I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6056 
To assess the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement 
(NAFTA), to require further negotiation of certain provisions of NAFTA, 
and to provide for the withdrawal from NAFTA unless certain conditions 
are met. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 15, 2016 
Ms. KAPTUR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To assess the impact of the North American Free Trade 
Agreement (NAFTA), to require further negotiation of 
certain provisions of NAFTA, and to provide for the 
withdrawal from NAFTA unless certain conditions are 
met. 
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 ‘‘NAFTA Accountability 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) RISING DEFICITS IN UNITED STATES TRADE 
ACCOUNTS.—One of the purposes of the North 
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), as stat-
ed in the preamble, is to ‘‘create an expanded and 
secure market’’ for goods and services. Instead, 
NAFTA has resulted in a spiraling United States 
trade deficit with Mexico and Canada that exceeded 
$76,000,000,000 
in 
2015, 
and 
more 
than 
$1,800,000,000,000 since the agreement’s inception. 
Rather than continuous development and expansion 
as envisioned and growing trade surpluses for the 
United States, NAFTA has resulted in United 
States job losses and escalating trade deficits. 
(2) EROSION OF THE UNITED STATES MANU-
FACTURING BASE.—One of the purposes of NAFTA 
is to enhance the competitiveness of firms in the 
global market. However, rather than increase the 
ability of the manufacturing sector in the United 
States to compete in the world market, NAFTA has 
facilitated and accelerated the outsourcing of United 
States manufacturing facilities and jobs to lower- 
wage Mexico. Conservatively, NAFTA has led to 
nearly 1,000,000 American job losses. Conversely, 
Mexico has become an export platform displacing 
United States production. An unprecedented flood of 
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imports of manufactured and agricultural goods now 
enter the United States. Further, Mexico has experi-
enced an outsourcing of productivity to even lower- 
wage China, as Chinese imports to Mexico have 
grown and are imported into the United States. 
(3) NAFTA SHOULD
NOT
BE
EXPANDED.— 
Congress approved NAFTA in order to achieve eco-
nomic, social, and environmental benefits for the 
people of the United States. Based on currently 
available information, the goals and objectives of 
NAFTA are not being achieved. Therefore, NAFTA 
should not be expanded to include any other coun-
try. 
(4) NAFTA TO BE RENEGOTIATED AND BENE-
FITS
CERTIFIED.—Based on the experience with 
NAFTA since its implementation, it has become evi-
dent that further negotiation is required to resolve 
fundamental inadequacies within NAFTA with re-
spect to trade balances, currency differentials, health 
and environmental conditions, agricultural provi-
sions, systems of justice, and illegal immigration. If 
NAFTA is to continue, Congress must require cer-
tification of specific measures of economic, social, 
legal, and environmental progress. Otherwise Con-
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gress has no choice but to withdraw its approval of 
NAFTA. 
SEC. 3. CONDITIONS FOR CONTINUED PARTICIPATION IN 
NAFTA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) WITHDRAWAL
OF
APPROVAL.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, unless each of 
the conditions described in paragraph (2) is met— 
(A) the approval of NAFTA by Congress 
provided for in section 101(a) of the North 
American Free Trade Agreement Implementa-
tion Act (19 U.S.C. 3311(a)) shall cease to be 
effective beginning on the date that is 365 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act; and 
(B) not later than 6 months after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the President 
shall provide written notice of withdrawal to the 
Governments of Canada and Mexico in accord-
ance with Article 2205 of NAFTA. 
