Earth Act

Bill: 117-hr-219
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Doggett, Lloyd [D-TX-35]
Introduced: 2021-01-06
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits

Environmental assessment, monitoring, research

Environmental health

Free trade and trade barriers

Trade restrictions
Latest action: action_date: 2021-01-06
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Summaries:
action_date: 2021-01-06
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>The Earth Act</b></p> <p>This bill establishes an additional basis for excluding a foreign country from designation as a beneficiary developing country for the purposes of preferential trade treatment.</p> <p> Specifically, the bill makes a country ineligible for this designation if it fails to effectively enforce its environmental laws or to fulfill its international environmental obligations. The President, when making this designation, must take into account the extent to which a country effectively enforces these laws and fulfills these obligations.</p>

tv_txt: I 117th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 219 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 6, 2021 Mr. Doggett introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to exclude from eligibility for the generalized system of preferences any country that fails to effectively enforce its environmental laws or meet its international environmental obligations, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Earth Act . 2. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations Section 502 of the Trade Act of 1974 ( 19 U.S.C. 2462 ) is amended— (1) in subsection (b)(2)— (A) by inserting after subparagraph (H) the following new subparagraph: (I) Such country fails to effectively enforce its environmental laws, regulations, or other measures, or to fulfill its international environmental obligations, including as such obligations relate to public health. ; and (B) in the matter following subparagraph (I) (as added by subparagraph (A))— (i) by striking and (H) and inserting (H) ; and (ii) by striking shall not prevent and inserting , and (I) shall not prevent ; and (2) in subsection (c)— (A) in paragraph (6)(B), by striking and at the end; (B) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (8) the extent to which such country effectively enforces its environmental laws, regulations, and other measures, and fulfills its international environmental obligations, including as such obligations relate to public health. .