zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Responsible Electronics Recycling Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to: (1) prohibit the export of restricted electronic waste to countries that are not members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) or the European Union (EU), or Liechtenstein; (2) require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and promulgate procedures for identifying certain electronic equipment as well as additional restricted toxic materials contained in such equipment which poses a potential hazard to human health or the environment; and (3) establish criminal penalties for knowingly exporting restricted electronic waste in violation of this Act. Allows certain exceptions to such export ban. Defines "restricted electronic waste" to include electronic equipment, such as computers, televisions, printers, copiers, video game systems, telephones, and similar used electronic products, that contain cathode ray tubes, batteries, switches, capacitors, and other parts containing lead, cadmium, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, chromium, beryllium, or other toxic ingredients.

Date: 2010-09-29
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Great Lakes Short Sea Shipping Enhancement Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the harbor maintenance tax commercial cargo (other than bulk cargo) loaded or unloaded at U.S. ports in the Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway System. Defines the "Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway System" as the waterway between Duluth, Minnesota, and Sept Iles, Quebec, Canada, encompassing the five Great Lakes, their connecting channels, and the Saint Lawrence River.

Date: 2009-07-23
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Taxation
Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2009 - Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to jurisdiction of courts in the United States over foreign manufacturers that import products into the United States. Directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (with respect to drugs, devices, cosmetics, and biological products), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) (with respect to consumer products), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (with respect to chemical substances, new chemical substances, and pesticides) to require foreign manufacturers and producers of such products (or components used to manufacture them), in excess of a minimum value or quantity, to establish a registered agent in the United States who is authorized to accept service of process on their behalf for the purpose of all civil and regulatory actions in state and federal courts. Requires the registered agent to be located in a state with a substantial connection to the importation, distribution, or sale of the products. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish, maintain, and make available to the public a registry of such agents. Deems a foreign manufacturer or producer of products covered under this Act that registers an agent to consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state or federal courts of the state in which the agent is located for the purpose of any civil or regulatory proceeding. Prohibits importation into the United States of a covered product (or component part that will be used in the United States to manufacture a covered product) if the product (or component part) or any part of the product (or component part) was manufactured or produced outside the United States by a manufacturer or producer who does not have a registered agent whose authority is in effect on the date of the importation. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to jointly study the feasibility and advisability of requiring foreign producers of food distributed in commerce to establish a registered agent in the United States who is authorized to accept service of process on behalf of such producers for the purpose of all civil and regulatory actions in state and federal courts.

Date: 2009-08-06
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Law
United States-China Market Engagement and Export Promotion Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) provide grants to states to establish and operate state offices in the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote U.S. exports to the PRC; (2) establish a program to create China market advocate positions in United States Export Assistance Centers in order to provide assistance to small- and medium-sized U.S. businesses in the export of U.S. goods to the PRC, including assistance for business-related expenses for trade missions to the PRC; and (3) submit to Congress a plan to consolidate fees for Gold Key matching services provided to such U.S. businesses that export U.S. goods or services to more than one market in the PRC. Amends the Small Business Act to require the Office of International Trade of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide guidance to U.S. small businesses with respect to the export of U.S. goods and services to the PRC. Establishes in the Office a Director of China Program Grants. Directs the Administrator of SBA, acting through the Director of China Program Grants, to make grants to institutions of higher education to establish and operate Chinese business education programs.

Date: 2009-08-06
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Agricultural Export Enhancement Act of 2011 - Amends the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 to define "payment of cash in advance" as the payment by the purchaser of an agricultural commodity or product and the receipt of such payment by the seller prior to: (1) the transfer of title of such commodity or product to the purchaser, and (2) the release of control of such commodity or product to the purchaser. Prohibits the President from restricting direct transfers from a Cuban financial institution to a U.S. financial institution executed in payment for a product authorized for sale under such Act.

