Title: To amend title 39, United States Code, to require the United States Postal Service to establish rates for delivery of inbound international mail that do not discriminate between foreign and domestic mailers, to review foreign practices with respect to the exchange of e-commerce goods with the United States, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
This bill limits the authority of the Department of State with respect to international postal agreements that would require the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to establish a classification, rate, or fee for any postal service.
The Board of Governors of the USPS must establish reasonable and equitable classes of mail and reasonable and equitable rates of postage and fees for the transportation and delivery within the United States of documents and goods received from other countries. Such classifications, rates, and fees shall be regulated by the Postal Regulatory Commission in the same manner as comparable domestic classifications, rates, and fees, and shall be available to users of domestic postal services under the same terms and conditions as provided to foreign post offices and other entities tendering documents and goods from other countries to the USPS.
The classifications, rates, and fees established by the USPS shall not discriminate between documents or goods received from other countries based on the country of origin, the nationality of the sender, or the ownership or governmental designation of the entity tendering the documents or goods to it.
The State Department may not conclude a treaty, convention, or other intergovernmental agreement that requires the USPS to provide preferential classifications, rates, or fees for the transportation and delivery within the United States of documents and goods received from other countries unless specified conditions are met.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5524 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5524

  To amend title 39, United States Code, to require the United States 
Postal Service to establish rates for delivery of inbound international 
mail that do not discriminate between foreign and domestic mailers, to 
  review foreign practices with respect to the exchange of e-commerce 
         goods with the United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 16, 2018

 Mr. Marchant (for himself, Mr. Abraham, and Mr. Ross) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, 
and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 39, United States Code, to require the United States 
Postal Service to establish rates for delivery of inbound international 
mail that do not discriminate between foreign and domestic mailers, to 
  review foreign practices with respect to the exchange of e-commerce 
         goods with the United States, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. LIMITATION ON THE AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF STATE WITH 
              RESPECT TO INTERNATIONAL POSTAL AGREEMENTS.

    Subsection (b)(1) of section 407 of title 39, United States Code, 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b)(1) The Secretary of State shall be responsible for 
formulation, coordination, and oversight of foreign policy related to 
international postal services and other international delivery services 
and shall have the power to conclude postal treaties, conventions, and 
amendments related to international postal services and other 
international delivery services, except that the Secretary may not 
conclude any treaty, convention, or other international agreement 
(including any regulation of the Universal Postal Union binding on the 
United States) if such treaty, convention, or agreement would--
            ``(A) with respect to any competitive product, grant an 
        undue or unreasonable preference to the Postal Service, a 
        private provider of international postal or delivery services, 
        or any other person; or
            ``(B) require the Postal Service to establish a 
        classification, rate, or fee for any postal service except as 
        provided in subsection (f).''.

SEC. 2. NONDISCRIMINATORY RATES FOR DELIVERY OF INBOUND INTERNATIONAL 
              MAIL GENERALLY.

    Subsection (c) of section 407 of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(c)(1) Except as provided in subsection (f), the Governors shall, 
in accordance with the provisions of chapter 36, establish reasonable 
and equitable classes of mail and reasonable and equitable rates of 
postage and fees for the transportation and delivery within the United 
States of documents and goods received from other countries. Such 
classifications, rates, and fees shall be regulated by the Postal 
Regulatory Commission in the same manner as comparable domestic 
classifications, rates, and fees, and shall be available to users of 
domestic postal services under the same terms and conditions as 
provided to foreign post offices and other entities tendering documents 
and goods from other countries to the Postal Service.
    ``(2) The classifications, rates, and fees established by the 
Postal Service under this subsection and subsection (d) shall not 
discriminate between documents or goods received from other countries 
based on the country of origin, the nationality of the sender, or the 
ownership or governmental designation of the entity tendering the 
documents or goods to the Postal Service.''.

SEC. 3. PREFERENTIAL RATES FOR INBOUND NONCOMMERCIAL MAIL FROM 
              DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