(2) CONDITIONS FOR CONTINUING PARTICIPA-
TION IN NAFTA.—The conditions described in this 
paragraph are met if, not later than 120 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act— 
(A) the President— 
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(i) renegotiates the terms of NAFTA 
in accordance with paragraphs (1), (2), 
and (3) of subsection (b); and 
(ii) provides the certification to Con-
gress described in subsection (b)(8); 
(B) the Secretary of Labor and the Sec-
retary of Agriculture provide the certification 
described in subsection (b)(4); 
(C) the Secretary of Commerce and the 
Secretary of Agriculture provide the certifi-
cation described in subsection (b)(5); 
(D) the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
Administrator of the Food and Drug Adminis-
tration provide the certification described in 
subsection (b)(6)(A); 
(E) the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency submits the certifi-
cation described in subsection (b)(6)(B); and 
(F) the Attorney General of the United 
States provides the certification described in 
subsection (b)(7). 
(b) AREAS
OF
RENEGOTIATION
AND
CERTIFI-
CATION.—The areas of renegotiation and certification de-
scribed in this subsection are as follows: 
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(1) RENEGOTIATE NAFTA TO CORRECT TRADE 
DEFICITS.—The President is authorized and directed 
to confer with the Governments of Canada and Mex-
ico and to renegotiate the terms of NAFTA to pro-
vide for implementation of emergency adjustments of 
tariffs, quotas, and other measures to stabilize and 
balance the flow of trade among NAFTA Parties 
when the United States has an annual deficit in 
trade of goods and services with another NAFTA 
Party that— 
(A) exceeds 10 percent of United States 
exports to that Party; or 
(B) equals or exceeds $500,000,000 for 3 
or more consecutive years. 
(2) RENEGOTIATE
NAFTA
TO
CORRECT
CUR-
RENCY DISTORTIONS.—The President is authorized 
and directed to confer with the Governments of Can-
ada and Mexico and to renegotiate the terms of 
NAFTA to provide for the implementation of emer-
gency adjustments of tariffs, quotas, and other 
measures to mitigate the adverse effects of rapid or 
substantial changes in exchange rates between the 
United States dollar and the currency of another 
NAFTA Party. 
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(3) RENEGOTIATE NAFTA TO CORRECT AGRI-
CULTURAL PROVISIONS.—The President is author-
ized and directed to confer with the Governments of 
Canada and Mexico and to renegotiate the terms of 
NAFTA to establish and strengthen provisions to 
prevent imports of agricultural commodities from 
any NAFTA Party from unfairly displacing United 
States production, to provide improved mechanisms 
for relief for United States producers that are ad-
versely impacted by such imports, and to address the 
serious and growing problem of Mexico’s displaced 
ejido peasant farmers and crime associated with law-
lessness in the United States–Mexico border zone. 
(4) CERTIFICATION
OF
GAINS
IN
UNITED 
STATES JOBS AND LIVING STANDARDS.—If the Sec-
retary of Labor and the Secretary of Agriculture, 
after consultation with appropriate government 
agencies and citizen organizations, determine that— 
(A) the number of jobs resulting from in-
creased exports of United States goods and 
services to other NAFTA Parties exceeds the 
number of jobs lost because of imports of goods 
and services from other NAFTA Parties since 
January 1, 1994; and 
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(B) the purchasing power of wage-earners 
in the United States has increased since Janu-
ary 1, 1994, 
the Secretaries shall so certify to Congress. 
(5) CERTIFICATION OF INCREASED DOMESTIC 
MANUFACTURING.—If the Secretary of Commerce 
and the Secretary of Agriculture, after consultation 
with the appropriate government agencies and cit-
izen organizations, determine that the export of 
United States manufactured and agricultural goods 
to NAFTA Parties exceeds the imports of manufac-
tured and agricultural goods from NAFTA Parties, 
the Secretaries shall so certify to Congress. In mak-
ing the determination, the Secretaries shall not in-
clude any goods originating outside the United 
States that are exported to another NAFTA Party, 
nor imports from another NAFTA Party that are 
destined for other countries. 
(6) CERTIFICATION RELATING TO HEALTH AND 
ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of Ag-
riculture and the Administrator of the Food 
and Drug Administration, after consultation 
with appropriate government agencies and cit-
izen organizations, determine, with respect to 
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