Title: True Reciprocity Investment Act of 2017
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance

Summary:
True Reciprocity Investment Act of 2017
This bill amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to direct the Office of the United States Trade Representative to submit an annual report assessing the extent to which foreign governments allow investments by U.S. persons (i.e., U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or U.S. entities) in their countries that are similar to investments in the United States made by entities organized in such foreign countries.
The report shall include, with respect to each major trading partner of the United States: (1) a description of the laws, policies, and practices of the country with respect to foreign investment; and (2) an assessment of the transparency of the process for making such laws, policies, and practices.
The report shall also include the determination of the office whether each major trading partner: (1) has high barriers to investment by U.S. persons; (2) has recently taken measures that constitute barriers to investment by U.S. persons or has indicated an intention to take such measures; or (3) has investment laws, policies, and practices that should be monitored.
If the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States recommends that the President not suspend or prohibit a transaction made by a party that is subject to the jurisdiction of a high barrier country, it shall provide an explanation of the reasons for its recommendation.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1722 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1722

To require the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to 
consider the reciprocity of foreign investment, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2017

 Mr. Sullivan introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to 
consider the reciprocity of foreign investment, 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 ``True Reciprocity Investment Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. CONSIDERATION OF RECIPROCITY OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT.

    Section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(o) Consideration of Reciprocity of Foreign Investment.--
            ``(1) Report required.--Not later than 30 days after the 
        date of the enactment of the True Reciprocity Investment Act of 
        2017, and annually thereafter, the United States Trade 
        Representative shall, in consultation with the Secretary of 
        Commerce and the Secretary of the Treasury, submit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees a report assessing the 
        extent to which the governments of foreign countries allow 
        investments by United States persons in those countries that 
        are similar to investments in the United States made by 
        entities organized under the laws of those countries.
            ``(2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall 
        include, with respect to each country that is a major trading 
        partner of the United States, the following:
                    ``(A) A description of the laws, policies, and 
                practices of the country with respect to foreign 
                investment.
                    ``(B) A comparison of such laws, policies, and 
                practices with the laws, policies, and practices of the 
                United States with respect to foreign investment.
                    ``(C) An assessment of laws, policies, and 
                practices by the government of the country that 
                prohibit, restrict, or delay investment in the country 
                by United States persons.
                    ``(D) An identification of which such laws, 
                policies, and practices have had the most significant 
                effect on investment in that country by United States 
                persons.
                    ``(E) An identification of the industries in the 
                United States that have been most severely affected by 
                such laws, policies, and practices.
                    ``(F) An assessment of the transparency of the 
                process for making such laws, policies, and practices.
                    ``(G) If a bilateral investment treaty is in effect 
                between the United States and the country, an 
                assessment of the extent to which the government of the 
                country has complied with its obligations under the 
                treaty.
                    ``(H) Recommendations with respect to what remedies 
                may be available to facilitate investment in the 
                country by United States persons.
                    ``(I) An assessment of the amount of greenfield 
                investment in the United States by persons organized 
                under the laws of or otherwise subject to the 
                jurisdiction of the country.
            ``(3) Determinations.--The report required by paragraph (1) 
        shall include the determination of the Trade Representative, 
        after consideration of the elements described in paragraph (2), 
        of whether each country that is a major trading partner of the 
        United States--
                    ``(A) has high barriers to investment by United 
                States persons (to be known as a `high barrier 
                country');
                    ``(B) has recently taken measures that constitute 
                barriers to investment by United States persons or has 
                indicated an intention to take such measures (to be 
                known as a `watch country'); or
                    ``(C) has investment laws, policies, and practices 
                that should be monitored (to be known as a `monitor 
                country').
            ``(4) Justification for transactions with high barrier 
        countries.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If the Committee recommends that 
                the President not suspend or prohibit under subsection 
                (d) a covered transaction described in subparagraph 
                (B), the Committee shall include in the report required 
                by paragraph (1) an explanation of the reasons for 
                recommending that the President not suspend or prohibit 
                that transaction.
                    ``(B) Covered transaction described.--A covered 
                transaction is described in this subparagraph if a 
                party to the transaction is organized under the laws of 
                or otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of a high 
                barrier country.
            ``(5) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Appropriate congressional committees.--The 
                term `appropriate congressional committees' means--
                            ``(i) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
                        and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Finance, 
                        the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the 
                        Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                        Transportation of the Senate; and
                            ``(ii) the Committee on Financial Service, 
                        the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee 
                        on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Energy 
                        and Commerce of the House of Representatives.
                    ``(B) Greenfield investment.--The term `greenfield 
                investment' means an investment by a foreign person in 
                the United States under which the foreign person builds 
                operations and facilities in the United States instead 
                of purchasing or leasing existing facilities.
                    ``(C) United states person.--The term `United 
                States person' means--
                            ``(i) a United States citizen or an alien 
                        lawfully admitted for permanent residence to 
                        the United States; or
                            ``(ii) an entity organized under the laws 
                        of the United States or of any jurisdiction 
                        within the United States, including a foreign 
                        branch of such an entity.''.

SEC. 3. CONSIDERATION OF REPORT ON RECIPROCITY.

    Section 721(f) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 
4565(f)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by redesignating clauses 
                (i), (ii), and (iii) as subclauses (I), (II), and 
                (III), respectively, and by moving such subclauses, as 
                so redesignated, 2 ems to the right; and
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), and 
                (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively, and 
                by moving such clauses, as so redesignated, 2 ems to 
                the right;
            (2) in paragraph (9), by redesignating subparagraphs (A), 
        (B), and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively, and 
        by moving such clauses, as so redesignated, 2 ems to the right;
            (3) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (11) as 
        subparagraphs (A) through (K), respectively, and by moving such 
        subparagraphs, as so redesignated, 2 ems to the right;
            (4) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), as 
        redesignated by paragraph (3), by striking ``may, taking into 
        account the requirements of national security, consider--'' and 
        inserting the following: ``, taking into account the 
        requirements of national security--
            ``(1) may consider--'';
            (5) in subparagraph (K), as redesignated by paragraph (3), 
        by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
            (6) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) shall consider the findings in the most recent report 
        required by subsection (o) with respect to any foreign country 
        with jurisdiction over a party to the proposed or pending 
        transaction.''.
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