    Section 407 of title 39, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(f)(1) Pursuant to subsection (b), the Secretary of State may 
conclude a treaty, convention, amendment, or other intergovernmental 
agreement that requires the Postal Service to provide preferential 
classifications, rates, or fees for the transportation and delivery 
within the United States of documents and goods received from other 
countries in accordance with this subsection.
    ``(2) No classification, rate, or fee established under this 
subsection shall--
            ``(A) apply to documents and goods sent from an 
        industrialized country to the United States;
            ``(B) apply to commercial goods sent to the United States 
        from a country that exports such commercial goods to the United 
        States in quantities that have a significant competitive effect 
        on business concerns within the United States;
            ``(C) discriminate between documents or goods received from 
        a specific country based on the ownership or governmental 
        designation of the entity tendering the documents or goods to 
        the Postal Service; or
            ``(D) be effective for more than 4 years.
    ``(3) At least 120 days prior to concluding negotiations with 
respect to any treaty, convention, amendment, or other 
intergovernmental agreement (including any regulation of the Universal 
Postal Union binding on the United States Government) that proposes to 
establish a preferential classification, rate, or fee pursuant to 
paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall submit the proposed 
classification, rate, or fee to the Postal Regulatory Commission for 
review together with a written statement explaining why it is in the 
foreign policy or national security interest of the United States to 
provide such preference (provided that the Secretary may designate 
portions that shall be kept confidential for reasons of foreign policy 
or national security for a period not exceeding 4 years).
    ``(4) Promptly after receiving a request under paragraph (3), the 
Commission shall provide notice and an opportunity for public comment 
in conformance with the rulemaking requirements of section 553 of title 
5, United States Code. The Commission may also provide for an 
evidentiary hearing on the record if it considers such a hearing 
necessary. In its review, the Commission shall determine whether the 
proposed classification, rate, or fee is--
            ``(A) reasonably calculated to achieve the foreign policy 
        or national security objectives defined by the Secretary in a 
        manner that is as consistent as possible with the national 
        policies established in subsection (a); and
            ``(B) consistent with the requirements of paragraph (2) of 
        this subsection.
Unless the Commission determines that the proposed preferential 
classification, rate, or fee must be disapproved, the Commission shall 
also provide an estimate of the monetary value of the approved 
preference for each year for which the preference is to be effective.
    ``(5) Within 90 days of receiving a request under paragraph (3), 
Commission shall issue a decision which approves, approves with 
modifications, or disapproves the proposed classification, rate, or 
fee. The Secretary shall ensure that each treaty, convention, or 
amendment concluded under this section is consistent with the decision 
of the Commission.
    ``(6) The Commission shall periodically determine the difference 
between the revenues received by the Postal Service pursuant to 
preferential classifications, rates, or fees approved under this 
subsection and the revenues that the Postal Service would have received 
in the absence of such classifications, rates, or fees. Such estimates 
shall be included in the annual report provided by the Commission under 
section 3651(b).
    ``(7) Within 3 months after the end of each Government fiscal year, 
the Secretary shall transfer to the Postal Service the revenues 
foregone due to such preferential rates, fees, or classifications in 
the previous fiscal year, as determined by the Commission, from funds 
appropriated to the Department of State for that purpose.
    ``(8) Within 120 days from the enactment of this section, the 
Commission shall promulgate (and may thereafter revise) such 
regulations as it deems necessary and proper to implement this 
subsection. In promulgating such regulations, the Commission shall take 
account of, but not be bound by the definitions of terms and other 
standards of the Universal Postal Union.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL POSTAL AGREEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--In the implementation of paragraph 407(b)(1) of 
title 39, United States Code, as amended by section 1, the Secretary of 
State may not conclude, approve, or otherwise agree to the Universal 
Postal Convention adopted by the Congress of the Universal Postal Union 
held in Istanbul in 2016.
    (b) Application.--This Act supersedes any postal treaties, 
conventions, and amendments related to international postal services 
and other international delivery services (including any regulation of 
the Universal Postal Union binding on the United States Government) to 
which the United States is a party to the extent such postal treaties, 
conventions, and amendments are inconsistent with this Act.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON TRADE IN E-COMMERCE GOODS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall, in consultation with the 
Office of the United States Trade Representative and with other Federal 
agencies as appropriate, submit a report to the President and Congress 
on the policies of foreign governments toward the transmission of e-
commerce goods to or from the United States by means of international 
postal services and other international delivery services.
    (b) Report Contents.--The report required in subsection (a) shall 
identify and analyze--
            (1) foreign subsidies, laws, or other governmental programs 
        that provide for foreign merchants unfair or unreasonable 
        assistance in the sale of e-commerce goods to consumers in the 
        United States;
            (2) foreign subsidies, laws, or other governmental programs 
        that unfairly disadvantage United States merchants in the sale 
        of e-commerce goods to consumers in other countries; and
            (3) foreign laws and policies relating to the exchange of 
        e-commerce goods which are inconsistent with the policies of 
        the United States regarding international trade in services 
        generally (section 104A(a) of the Trade Act of 1974; 19 U.S.C. 
        2114a(a)) and international postal agreements (section 407(a) 
        of title 39, United States Code) and which are detrimental to 
        the interests of the domestic or international operations of 
        United States companies.
    (c) Proposals.--The report required in subsection (a) should 
propose appropriate steps that could be taken by the Secretary of 
Commerce, by other Federal agencies, or by Congress to remedy issues 
identified under subsection (b). Such steps may include proposals for--
            (1) remedial actions that may be taken by the United States 
        alone;
            (2) modification of existing trade, postal, or other 
        international agreements or development of new trade, postal, 
        or other international agreements;
            (3) United States advocacy in international organizations; 
        and
            (4) modification or improvement in the coordination of 
        policies and positions among United States agencies.
    (d) Countries Covered.--The report required in subsection (a) may 
be limited to countries that, in the judgment of the Secretary of 
Commerce, have or soon will have a significant level of trade in e-
commerce goods with the United States.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect on the date that is one year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, except for section 4(a) which shall take 
effect on such date of enactment.
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