What This Bill Does
This bill gives the President the power to make trade deals with only some countries in specific industries, without giving the same benefits to all World Trade Organization (WTO) members equally. The bill aims to help the United States negotiate better trade agreements by allowing deals that benefit only the countries that sign them.
##
Who It Affects
- The President of the United States
- The U.S. Trade Representative (the official who handles trade negotiations)
- Congress, particularly the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means
- Foreign countries that participate in these new trade agreements
- American businesses in specific industries like digital services, pharmaceuticals, environmental goods and services
##
Key Provisions
- The U.S. Trade Representative must give Congress a classified briefing within 120 days explaining whether these new types of trade deals are possible and advisable (Sec. 3(a))
- The President can negotiate and enter into sector-specific trade agreements with other WTO members where only countries that sign the agreement get the benefits, rather than all WTO members (Sec. 4(b))
- These agreements can only cover five types of industries: e-commerce and digital services, pharmaceuticals and medical countermeasures, environmental goods, services, or any sector heavily interfered with by foreign governments through excessive subsidies or state-owned enterprises (Sec. 4(d))
- The President cannot negotiate these agreements with countries classified as non-market economy countries, though such countries could join after the agreement is completed if Congress approves by joint resolution (Sec. 4(f)(2))
- This authority to negotiate these deals ends on July 1, 2028 (Sec. 4(b)(2))
- The President must consult with Congress and notify Congress before entering into these agreements (Sec. 4(e))
##
What Changes
If this becomes law, the President gains new power to make trade deals covering specific industries with only certain countries, giving benefits only to the countries that participate. These agreements would not have to follow the standard WTO rule requiring all member countries receive equal treatment. Congress will receive an explanation of how these agreements would work before the President negotiates any. Any laws needed to implement these agreements would need to pass through Congress using special fast-track procedures.
##
Important Definitions
- **Covered plurilateral trade agreement**: A trade deal focused on one specific industry within the WTO framework that only includes some WTO members and does not give benefits to all WTO members equally
- **Most favored nation**: A WTO requirement that all WTO members receive equal and fair treatment in trade agreements
- **Non-market economy country**: A country determined to be a non-market economy under section 771(18) of the Tariff Act of 1930
##
Effective Date
The President's authority to negotiate these deals ends on July 1, 2028. The briefing to Congress must happen within 120 days after the bill becomes law.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 446
To provide the President with authority to enter into certain plurilateral
trade agreements with benefits only applying to signatories of those
agreements, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 15, 2023
Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
A BILL
To provide the President with authority to enter into certain
plurilateral trade agreements with benefits only applying
to signatories of those agreements, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Trading System Pres-
4
ervation Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
6
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
7
ings:
8
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(1) The World Trade Organization (in this sec-
1
tion referred to as the ‘‘WTO’’) was established to
2
be a forum for multilateral trade negotiations be-
3
tween member countries.
4
(2) Scant negotiating progress has been made
5
at the WTO since its creation in 1995, including
6
through the failed Doha Round, which was initiated
7
in 2001.
8
(3) The inability to reach negotiated outcomes
9
at the WTO has pushed the multilateral trading sys-
10
tem to the brink of irrelevance and created incen-
11
tives for members of the WTO to pursue their trade
12
policy objectives through litigation rather than nego-
13
tiation.
14
(4) That lack of negotiating progress can be
15
generally attributed to a small minority of WTO
16
members that, for a variety of reasons, have exer-
17
cised an effective veto over negotiations, effectively
18
prohibiting agreement on new rules to discipline dis-
19
criminatory practices.
20
(5) Most favored nation (in this section referred
21
to as ‘‘MFN’’) obligations, strictly defined, which
22
appear to generally require equal treatment of all
23
WTO members, make it difficult to achieve high-
24
quality plurilateral agreements because of concerns
25
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•S 446 IS
about free ridership by WTO members who are not
1
party to those agreements.
