HR 6180 IH 
standards violations are subject to dispute 
resolution and enforcement mechanisms 
and penalties that are at least as effective 
as the mechanisms and penalties that 
apply to the commercial provisions of the 
agreement; 
(II) conduct investigations and hear-
ings on such complaints which shall be 
considered by the agreement’s disputes set-
tlement tribunal on equal standing with 
submissions of the involved country or 
countries; 
(III) select the two panelists with 
labor rights expertise one of whom shall be 
selected by the union members of the com-
mission who shall serve on the three-person 
dispute resolution tribunal hearing any 
case initiated by the commission under 
subparagraph (I); 
(IV) review and comment on the dis-
pute resolution panel’s preliminary ruling 
with transmission of the preliminary ruling 
to the commission to occur simultaneously 
with transmission of the preliminary ruling 
to the country or countries involved; 
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HR 6180 IH 
(V) be treated with the status of a 
Party to the dispute throughout all subse-
quent procedures of appeal, enforcement 
action, or sanction arbitration so as to en-
sure a country’s compliance with the obli-
gations set forth in subparagraphs (B), 
(C), and (D) or the imposition of penalties 
of sufficient magnitude to ensure full and 
immediate compliance with the obligations 
set forth in subparagraphs (B), (C), and 
(D) and as appropriate incremental reduc-
tions in trade penalties as benchmarks are 
achieved; and 
(VI) any subsequent appeal or sanc-
tion arbitration panel shall be comprised 
with minimally two panelists with labor 
rights expertise; 
(v) vest the commission with authority to 
set benchmarks for increasing compliance with 
such obligations; and 
(vi) verify that benchmarks have in fact 
been achieved; and 
(F) require any country that is a party to 
the agreement to— 
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HR 6180 IH 
(i) cooperate fully with investigations 
by the commission required under subpara-
graph (E); 
(ii) ensure full access by the commis-
sion to workplaces and government agen-
cies responsible for enforcement of labor 
rights and standards; 
(iii) ensure that commission personnel 
are able to conduct confidential interviews 
with workers, managers, and government 
officials; 
(iv) ensure full access by the commis-
sion to relevant documents of employers 
and government agencies; and 
(v) ensure that workers who seek to 
enforce obligations described in this para-
graph are protected against reprisal by em-
ployers. 
(2) ENVIRONMENTAL
AND
PUBLIC
SAFETY 
STANDARDS.—The environmental provisions shall— 
(A) be included in the text of the agree-
ment; 
(B) prohibit each country that is a party 
to the agreement from weakening, eliminating, 
or failing to enforce domestic environmental or 
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HR 6180 IH 
other public interest standards to promote trade 
or attract investment; 
(C) require each such country to imple-
ment and enforce fully and effectively, including 
through domestic law, the country’s obligations 
under multilateral environmental agreements 
and provide for the enforcement of such obliga-
tions under the agreement; 
(D) prohibit the trade of products that are 
illegally harvested or extracted and the trade of 
goods derived from illegally harvested or ex-
tracted natural resources, including timber and 
timber products, fish, wildlife, and associated 
products, mineral resources, or other environ-
mentally sensitive goods; 
(E) provide that the failure to meet the en-
vironmental standards required by the agree-
ment be subject to dispute resolution and en-
forcement mechanisms and penalties that are at 
least as effective as the mechanisms and pen-
alties that apply to the commercial provisions of 
the agreement; and 
(F) allow each country that is a party to 
the agreement to adopt and implement environ-
mental, health, and safety standards, recog-
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HR 6180 IH 
nizing the legitimate right of governments to 
protect the environment and public health and 
safety. 
(3) FOOD AND PRODUCT HEALTH AND SAFETY 
STANDARDS.—If the agreement contains health and 
safety standards for food and other products, the 
agreement shall— 
(A) establish that food, feed, food ingredi-
ents, and other related food products may be 
imported into the United States from a country 
that is a party to the agreement only if such 
products meet or exceed United States stand-
ards with respect to food safety, pesticides, in-
spections, packaging, and labeling; 
(B) establish that nonfood products may 
be imported into the United States from a 
country that is a party to the agreement only 
if such products meet or exceed United States 
standards with respect to health and safety, in-
spections, packaging, and labeling; 
(C) allow each country that is a party to 
the agreement to impose standards designed to 
protect public health and safety unless it can be 
clearly demonstrated that such standards do 
not protect the public health or safety; 
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(D) authorize the Commissioner of the 
Food and Drug Administration and the Con-
sumer Product Safety Commission to assess the 
regulatory system of each country that is a 
party to the agreement to determine whether 
the system provides the same or better protec-
tion of health and safety for food and other 
products as provided under the regulatory sys-
tem of the United States; 
(E) if the Commissioner or the Commis-
sion determines that the regulatory system of 
such a country does not provide the same or 
better protection of health and safety for food 
and other products as provided under the regu-
latory system of the United States, prohibit the 
importation into the United States of food and 
other products from that country; 
(F) provide a process by which producers 
from countries whose standards are not found 
by the Commissioner or the Commission to 
meet U.S. standards may have specific facilities 
inspected and certified so as to allow products 
from approved facilities to be imported into the 
United States; 
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