I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7962 
To advance United States long-term trade competitiveness and economic 
leadership in the Indo-Pacific region. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 11, 2024 
Mrs. MILLER of West Virginia (for herself, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. SMITH of Ne-
braska, Mr. BEYER, Mr. LAHOOD, and Mr. BERA) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To advance United States long-term trade competitiveness 
and economic leadership in the Indo-Pacific region. 
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 ‘‘United States Trade 
Leadership in the Indo-Pacific Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The United States is an Indo-Pacific power. 
(2) The Indo-Pacific region, spanning from our 
Pacific Coastline to the Indian Ocean, is home to 
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over half the world’s people, including nearly 60 per-
cent of youth, and is at the center of the 21st-cen-
tury global economy, accounting for 60 percent of 
global gross domestic product and two-thirds of the 
world’s economic growth in 2022. 
(3) The Indo-Pacific region also includes some 
of America’s closest military allies and partners, sev-
eral of the world’s largest militaries, and 5 nations 
allied with the United States through mutual de-
fense treaties. The region also contains strategic ri-
vals with growing military capabilities, in particular 
the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Our partners 
are critical for responding to potential threats in the 
region, maintaining credible deterrence, and for fos-
tering peace. 
(4) There is broad bipartisan agreement that 
the United States must have a strong and durable 
economic strategy in the Indo-Pacific to advance our 
commercial, geostrategic, and national security inter-
ests and support our allies and partners in the re-
gion. 
(5) This is especially true and increasingly ur-
gent in the face of heightened aggression and pres-
sure from the PRC, which seeks to expand its influ-
ence by actively pursuing trade agreements with key 
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partners in the Indo-Pacific that establish pref-
erential treatment for goods and services, deepen 
supply chain integration, and establish rules based 
on the PRC’s state-led authoritarian economic model 
that undercut America’s workers, businesses, and 
economic security. 
(6) For decades, the United States has sought 
to persuade the PRC to eliminate harmful trade 
practices and act responsibly within the global rules- 
based trading system. Unfortunately, the PRC has 
not substantially changed its behavior and has in-
stead used forced labor, subsidies and overproduc-
tion, intellectual property theft and the forced trans-
fer of technology, authoritarian digital governance 
policies, economic coercion, and other unfair prac-
tices to advance an economic model that undermines 
human rights, American industries and workers, and 
market-based economies around the world. 
(7) The PRC is now actively seeking to increase 
trade ties in the Indo-Pacific region as a means to 
increase its economic influence and increase supply 
chain dependency on the PRC. One of the most 
prominent examples of the PRC’s growing economic 
influence in the Indo-Pacific region is the Regional 
Comprehensive 
Economic 
Partnership 
(RCEP), 
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which entered into force in January 2022. RCEP is 
now the largest trade agreement in the world, en-
compassing 15 countries that account for 30 percent 
of the global economy. This agreement will increas-
ingly put the United States at a competitive dis-
advantage as the economies of the PRC, Australia, 
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, 
Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, 
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam grow more inte-
grated. 
(8) The PRC is also actively negotiating numer-
ous other regional and bilateral trade agreements 
throughout the region and is attempting to accede to 
the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for 
Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as well as the 
Digital Economic Partnership Agreement (DEPA). 
(9) The PRC’s aggressive assertion of its eco-
nomic interests in the Indo-Pacific through the use 
of trade agreements underscores the need for the 
United States to provide a meaningful and credible 
alternative to achieve our economic and national se-
curity goals. 
(10) American workers and businesses also face 
competitive pressures as other countries in the re-
gion pursue regional rules and preferential trade 
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agreements without the participation of the United 
States. There are now more than 200 preferential 
trade agreements in force with at least one party 
from the region and over 100 more are under nego-
tiation or pending ratification. 
(11) Recognizing this void in American leader-
ship, the Biden administration launched negotiations 
with Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Re-
public of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Phil-
ippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam (with Fiji 
joining shortly thereafter) on the Indo-Pacific Eco-
nomic Framework (IPEF) in 2022, with the aim of 
deepening trade ties, strengthening supply chain re-
siliency, accelerating the development of climate in-
frastructure, and countering corruption. 
(12) In November 2023, IPEF partners signed 
an agreement on supply chain resiliency and an-
nounced the substantial conclusion of negotiations 
on several additional agreements but have not final-
ized an agreement that includes commitments on 
trade. The Biden Administration has not sought to 
consult with Congress on the IPEF pillars. 