2
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
3
gress that—
4
(1) the WTO system affords a variety of flexi-
5
bilities for WTO members to negotiate and conclude
6
plurilateral agreements without extending the bene-
7
fits negotiated therein to the entire membership of
8
the WTO on an MFN basis;
9
(2) to reinvigorate the multilateral trading sys-
10
tem and advance its trade interests, the United
11
States should exercise its rights to negotiate new
12
sectoral trade agreements with other interested
13
WTO members on a plurilateral basis;
14
(3) to facilitate those negotiations, enable a
15
high level of ambition, and avoid lowest common de-
16
nominator outcomes, any new benefits negotiated
17
under those new agreements should be limited to the
18
participants and not extended to the entire member-
19
ship of the WTO; and
20
(4) pursuing plurilateral agreements that are
21
not subject to unconditional MFN will enable the
22
United States to work with like-minded countries
23
within the framework of the WTO to develop new
24
rules to discipline discriminatory, trade distorting,
25
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•S 446 IS
and non-market practices, restore the relevance of
1
the multilateral trading system, and expand trade to
2
the benefit of the citizens of the United States.
3
SEC. 3. BRIEFING ON PLURILATERAL AGREEMENTS WITH
4
BENEFITS APPLYING ONLY TO SIGNATORIES
5
OF THOSE AGREEMENTS.
6
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the
7
date of the enactment of this Act, the United States Trade
8
Representative shall provide to the Committee on Finance
9
of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of
10
the House of Representatives a classified briefing on the
11
feasibility and advisability of pursuing and adopting cov-
12
ered plurilateral trade agreements.
13
(b) ELEMENTS.—The briefing required under sub-
14
section (a) shall include a discussion of the opportunities,
15
obstacles, feasibility, and advisability of negotiating and
16
adopting covered plurilateral trade agreements.
17
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
18
(1) COVERED
PLURILATERAL
TRADE
AGREE-
19
MENT.—The term ‘‘covered plurilateral trade agree-
20
ment’’ means a sector-specific agreement within the
21
framework of the World Trade Organization involv-
22
ing foreign countries or foreign territories that form
23
a subset of the members of the World Trade Organi-
24
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•S 446 IS
zation that does not extend benefits on a most fa-
1
vored nation basis.
2
(2) MOST FAVORED NATION.—The term ‘‘most
3
favored nation’’, with respect to requirements relat-
4
ing to a trade agreement, means requirements under
5
the World Trade Organization for nondiscriminatory
6
trade treatment among all parties to the agreement.
7
SEC. 4. NEGOTIATING AND TRADE AGREEMENTS AUTHOR-
8
ITY FOR CERTAIN PLURILATERAL AGREE-
9
MENTS WITH BENEFITS APPLYING ONLY TO
10
SIGNATORIES OF THOSE AGREEMENTS.
11
(a) INITIATION OF NEGOTIATIONS.—
12
(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to enhance the eco-
13
nomic well-being of the United States, the President
14
shall initiate negotiations for a covered plurilateral
15
trade agreement under this section when the Presi-
16
dent determines that it is in the national interest to
17
do so.
18
(2) LIMITATION.—The President may not ini-
19
tiate negotiations for a covered plurilateral trade
20
agreement under this section until the date on which
21
the United States Trade Representative provides the
22
briefing required by section 3(a).
23
(b) AUTHORITY FOR AGREEMENTS.—
24
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(1) IN GENERAL.—To strengthen the economic
1
competitiveness of the United States by improving
2
trade relations with countries similarly interested,
3
the President may enter into covered plurilateral
4
trade agreements in a sector of the economy speci-
5
fied in subsection (d).
6
(2) TERMINATION
OF
AUTHORITY.—The au-
7
thority under paragraph (1) terminates on July 1,
8
2028.
9
(c) MODIFICATIONS PERMITTED.—
10
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),
11
the President may proclaim such modification or
12
continuance of any existing duty or continuance of
13
existing duty-free or excise treatment as the Presi-
14
dent determines to be required or appropriate to
15
carry out an agreement entered into under sub-
16
section (b).
17
(2) LIMITATION.—Substantial modifications to,
18
or substantial additional provisions of, an agreement
19
entered into after July 1, 2028, are not covered by
20
the authority under paragraph (1).
21
(d) SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY SPECIFIED.—A sec-
22
tor of the economy specified in this subsection is any of
23
the following sectors:
24
(1) E-commerce and digital services.
25
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•S 446 IS
(2) Pharmaceuticals and medical counter-
1
measures.
2
(3) Environmental goods.
3
(4) Services.
4
(5) Any sector that is subject to substantial in-
5
terference by a foreign government, including
6
through excessive subsidies or state-owned enter-
7
prises.