Date: 2011-02-28
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Small Business Jobs Act Technical Corrections Act of 2011 - Amends the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 to add the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to the list of U.S. territories and possessions eligible for Small Business Administration (SBA) grants to carry out export programs that assist certain small businesses.

Date: 2011-03-31
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Commerce
No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2011 or NOPEC - Amends the Sherman Act to declare it to be illegal and a violation of the Act for any foreign state or instrumentality thereof to act collectively or in combination with any other foreign state or any other person, whether by cartel or any other association or form of cooperation or joint action, to limit the production or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product (petroleum), to set or maintain the price of petroleum, or to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for petroleum, when such action has a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, supply, price, or distribution of petroleum in the United States. Denies a foreign state engaged in such conduct sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction or judgments of U.S. courts in any action brought to enforce this Act. States that no U.S. court shall decline, based on the act of state doctrine, to make a determination on the merits in an action brought under this Act. Authorizes the Attorney General (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to bring an action in U.S. district court to enforce this Act. Amends the federal judicial code to make an exception to the jurisdictional immunity of a foreign state in an action brought under this Act.

Date: 2011-04-04
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Commerce
Responsible Electronics Recycling Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to: (1) prohibit the export of restricted electronic waste to countries that are not members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) or the European Union (EU), or Liechtenstein; (2) require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and promulgate procedures for identifying certain electronic equipment as well as additional restricted toxic materials contained in such equipment which poses a potential hazard to human health or the environment; and (3) establish criminal penalties for knowingly exporting restricted electronic waste in violation of this Act. Allows certain exceptions to such export ban. Defines "restricted electronic waste" to include electronic equipment (excluding parts of a motor vehicle), such as computers, televisions, printers, copiers, video game systems, telephones, and similar used electronic products, that contain cathode ray tubes, batteries, switches, and other parts containing lead, cadmium, mercury, organic solvents, hexavalent chromium, beryllium, or other toxic ingredients. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require persons who handle restricted electronic wastes to permit appropriate EPA and state officials access to such wastes upon request. Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish the Rare Earth Materials Recycling Research Initiative to provide grants for research in the recycling of rare earth materials found in electronic devices.

Date: 2011-06-22
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Antiboycott Act - States that: (1) the Arab League boycott of Israel and the secondary boycott of U.S. firms that have commercial ties with Israel are an impediment to economic development and peace in the Middle East and North Africa; and (2) the President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Commerce should seek an end to the Arab League boycott of Israel. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to issue regulations prohibiting, with specified exceptions, any U.S. person from taking specified actions that support any boycott imposed by a foreign country against a country that is friendly to the United States and is not itself the object of any form of boycott pursuant to United States law or regulation. Sets forth criminal and civil penalties for violations of such regulations.

Date: 2011-07-19
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: International affairs
American Export Promotion and Job Creation Act - Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to revise the duties of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC). Requires the TPCC to review the proposed annual budget of each federal agency, before it is submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the President, when (as required by current law) assessing the appropriate levels and allocation of resources among such agencies in support of export promotion and export financing. Requires the governmentwide strategic plan for federal trade promotion efforts, in conducting the review of current federal programs designed to promote the sale of U.S. exports and developing a plan to bring such activities into line with specified priorities, to take into account recommendations from a representative number of U.S. exporters, particularly small business and medium-sized businesses, and representatives of U.S. workers. Directs the President to issue an executive order and necessary regulations to provide the TPCC chairperson with the authority to ensure that the TPCC carries out each of its duties and develops and implements the strategic plan. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) conduct at least once every five years a global assessment of overseas markets to determine those with the greatest potential for increasing U.S. exports, and (2) redeploy U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service personnel and other resources on the basis of that assessment. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to require each chief of mission to a foreign country to develop an approved plan for effective diplomacy to remove or reduce obstacles to exports of U.S. goods and services.