(13) To inform future policymaking, Congress 
should work with the administration in a bipartisan 
manner to examine current United States economic 
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policy toward the Indo-Pacific, the impacts of re-
gional trade agreements on American competitive-
ness, and policies to advance United States objec-
tives in the region. 
(14) Through a more comprehensive trade and 
economic strategy toward the Indo-Pacific region, 
the United States could exert greater leverage to im-
prove labor rights and help level the playing field for 
American workers, enhance environmental stand-
ards, 
counter 
non-market 
economies 
and 
authoritarianism, construct more resilient supply 
chains, better meet the needs of our allies and part-
ners, and grow our economy by addressing barriers 
to trade for American products. 
SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION OF IMPACT OF INDO-PACIFIC RE-
GIONAL AGREEMENTS ON UNITED STATES 
COMPETITIVENESS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the United States International Trade 
Commission shall conduct and conclude an investigation 
to examine— 
(1) how preferential market access provisions, 
including tariffs, quotas, and services commitments, 
in existing Indo-Pacific regional trade agreements, 
including the Regional Comprehensive Economic 
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Partnership (RCEP) Agreement and the Com-
prehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pa-
cific Partnership (CPTPP), affect United States ex-
ports and growth opportunities in the Indo-Pacific 
region; 
(2) how existing non-tariff barriers, including 
regulatory practices, relatively lower labor and envi-
ronmental standards, different rules for sectors 
ranging from agriculture and the digital economy, 
and standard-setting in these areas as part of exist-
ing Indo-Pacific regional and bilateral trade agree-
ments, impact the competitiveness of American 
workers and businesses; 
(3) the impact of existing Indo-Pacific regional 
trade agreements on United States supply chain re-
siliency and connectivity, and in particular its im-
pact on the People’s Republic of China’s role in key 
global supply chains; and 
(4) differences between the United States-Mex-
ico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and CPTPP, 
RCEP, or other regional trade agreements in the 
Indo-Pacific that would likely have a substantial im-
pact on United States businesses and workers. 
SEC. 4. INDO-PACIFIC TRADE STRATEGY COMMISSION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby established 
an independent commission to be known as the 
‘‘Indo-Pacific Trade Strategy Commission’’ (in this 
section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’), to develop 
findings and recommendations for a comprehensive 
trade strategy for the Indo-Pacific region for pur-
poses of— 
(A) ensuring sustained United States eco-
nomic and geopolitical leadership in the Indo- 
Pacific region; 
(B) promoting United States innovation, 
exports, and economic opportunities for workers 
and businesses; 
(C) countering the People’s Republic of 
China’s aggressive trade agenda; 
(D) promoting United States values, 
norms, and standards; 
(E) strengthening the United States econ-
omy; 
(F) bolstering United States economic and 
national security, including by addressing the 
vulnerabilities identified in the G7 Leaders’ 
Statement on Economic Resilience and Eco-
nomic Security of May 20, 2023; and 
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(G) promoting United States supply chain 
resilience. 
(2) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—This subsection shall 
take effect on the date that is 30 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Com-
mission shall be composed of 12 members appointed 
as follows: 
(A) 6 members appointed by mutual agree-
ment of the Chair of the Committee on Ways 
and Means of the House of Representatives and 
the Ranking Member of the Committee on Fi-
nance of the Senate. 
(B) 6 members appointed by mutual agree-
ment of the Chair of the Committee on Finance 
of the Senate and the Ranking Member of the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
Representatives. 
(C) None of the appointed members shall 
be a Member of the House of Representatives 
or a Member of the Senate. 
(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The members of the 
Commission shall be individuals who have well-docu-
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mented expertise, knowledge, or experience in the 
Indo-Pacific region, and— 
(A) international trade; 
(B) economic and supply chain issues; 
(C) labor matters; or 
(D) environmental policy. 
(3) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall— 
(A) hold public hearings and meetings; 
(B) hold classified hearings or meetings, if 
necessary to discuss classified material or infor-
mation; 
(C) provide an opportunity for public com-
ment, including sharing of research and policy 
analysis, through publication of a solicitation 
for public comments during a period of not less 
than 45 days; 
(D) consult quarterly with Congress, spe-
cifically with members of the Committee on 
Ways and Means of the House of Representa-
tives and members of the Committee on Fi-
nance of the Senate; and 
(E) submit, not later than 18 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, a final 
report to Congress, specifically to the members 
of the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
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House of Representatives and members of the 
Committee on Finance of the Senate. 
Æ 
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