Title: Assistance for Workers Harmed by Tariffs on Exports Act
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance

Summary:
Assistance for Workers Harmed by Tariffs on Exports Act
This bill provides financial assistance to workers harmed by retaliatory foreign tariffs by expanding the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers program. The program currently provides assistance to workers adversely affected by competing imported goods and services.
Under the bill, workers at firms that have seen a significant decrease in sales, production, or exports of goods or services, in whole or in part as a result of tariffs imposed by foreign countries in response to U.S. tariff increases, may petition the Department of Labor for trade adjustment assistance.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6395 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6395

  To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to provide adjustment assistance to 
  certain workers adversely affect by reduced exports resulting from 
tariffs imposed as retaliation for United States tariff increases, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 17, 2018

Ms. DelBene (for herself, Mr. Kind, Mr. Thompson of California, and Ms. 
Sewell of Alabama) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to provide adjustment assistance to 
  certain workers adversely affect by reduced exports resulting from 
tariffs imposed as retaliation for United States tariff increases, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Assistance for Workers Harmed by 
Tariffs on Exports Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In recognition that trade policy can result in 
        disparate and disruptive changes to the economy, the Trade 
        Adjustment Assistance program was enacted to help workers 
        adversely impacted by the trade policy decisions of the Federal 
        Government.
            (2) The Trump Administration has made clear that it intends 
        to aggressively use Federal trade statutes, including section 
        232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1862), 
        section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411), and 
        potentially the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 
        (Public Law 95-223), to increase tariffs on selected imports.
            (3) Foreign countries affected by such tariff increases 
        have, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, already 
        raised tariffs on United States exports or have indicated that 
        they intend to respond by raising tariffs on such exports.
            (4) Increased tariffs on such exports threaten to reduce 
        employment in affected sectors of the United States economy.
            (5) Workers adversely impacted by these effects deserve 
        adjustment assistance.

SEC. 3. ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR RETALIATORY TARIFF INCREASES.

    Section 222(a)(2) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2272(a)(2)) 
is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ``or'' at the 
        end;
            (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking the period at the 
        end and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C)(i) the sales or production, or both, of such 
                firm have decreased absolutely;
                    ``(ii) exports of articles produced or services 
                supplied by such firm have decreased;
                    ``(iii) the decrease in exports described in clause 
                (ii) resulted in whole or in part from tariffs imposed 
                on such exports by a foreign country in response to 
                United States tariffs imposed on imports from such 
                country pursuant to an action taken under the authority 
                of--
                            ``(I) section 232 of the Trade Expansion 
                        Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1862);
                            ``(II) section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 
                        (19 U.S.C. 2411); or
                            ``(III) the International Emergency 
                        Economic Powers Act (Public Law 95-223); and
                    ``(iv) the decrease in exports described in clause 
                (ii) contributed importantly to such workers' 
                separation or threat of separation and to the decline 
                in the sales or production of such firm.''.
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