Date: 2011-09-21
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Export Promotion Reform Act - Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to revise the duties of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC). Requires the TPCC to review the proposed annual budget of each federal agency, before it is submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the President, when (as required by current law) assessing the appropriate levels and allocation of resources among such agencies in support of export promotion and export financing. Requires the governmentwide strategic plan for federal trade promotion efforts, in conducting the review of current federal programs designed to promote the sale of U.S. exports and developing a plan to bring such activities into line with specified priorities, to take into account recommendations from a representative number of U.S. exporters, particularly small business and medium-sized businesses, and representatives of U.S. workers. Directs the President to issue an executive order and necessary regulations to provide the TPCC chairperson with the authority to ensure that the TPCC carries out each of its duties and develops and implements the strategic plan. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) conduct at least once every five years a global assessment of overseas markets to determine those with the greatest potential for increasing U.S. exports, and (2) deploy U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service personnel and other resources on the basis of that assessment. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to require each chief of mission to a foreign country to develop an approved plan for effective diplomacy to remove or reduce obstacles to exports of U.S. goods and services. Requires the Inspector General of the Department of State and the Foreign Service to evaluate the commercial effectiveness of diplomacy to promote exports of U.S. goods and services.

Date: 2012-02-15
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Bring the Jobs Home Loan Act of 2012 - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a loan program to assist small businesses involved in manufacturing to begin the U.S. production of products that would otherwise be imported. Requires small businesses receiving such loans to report to the Administrator on: (1) facility and equipment changes made, or training provided, using such loans; and (2) progress made in such production. Allows the Administrator to consider such report information in determining whether to provide an additional loan or loan assistance under another SBA program. Prohibits an individual loan greater than 5% of the total amount available for such loans.

Date: 2012-02-28
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Commerce
Export Coordination Act of 2012 - Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to revise the duties of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC). Requires the TPCC to: (1) identify opportunities to consolidate or co-locate offices of federal agencies involved in export promotion and export financing activities; (2) assess the use and coordination of electronic databases among federal agencies in support of such activities; and (3) provide a detailed listing of current and future federal and state-led trade missions, trade fairs, and related activities to ensure better delivery of services to U.S. businesses. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to make available information on federal and state-led trade missions, trade fairs, and related activities on the Export.gov website. Requires the governmentwide strategic plan for federal trade promotion efforts to: (1) clearly identify and explain the role, goals, and objectives of each TPCC member agency with respect its export promotion and export financing activities; (2) include the recommendations of the Comptroller General relating to coordination of the TPCC and member agencies; and (3) reflect the recommendations of the U.S. Travel Association (currently, U.S. National Tourism Organization) to the degree considered appropriate by the TPCC. Revises membership of the TPCC to include representatives from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, as well as one or more presidential appointees representing state trade promotion agencies. Requires the Inspector General of the Department of Commerce to report annually to Congress on the extent to which the TPCC is successfully carrying out its duties.

Date: 2012-05-07
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Efficient Export Promotion to Help American Businesses Act of 2012 - Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988, with respect to assessment of federal agency resources in support of export promotion and financing, to require the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) to: (1) review the proposed annual budget of each federal agency, before it is submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the President, to ensure coordination among federal agencies of enforcement, promotion of foreign direct investment, performance outreach, and centralization of information for exporters; and (2) recommend simplification and termination of redundant programs and changes in funding to meet the government-wide strategic plan for trade promotion efforts. Revises contents of a TPCC annual report to Congress to include: (1) an analysis of TPCC and agency export promotion and export financing efforts compared to the export promotion efforts of other countries; (2) an analysis of factors, by state and region, that inhibit U.S. exports, including actions taken to address such factors; (3) a description of industry areas for strategic growth and changes to exports that present strategic threats to U.S. security; (4) a prioritized list of legislative recommendations that the TPCC believes would lead to an increase of U.S. exports and more efficient export promotion; and (5) input and review by the business community before being published on the TPCC and the Department of Commerce websites. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to direct the Secretary of the Treasury, upon request of the Secretary of Commerce, to furnish tax information on returns of sole proprietorships with gross receipts from a trade or business of more than $750,000 a year and partnerships to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Date: 2012-05-17
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
U.S. Financial Services Global Viability Act - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to delay the effective date for prohibitions or the mandate for related rulemaking against proprietary trading by a banking entity and any equity, partnership, or other ownership interest of a banking entity in or sponsorship of hedge funds or private equity funds. (Currently the effective date of such prohibitions and the mandate to make related regulations is the earlier of 12 months after the date of the issuance of final rules or 2 years after the date of enactment [July 21, 2010].) Delays the effective date of such prohibitions and regulatory mandate until the Secretary of the Treasury: (1) identifies the foreign countries having foreign banks chartered and headquartered in them that compete significantly with banking entities subject to such Act, and (2) certifies that such countries have applied to such foreign banks (including subsidiaries and affiliates) requirements equivalent to those set forth under such Act.

