I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6432 
To require the Secretary of Labor to monitor the trade deficits between 
the United States and other countries, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 2, 2016 
Ms. SLAUGHTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Labor to monitor the trade 
deficits between the United States and other countries, 
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 ‘‘Trade Deficit Reduc-
tion Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The United States has become the world’s 
largest net debtor nation, having run up massive 
trade deficits since the mid-1970s. 
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(2) Every year since 1976, whether in expan-
sion or recession, the U.S. has run a deficit in goods 
and services trade, which weakens and detracts from 
America’s global leadership position. 
(3) The United States trade deficit in 1993, the 
year before the North American Free Trade Agree-
ment 
(NAFTA) 
went 
into 
force, 
was 
$70,000,000,000. 
(4) The United States ran a $500,000,000,000 
deficit in the balance of trade in goods and services 
in 2015. 
(5) In 2015, the United States had a trade def-
icit of $64 billion with countries with which it has 
free trade agreements. 
(6) Persistent deficits weaken America’s econ-
omy, defense industrial base, and innovation system 
and increase the likelihood of ownership of large seg-
ments of the U.S. economy by foreign interests. 
SEC. 3. TRADE DEFICIT REDUCTION PLANS AND REPORTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) Not later than 60 days after the date of en-
actment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
Secretary of Labor shall identify each country for 
which the following apply: 
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(A) instances in which the country does 
not comply with existing trade obligations with 
respect to the United States; 
(B) non-tariff trade barriers; 
(C) labor conditions; 
(D) environmental standards; 
(E) whether the country violates its World 
Trade Organization obligations forbidding it 
from requiring U.S. companies to transfer tech-
nology as a condition of market access or na-
tional treatment; and 
(F) whether the country intervenes in cur-
rency markets to gain an unfair competitive ad-
vantage in trade; 
(2) the steps that will be taken to address the 
factors identified in subsection (b)(1), which shall 
not be limited to trade actions but shall, as appro-
priate, include tax, investment, technology, corporate 
governance, workforce training, or other policy ac-
tions that may be effective in reducing the trade def-
icit; and 
(3) as appropriate, recommendations for meas-
ures that may be taken by the individual States to 
address the factors identified in subsection (b)(1). 
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(c) REPORTS.—With respect to countries identified 
under subsection (a), the Secretary of Labor shall— 
(1) within 90 days after making the determina-
tion under subsection (a), present to Congress a re-
port detailing the trade deficit reduction plans devel-
oped under subsection (b); and 
(2) within one year after making the determina-
tion under subsection (a), present to Congress a re-
port detailing the implementation and results of 
trade deficit reduction plans developed under sub-
section (b). 
Æ 
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