United States Trade Rights Enforcement Act

Bill: 109-s-1421
Sponsor: Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]
Introduced: 2005-07-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Agriculture and Food
Agriculture in foreign trade
American investments
Arts, Culture, Religion
Authorization
Balance of payments
Biotechnology
China
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Collection of accounts
Commerce
Computer crimes
Computer industry
Computer software
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Copyright
Corn
Cotton
Countervailing duties
Crime and Law Enforcement
Criminal investigation
Currency devaluation
Customs administration
Dispute settlement
Drug industry
Drugs
Dumping
East Asia
Economics and Public Finance
Embassies
Energy
Energy demand
Evidence (Law)
Exports
Federal employees
Finance and Financial Sector
Financial services
Food safety
Foreign corporations
Foreign exchange
Foreign investments
Fraud
Free enterprise
Free trade
Futures trading
Government Operations and Politics
Government and business
Government procurement
Government regulation
Governmental investigations
Grain
Health
Imports
Intellectual property
International Affairs
International agencies
International competitiveness
International cooperation
Internet
Law
Licenses
Motion pictures
Nontariff trade barriers
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Ombudsman
Patent infringement
Patents
Product counterfeiting
Prosecution
Rabbits
Raw materials
Recreation
Recruiting of employees
Right of property
Science, Technology, Communications
Small business
Sound recording and reproducing
Sports and Recreation
Subsidies
Surety and fidelity
Tariff
Telecommunication industry
Textile fabrics
Textile industry
Trade agreements
Trade fairs
Trade negotiations
U.S. International Trade Commission

Summary:
action_date: 2005-07-19
text: 
United States Trade Rights Enforcement Act - Expresses the sense of Congress about making the countervailing duty law under the Tariff Act of 1930 applicable to actions by nonmarket economy countries, and the impact on the U.S. economy of the huge growth in trade with the People's Republic of China (PRC).
 
Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose countervailing duties on certain merchandise from nonmarket economy countries.
 
Suspends for three years the requirement that the administering authority direct the Customs Service to allow, at the option of the importer of such merchandise, the posting, until completion of the review, of a bond or security in lieu of a cash deposit for each entry of the subject merchandise (bonding privileges). 
 
Requires the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that specified steps are taken by the PRC to ensure its compliance with its international trade obligations regarding: (1) intellectual property rights; (2) access for exports of U.S. goods, services, and agriculture; and (3) a required detailed accounting of its subsidies to the World Trade Organization (WTO) by the end of 2005.
 
Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report to specified congressional committees on: (1) the definition of currency manipulation; (2) actions of foreign countries that will be considered to be such; and (3) how statutory provisions addressing it by U.S. trading partners contained in, and relating to, the Bretton Woods Agreements Act and the Exchange Rates and International Economic Policy Coordination Act of 1988 can be better clarified administratively to provide for improved and more predictable evaluation.
 
Authorizes appropriations for the Office of the USTR and for the U.S. International Trade Commission.
 
Requires the Commission to study and report on trade and economic relations between the United States and the PRC.
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that the: (1) United States should strive to expand membership in the Agreement on Government Procurement of the WTO; (2) United States should ensure that the PRC meets its WTO obligations; (3) the United States should seek a commitment from the PRC to maintain its suspension of the implementation of its law on government procurement, pending the conclusion of negotiations to accede to the Agreement; (4) the United States should seek commitments from the PRC and other countries that are not yet members of the Agreement to implement the principles of openness, transparency, fair competition based on merit, nondiscrimination, and accountability in their government procurement as embodied in that Agreement; and (5) the President should direct all appropriate U.S. officials to raise these concerns with appropriate PRC officials and other trading partners.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-07-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2005-07-19
text: Introduced in Senate