Date: 2012-09-21
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Making United States Independents Competitive Act or MUSIC Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to provide assistance to U.S. independent music label companies to facilitate exports of recorded music by those companies. Requires the Secretary to give priority to assisting U.S. independent music label companies and their musical recording artists in attending international music trade shows, including support for admission costs, travel, booth construction, and touring expenses.

Date: 2012-12-12
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2011 or NOPEC - Amends the Sherman Act to declare it to be illegal and a violation of the Act for any foreign state or instrumentality thereof to act collectively or in combination with any other foreign state or any other person, whether by cartel or any other association or form of cooperation or joint action, to limit the production or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product (petroleum), to set or maintain the price of petroleum, or to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for petroleum, when such action has a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, supply, price, or distribution of petroleum in the United States. Denies a foreign state engaged in such conduct sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction or judgments of U.S. courts in any action brought to enforce this Act. States that no U.S. court shall decline, based on the act of state doctrine, to make a determination on the merits in an action brought under this Act. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action in U.S. district court to enforce this Act. Prohibits any private right of action. Amends the federal judicial code to make an exception to the jurisdictional immunity of a foreign state in an action brought under this Act.

Date: 2011-02-17
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Commerce
Renewable Energy Market Access Program Act - Directs the Under Secretary for International Trade of the Department of Commerce to establish and carry out a program to provide cost-sharing assistance to nonprofit trade associations in the United States or state or regional organizations that promote the exportation and sale of energy efficiency products or renewable energy products to: (1) improve access to the markets of foreign countries for energy efficiency products and renewable energy products exported by small- and medium-sized U.S. businesses; and (2) assist such businesses in obtaining services and other assistance, including from the Department of Commerce and other federal agencies, with respect to exporting such products.

Date: 2011-04-14
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Commerce
Responsible Electronics Recycling Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to: (1) prohibit the export of restricted electronic waste to countries that are not members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) or the European Union (EU), or Liechtenstein; (2) require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and promulgate procedures for identifying certain electronic equipment as well as additional restricted toxic materials contained in such equipment which poses a potential hazard to human health or the environment; and (3) establish criminal penalties for knowingly exporting restricted electronic waste in violation of this Act. Allows certain exceptions to such export ban. Defines "restricted electronic waste" to include electronic equipment (excluding parts of a motor vehicle), such as computers, televisions, printers, copiers, video game systems, telephones, and similar used electronic products, that contain cathode ray tubes, batteries, switches, and other parts containing lead, cadmium, mercury, organic solvents, hexavalent chromium, beryllium, or other toxic ingredients. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require persons who handle restricted electronic wastes to permit appropriate EPA and state officials access to such wastes upon request. Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish the Rare Earth Materials Recycling Research Initiative to provide grants for research in the recycling of rare earth materials found in electronic devices.