8
(e) CONSULTATION WITH
AND NOTIFICATION
TO
9
CONGRESS.—The President shall consult with Congress
10
regarding, and notify Congress of, the intention of the
11
President to enter into an agreement under subsection (b)
12
or to make a proclamation under subsection (c).
13
(f) PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES.—
14
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),
15
the President may determine which foreign countries
16
or foreign territories to negotiate with toward an
17
agreement under this section and, after the imple-
18
mentation of any such agreement, the President
19
may, as conditions warrant, identify and engage in
20
negotiations with additional countries or territories
21
that wish to accede to the agreement.
22
(2) NON-MARKET ECONOMY COUNTRY.—
23
(A) IN GENERAL.—The President may not
24
negotiate an agreement under this section with
25
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•S 446 IS
a foreign country or foreign territory deter-
1
mined to be a non-market economy country
2
pursuant to section 771(18) of the Tariff Act of
3
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1677(18)).
4
(B) AFTER ENTRY INTO FORCE.—A for-
5
eign country or foreign territory described in
6
subparagraph (A) may accede to a completed
7
agreement negotiated pursuant to this section
8
after entry into force of the agreement if a joint
9
resolution is first enacted approving the acces-
10
sion of that country to the agreement.
11
(g) BILLS QUALIFYING FOR TRADE AUTHORITIES
12
PROCEDURES.—
13
(1) IMPLEMENTING BILLS.—
14
(A) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of sec-
15
tion 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
16
2191) apply to a bill of either House of Con-
17
gress which contains provisions described in
18
subparagraph (B) to the same extent as such
19
section 151 applies to implementing bills under
20
that section. A bill to which this paragraph ap-
21
plies shall hereafter in this section be referred
22
to as an ‘‘implementing bill’’.
23
(B) PROVISIONS
SPECIFIED.—The provi-
24
sions described in this subparagraph are—
25
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•S 446 IS
(i) a provision approving a trade
1
agreement entered into under this section
2
and approving the statement of adminis-
3
trative action, if any, proposed to imple-
4
ment such trade agreement; and
5
(ii) if changes in existing laws or new
6
statutory authority are required to imple-
7
ment such trade agreement or agreements,
8
only such provisions as are strictly nec-
9
essary or appropriate to implement such
10
trade agreement or agreements, either re-
11
pealing or amending existing laws or pro-
12
viding new statutory authority.
13
(2) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF BILL.—The
14
procedures under paragraph (1) apply to imple-
15
menting bills submitted with respect to trade agree-
16
ments entered into under this section before July 1,
17
2028.
18
(h) RELATIONSHIP TO BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL
19
TRADE
PRIORITIES
AND
ACCOUNTABILITY
ACT
OF
20
2015.—An agreement under this section shall not enter
21
into force with respect to the United States and an imple-
22
menting bill shall not qualify for trade authorities proce-
23
dures under subsection (g), including an agreement that
24
does not require changes to United States law or an imple-
25
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•S 446 IS
menting bill in connection therewith, unless the following
1
requirements under the Bipartisan Congressional Trade
2
Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4201
3
et seq.) are carried out with respect to that agreement
4
or implementing bill to the same extent as would be re-
5
quired of an agreement entered into under section 103(b)
6
of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4202(b)), notwithstanding the expi-
7
ration of authority to enter into an agreement under such
8
section 103(b):
9
(1) The trade negotiating objectives under sec-
10
tion 102 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4201).
11
(2) The congressional oversight and consulta-
12
tion requirements under section 104 of that Act (19
13
U.S.C. 4203).
14
(3) The notification, consultation, and reporting
15
requirements under section 105 of that Act (19
16
U.S.C. 4204).
17
(4) The implementation procedures under sec-
18
tion 106 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4205).
19
(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
20
(1) COVERED
PLURILATERAL
TRADE
AGREE-
21
MENT.—The term ‘‘covered plurilateral trade agree-
22
ment’’ means a sector-specific agreement within the
23
framework of the World Trade Organization involv-
24
ing foreign countries or foreign territories that form
25
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•S 446 IS
a subset of the members of the World Trade Organi-
1
zation that does not extend benefits on a most fa-
2
vored nation basis.
3
(2) MOST FAVORED NATION.—The term ‘‘most
4
favored nation’’, with respect to requirements relat-
5
ing to a trade agreement, means requirements under
6
the World Trade Organization for nondiscriminatory
7
trade treatment among all parties to the agreement.
8
Æ
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