements with respect to in-
vestment, performance, or other obligations; 
(D) methods by which the United States 
can effectively compete in a global economy 
while improving the labor, social, and environ-
mental standards of its trading partners, par-
ticularly developing countries; 
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(E) methods by which the United States 
can respond to substantial shifts or manipula-
tion of currency exchange rates that distort 
trade relationships; 
(F) methods for overcoming and offsetting 
trade barriers that are either not subject to or 
otherwise inadequately addressed by the World 
Trade Organization or other multilateral ar-
rangements; 
(G) specific strategies for achieving im-
proved trade balances with those countries with 
which the United States has significant, per-
sistent sectoral or bilateral trade deficits, in-
cluding Canada, the People’s Republic of China, 
Mexico, and Japan; 
(H) methods for the United States to re-
spond to the particular needs and cir-
cumstances of developing and developed coun-
tries in a manner that is mutually beneficial; 
and 
(I) changes that may be required to cur-
rent trade agreements and organizations to 
allow the United States to pursue and nurture 
economic growth for its manufacturing, agri-
culture, and other production sectors in a man-
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ner that ensures improved compensation and 
quality of life for United States citizens. 
SEC. 5. REPORT; CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS. 
(a) REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 16 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Commission shall submit to the President and the 
Congress a report that contains— 
(A) the findings and conclusions of the 
Commission described in section 4; 
(B) a detailed plan for reducing both the 
overall trade deficit and specific bilateral trade 
deficits; and 
(C) any recommendations for administra-
tive and legislative actions that may be nec-
essary to achieve such reductions. 
(2) SEPARATE
VIEWS.—Any member of the 
Commission may submit additional findings and rec-
ommendations as part of the report. 
(b) CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS.—Not later than 6 
months after the report described in subsection (a) is sub-
mitted, the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the 
Senate shall hold hearings on the report. 
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SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 
(a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such 
hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such 
testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 
considers advisable to carry out this Act. The Commission 
shall hold at least seven public hearings, one or more in 
Washington, DC, and four in different regions of the 
United States. 
(b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 
Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart-
ment or agency such information as the Commission con-
siders necessary to carry out this Act. Upon request of 
the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of such de-
partment or agency shall furnish such information to the 
Commission. 
(c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 
the United States mails in the same manner and under 
the same conditions as other departments and agencies of 
the Federal Government. 
SEC. 7. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 
(a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of 
the Commission who is not an officer or employee of the 
Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal 
to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre-
scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec-
tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in-
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cluding travel time) during which such member is engaged 
in the performance of the duties of the Commission. All 
members of the Commission who are officers or employees 
of the United States shall serve without compensation in 
addition to that received for their services as officers or 
employees of the United States. 
(b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com-
mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 
diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ-
ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 
5, United States Code, while away from their homes or 
regular places of business in the performance of duties of 
the Commission. 
(c) STAFF.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 
Commission may, without regard to the civil service 
laws and regulations, appoint and terminate an exec-
utive director and such other additional personnel as 
may be necessary to enable the Commission to per-
form its duties. The employment of an executive di-
rector shall be subject to confirmation by the Com-
mission. 
(2) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of the 
Commission may fix the compensation of the execu-
tive director and other personnel without regard to 
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the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 
chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating 
to classification of positions and General Schedule 
pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the execu-
tive director and other personnel may not exceed the 
rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule 
under section 5316 of such title. 
(d) DETAIL
OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any 
Federal Government employee may be detailed to the 
Commission without reimbursement, and such detail shall 
be without interruption or loss of civil service status or 
privilege. 
(e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT-
TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Commission 
may procure temporary and intermittent services under 
section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates 
for individuals which do not exceed the daily equivalent 
of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of 
the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title. 
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; GAO AUDIT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated $2,000,000 to the Commission to carry out this 
Act. 
(b) GAO AUDIT.—Not later than 6 months after the 
date on which the Commission terminates, the Comptroller 
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General of the United States shall complete an audit of 
the financial books and records of the Commission and 
shall submit a report on the audit to the President and 
the Congress. 
SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION. 
The Commission shall terminate 30 days after the 
date on which the Commission submits its report under 
section 5(a). 
SEC. 10. MORATORIUM ON FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS. 
The President shall not submit to the Congress any 
free trade agreement, or any legislation implementing a 
free trade agreement, until— 
(1) the report of the Commission has been de-
livered to the Congress and the President under sec-
tion 5(a); and 
(2) the committees of Congress referred to in 
section 5(b) have completed the hearings required 
under such section. 
Æ 
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