Date: 2011-06-23
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Export Promotion Act of 2012 - Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to revise the duties of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC). Requires the TPCC to: (1) make a recommendation for the annual unified federal trade promotion budget to the President; and (2) review the proposed fiscal year budget of each federal agency with responsibility for export promotion or export financing activities before it is submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the President, when (as required by current law) assessing the appropriate levels and allocation of resources among such agencies in support of such activities. Requires the governmentwide strategic plan for federal trade promotion efforts, in conducting the review of current federal programs designed to promote the sale of U.S. exports and developing a plan to bring such activities into line with specified priorities, to be based on consultations with, and recommendations from, a representative number of U.S. exporters and other types of export-related businesses. Requires such plan, furthermore, to: (1) identify countries with which the United States could negotiate trade agreements to increase U.S. exports; (2) identify areas in which the TPCC can maximize existing partnerships with agencies by granting the TPCC the ability to partner with a partner of a TPCC member agency without requiring an additional memorandum of understanding between the TPCC and that partner; (3) review and propose means to improve educational outreach to small- and medium-sized businesses with respect to the resources available through the TPCC and its member agencies, including consulting with, and considering recommendations from, U.S. exporters and the Small Business Administration (SBA); and (4) clearly describe the role of each TPCC member agency and its responsibility for export promotion and export financing. Requires the TPCC to coordinate with TPCC member agencies to publish export promotion and export financing information on the Export.gov website. Directs the President to issue an executive order and necessary regulations to provide the TPCC chairperson with the authority to ensure that the TPCC carries out each of its duties and develops and implements the strategic plan. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) conduct at least once every five years a global assessment of overseas markets to identify those with the greatest potential for increasing U.S. exports, and (2) redeploy U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service personnel and other resources on the basis of that assessment. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to require each chief of mission to a foreign country to develop an approved plan for effective diplomacy to remove or reduce obstacles to exports of U.S. goods and services.

Date: 2012-03-07
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Safeguarding United States Satellite Leadership and Security Act of 2012 - Authorizes the President to determine the appropriate export controls of satellites and related items and transfer them, based on national security and foreign policy objectives, from the jurisdiction of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to the Export Administration Regulations. Prohibits the transfer, directly or indirectly, of satellites or related items to, or the launch of such items in, the People's Republic of China (PRC). Prohibits the transfer, directly or indirectly, of satellites or related items to: (1) North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria, or any country designated by the Secretary of State as supporting international terrorism; or (2) any entity or person in or acting for or on behalf of such country, or as part of a launch vehicle owned or operated by the government of that country.

Date: 2012-05-21
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Export Promotion Reform Act - Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to require the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC), in assessing the appropriate levels and allocation of resources among agencies in support of export promotion and export financing, to review the proposed annual budget of each agency before the agency submits it to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for inclusion in the budget the President submits to Congress.

Requires the President to take necessary steps to grant the TPCC chairperson authority to ensure that the TPCC carries out each of its duties and develops and implements its governmentwide strategic plan for federal trade promotion efforts.

Revises the authority of the Secretary of Commerce to establish foreign offices of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service. Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct every five years a global assessment of overseas markets to determine those with the greatest potential for increasing U.S. exports, and (2) deploy Commercial Service personnel and other resources on the basis of the global assessment.

Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to require the U.S. Foreign Service chief of mission to a foreign country, in promoting U.S. goods and services for export to that country, to do so through the development of a plan, drafted in consultation with the TPCC, for effective diplomacy to remove or reduce obstacles to exports of such goods and services.

Requires the precepts for selection boards responsible for recommending promotions into and within the Senior Foreign Service, especially members with economic affairs responsibilities, to emphasize performance which demonstrates the effectiveness of efforts to promote the export of U.S. goods and services in accordance with a commercial diplomacy plan.

Requires the inspections, investigations, and audits of the Inspector General of the Department of State to examine the effectiveness of commercial diplomacy relating to the promotion of exports of U.S. goods and services.

Date: 2013-04-09
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Export Coordination Act of 2013 - Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to revise the duties of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC).

Requires the TPCC to: (1) identify opportunities to consolidate or co-locate offices of federal agencies involved in export promotion and export financing activities; (2) assess the use and coordination of electronic databases among federal agencies in support of such activities; and (3) provide a detailed listing of current and future federal and state-led trade missions, trade fairs, and related activities to ensure better delivery of services to U.S. businesses.

Requires the Secretary of Commerce to make available information on federal and state-led trade missions, trade fairs, and related activities on the Export.gov website.

Requires the governmentwide strategic plan for federal trade promotion efforts to: (1) clearly identify and explain the role, goals, and objectives of each TPCC member agency with respect its export promotion and export financing activities; (2) include the recommendations of the Comptroller General relating to coordination of the TPCC and member agencies; and (3) reflect the recommendations of the U.S. Travel Association (currently, U.S. National Tourism Organization) to the degree considered appropriate by the TPCC.

Revises membership of the TPCC to include representatives from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, as well as one or more presidential appointees representing state trade promotion agencies.

Requires the Inspector General of the Department of Commerce to report annually to Congress on the extent to which the TPCC is successfully carrying out its duties.

Date: 2013-05-09
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
State Trade Coordination Act - Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to revise membership of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) to include one or more presidential appointees representing state trade promotion agencies.

Directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the TPCC and in coordination with representatives of state trade promotion agencies, to develop a plan to integrate resources and strategies of state trade promotion agencies into the overall federal trade promotion program.

Directs the Secretary, acting through the head of the U.S. Commercial Service, to develop an annual federal-state export strategy for goods and services for each state that submits to the Secretary its export strategy for the upcoming year.

Directs the Secretary, in coordination with representatives of state trade promotion agencies, to develop a framework to share export success information, and develop a coordinated set of reporting metrics.

Revises the strategic plan for federal trade promotion efforts to include an annual survey and analysis of the overall effectiveness of federal-state coordination and export promotion goals, as well as best practices, recommendations to better assist small businesses, and other relevant matters.

Date: 2013-05-09
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Next STEP Act of 2013 - Amends the Small Business Act to provide for the permanent establishment of the three-year pilot State Trade and Export Promotion Grant Program originally established under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.

Requires the Associate Administrator for International Trade within the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish and maintain a public website of information concerning the Program. Sets forth expanded reporting requirements.

Date: 2013-06-12
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Commerce
Small Business Growth Through Exports Act of 2013 - Amends the Small Business Jobs Act to extend, and increase the authorization of appropriations for, the State Trade and Export Promotion Grant Program through FY2016.

Date: 2013-09-17
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Commerce
STEP A Act of 2013 - Amends the Small Business Act to extend the three-year pilot State Trade and Export Promotion Grant Program originally established under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.

Date: 2013-11-22
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Commerce
Increasing American Jobs Through More Exports Act - Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to authorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States, subject to appropriations, to use up to 3% of the Bank's surplus, for each of the 5 fiscal years following enactment of this Act, to cover its administrative expenses.

Requires the Bank to use at least one-third of that 3% of surplus to expand or establish Bank regional offices.

Date: 2014-03-14
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2014 - Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States through FY2019.

Extends, for FY2015-FY2019, the Bank's authority to use a specified amount of its surplus for information technology system updates.

Extends, through FY2019, the termination date of the sub-Saharan Africa advisory committee.

Prescribes limitations on outstanding Bank loans, guarantees, and insurance for FY2015-FY2018 and each fiscal year thereafter.

Extends, through FY2019, Bank authority to provide financing for the export of nonlethal defense articles and defense services whose primary end use is for civilian purposes.

Directs the Bank to submit to Congress and the Comptroller General (GAO) a business plan that includes an estimate of the Bank's appropriate exposure limits for FY2015-FY2019.

Directs GAO to study the Bank's medium-term financing programs.

Date: 2014-07-30
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
State Trade and Export Promotion Utilization Program for American Small Businesses Act or the STEP UP for American Small Businesses Act - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Associate Administrator for International Trade within the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a State Trade and Export Promotion Grant Program.

Authorizes the Associate Administrator to make competitive grants to states to carry out export promotion programs to increase: (1) the number of eligible small businesses that export (including rural small businesses and small businesses owned and controlled by women and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals), as well as (2) the value of their exports.

Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to require the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) to include one or more members appointed by the President who are representatives of state trade promotion agencies.

Date: 2014-12-09
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Commerce
Increasing American Jobs Through More Exports Act

 Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to authorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States, subject to appropriations, to use up to 3% of the Bank's surplus, for each of the 5 fiscal years following enactment of this Act, to cover its administrative expenses.

Requires the Bank to use at least one-third of that 3% of surplus to expand or establish Bank regional offices.

Date: 2015-02-13
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
This bill amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to require the Export-Import Bank of the United States to increase from at least 20% to at least 25% the amount of its aggregate loan, guarantee, and insurance authority it makes available to finance direct small business exports for each fiscal year.

Date: 2015-05-05
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
State Trade and Export Promotion Utilization Program for American Small Businesses Act or the STEP UP for American Small Businesses Act

 Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Associate Administrator for International Trade within the Small Business Administration to establish a State Trade and Export Promotion Grant Program.

Authorizes the Associate Administrator to make competitive grants to states to carry out export promotion programs to increase: (1) the number of eligible small businesses that export (including rural small businesses and small businesses owned and controlled by women and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals), as well as (2) the value of their exports.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Commerce
Export Coordination Act of 2015

 Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to revise the duties of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC).

Requires the TPCC to:

 identify opportunities to consolidate or co-locate offices of federal agencies involved in export promotion and export financing activities; assess the use and coordination of electronic databases among federal agencies in support of such activities; and provide a detailed listing of current and future federal and state-led trade missions, trade fairs, and related activities to ensure better delivery of services to U.S. businesses. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to make available information on federal and state-led trade missions, trade fairs, and related activities on the Export.gov website.

Requires the governmentwide strategic plan for federal trade promotion efforts to:

 clearly identify and explain the role, goals, and objectives of each TPCC member agency with respect its export promotion and export financing activities; include the recommendations of the Comptroller General relating to coordination of the TPCC and member agencies; and reflect the recommendations of the U.S. Travel Association (currently, U.S. National Tourism Organization) to the degree considered appropriate by the TPCC. Directs the TPCC to establish a working group to advise it on matters relating to state trade promotion.

Revises membership of the TPCC to include representatives from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, as well as one ex officio, nonvoting presidential appointee representing a state trade promotion agency and who is a member of the working group.

Requires the Inspector General of the Department of Commerce to report biennially to Congress on the extent to which the TPCC is successfully carrying out its duties.

Date: 2015-06-01
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
State Trade Coordination Act

 Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to revise membership of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) to include one or more presidential appointees representing state trade promotion agencies.

Directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the TPCC and in coordination with representatives of state trade promotion agencies, to develop a plan to integrate resources and strategies of state trade promotion agencies into the overall federal trade promotion program.

Directs the Secretary, acting through the head of the U.S. Commercial Service, to develop an annual federal-state export strategy for goods and services for each state that submits to the Secretary its export strategy for the upcoming year.

Directs the Secretary, in coordination with representatives of state trade promotion agencies, to develop a framework to share export success information, and develop a coordinated set of reporting metrics.

Revises the strategic plan for federal trade promotion efforts to include an annual survey and analysis of the overall effectiveness of federal-state coordination and export promotion goals, as well as best practices, recommendations to better assist small businesses, and other relevant matters.

Date: 2015-06-01
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
American Export Promotion Act of 2015

 Authorizes appropriations for the Manufacturing and Services unit of the International Trade Administration (ITA) of the Department of Commerce for the ITA's Market Development Cooperator Program.

Requires, in the use of such funds, a preference to be given to activities that:

 assist small- and medium-sized U.S. businesses, and will create or sustain the greatest number of jobs or obtain the maximum return on investment.

Date: 2015-06-11
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Reform Exports and Expand the American Economy Act

This bill amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to report to Congress: (1) semiannually on the terms and conditions (including interest rates, maturities, and credit standards) that private financial institutions apply in providing export finance; and (2) annually on the steps the Bank has taken to adjust the pricing of products offered, and the credit standards used, to avoid crowding out private export finance.

The Bank's Board of Directors must include in their annual report to Congress any recommendations about countries with whom and in which it should not be doing business.

The Chief Ethics Officer shall draft a Code of Ethics prescribing strict and definite standards of official conduct for all Bank directors, officers, and employees, including conflict-of-interest prohibitions.

If the Bank issues any report to Congress or any congressional committee containing accounting information that is not prepared using generally accepted accounting principles (GAAPs), the Bank must issue a second report with the same accounting information prepared using GAAPs.

The Bank shall be lender of last resort to privately owned foreign applicants (other than financial institutions), which must first try to obtain competitive financing for the transaction in question without support from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation or the Small Business Administration.

Bank directors who are neither Chairman nor Vice Chairman of the Board shall constitute the Board's Audit Committee.

The President must report to specified congressional committees on Bank programs that may be fully or partially privatized.

The Bank's Inspector General shall audit the Bank's portfolio risk management procedures, including its implementation of the duties assigned to the Chief Risk Officer.

The Bank must retain at least 30% of total net earnings as a provision for possible losses.

Two terms shall be the term limit for any Bank President.

The absolute limit, regardless of fiscal year, for the aggregate amount of outstanding Bank loans, guarantees, and insurance, shall be $130 billion.

The requirement that the Bank urge the Foreign Credit Insurance Association to cover 100% of any loss with respect to exports valued at less than $100,000 is repealed.

Bank policies must give fair consideration to making loans and providing guarantees for the export of goods and services by medium-sized enterprises.

The authority of the President under the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative to sell, reduce, or cancel certain loans for the debt relief of eligible countries in Latin America and the Caribbean is repealed.

The Bank shall adjust all dollar amounts specified in the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 for inflation.

Date: 2015-10-28
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Small Business Growth Through Exports Act of 2016

This bill amends the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 to reauthorize through FY2019, and increase the authorization of appropriations for, the State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Grant Program.

Date: 2015-11-03
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Commerce
Entering Negotiations to Dissolve Outdated Financial Agencies Nationalizing Export Related Activities or the END OF AN ERA Act

This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to seek to enter into negotiations with other countries for the mutual elimination of government-backed export credit agencies.

Treasury shall submit: (1) annual reports on progress made in arranging such negotiations, on progress made in any such negotiations, and on whether eliminating the Export-Import Bank of the United States at the time of the report would put the United States at a competitive disadvantage; and (2) a certification of any determination that the Bank can be eliminated in a way that would not put the United States at a competitive disadvantage, considering job losses and a decrease in economic activity.

After such a determination is submitted, the Bank may not accept an application for, or enter into a contract that would obligate the Bank to provide, a loan, insurance, or a guarantee or to participate in an extension of credit by another entity.

 The Bank shall be abolished 180 days after Treasury submits such a certification and its functions transferred to Treasury. All such transferred functions shall terminate on the date all obligations of the Bank, and all obligations of others to the Bank, in effect immediately before the abolishment date have been satisfied.

The bill repeals the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 and eliminates related authorizing provisions of various statutes.

Date: 2015-12-18
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Boosting America's Exports Act

This bill directs the International Trade Administration (ITA) of the Department of Commerce to assess the location of and services provided by U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEACs) in relation to the location of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that export U.S. products and services in order to identify:

 those USEACs that should be closed or moved based on low productivity, and those locations where a USEAC should be located based on need. The ITA shall take necessary steps, through actions by the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service of the Department of Commerce, to increase exports by SMEs.

Date: 2016-04-29
Topic: Foreign Trade (Exports)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance