Global Trade Accountability Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 691 To provide for congressional review of the imposition of duties and other trade measures by the executive branch, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 10, 2021 Mr. LEE (for himself, Mr. MORAN, and Mr. PAUL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide for congressional review of the imposition of duties and other trade measures by the executive branch, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Global Trade Account- 4 ability Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF UNILATERAL TRADE 6 ACTIONS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title I of the Trade 8 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2191 et seq.) is amended by add- 9 ing at the end the following: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S691.IS S691 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 691 IS ‘‘SEC. 155. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF UNILATERAL 1 TRADE ACTIONS. 2 ‘‘(a) UNILATERAL TRADE ACTION DEFINED.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 4 ‘unilateral trade action’ means any of the following 5 actions taken with respect to the importation of an 6 article pursuant to a provision of law specified in 7 paragraph (2): 8 ‘‘(A) A prohibition on importation of the 9 article. 10 ‘‘(B) The imposition of or an increase in a 11 duty applicable to the article. 12 ‘‘(C) The imposition or tightening of a tar- 13 iff-rate quota applicable to the article. 14 ‘‘(D) The imposition or tightening of a 15 quantitative restriction on the importation of 16 the article. 17 ‘‘(E) The suspension, withdrawal, or pre- 18 vention of the application of trade agreement 19 concessions with respect to the article. 20 ‘‘(F) Any other restriction on importation 21 of the article. 22 ‘‘(2) PROVISIONS OF LAW SPECIFIED.—The 23 provisions of law specified in this paragraph are the 24 following: 25 ‘‘(A) Section 122. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S691.IS S691 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 691 IS ‘‘(B) Chapter 1 of title II. 1 ‘‘(C) Title III. 2 ‘‘(D) Section 406. 3 ‘‘(E) Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 4 (19 U.S.C. 1338). 5 ‘‘(F) Section 232 of the Trade Expansion 6 Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1862). 7 ‘‘(G) Section 103(a) of the Bipartisan 8 Congressional Trade Priorities and Account- 9 ability Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4202(a)). 10 ‘‘(H) The Trading with the Enemy Act (50 11 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.). 12 ‘‘(I) The International Emergency Eco- 13 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 14 ‘‘(J) Any provision of law enacted to im- 15 plement a trade agreement to which the United 16 States is a party. 17 ‘‘(K) Any provision of a trade agreement 18 to which the United States is a party. 19 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS 20 TO HARMONIZED TARIFF SCHEDULE.—A technical 21 correction to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 22 United States shall not be considered a unilateral 23 trade action for purposes of this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S691.IS S691 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 691 IS ‘‘(b) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL REQUIRED.—A 1 unilateral trade action may not take effect unless— 2 ‘‘(1) the President submits to Congress and to 3 the Comptroller General of the United States a re- 4 port that includes— 5 ‘‘(A) a description of the proposed unilat- 6 eral trade action; 7 ‘‘(B) the proposed effective period for the 8 action; 9 ‘‘(C) an economic cost-benefit analysis of 10 the action, including an assessment of— 11 ‘‘(i) whether the action is in the na- 12 tional economic interest of the United 13 States; and 14 ‘‘(ii) the macroeconomic effects of the 15 action on— 16 ‘‘(I) employment in the United 17 States; 18 ‘‘(II) the gross domestic product 19 of the United States; and 20 ‘‘(III) revenues and expenditures 21 of the Federal Government; and 22 ‘‘(D) a list of articles that will be affected 23 by the action by subheading number of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S691.IS S691 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 691 IS Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 1 States; and 2 ‘‘(2) a joint resolution of approval is enacted 3 pursuant to subsection (d) with respect to the ac- 4 tion. 5 ‘‘(c) REPORT OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Not 6 later than 30 days after the submission of the report re- 7 quired by subsection (b)(1) with respect to a proposed uni- 8 lateral trade action, the Comptroller General shall submit 9 to Congress a report on the proposed action that includes 10 an assessment of the compliance of the President with the 11 provision of law specified in subsection (a)(2) pursuant to 12 which the action would be taken. 13 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURES FOR JOINT RESOLUTION OF AP- 14 PROVAL.— 15 ‘‘(1) JOINT RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL DE- 16 FINED.—For purposes of this subsection, the term 17 ‘joint resolution of approval’ means a joint resolution 18 of either House of Congress that— 19 ‘‘(A) states that Congress approves an ac- 20 tion proposed by the President in a report sub- 21 mitted under subsection (b)(1); and 22 ‘‘(B) describes the action being approved 23 by Congress. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S691.IS S691 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 691 IS ‘‘(2) INTRODUCTION.—During the period of 45 1 days after a House of Congress receives a report 2 under subsection (b)(1) with respect to a unilateral 3 trade action, a joint resolution of approval may be 4 introduced by any Member of that House. 5 ‘‘(3) COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION.— 6 ‘‘(A) REFERRAL.—A joint resolution of ap- 7 proval introduced in the House of Representa- 8 tives shall be referred to the Committee on 9 Ways and Means and a joint resolution of ap- 10 proval introduced in the Senate shall be re- 11 ferred to the Committee on Finance. 12 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION.—The Committee on 13 Ways and Means and the Committee on Fi- 14 nance may, in considering a joint resolution of 15 approval, hold such hearings and meetings and 16 solicit such testimony as the Committee con- 17 siders appropriate. 18 ‘‘(C) REPORTING.— 19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to sub- 20 paragraph (D), the Committee on Ways 21 and Means and the Committee on Finance 22 may, at any time after receiving a joint 23 resolution of approval, report the resolu- 24 tion favorably or unfavorably. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S691.IS S691 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 691 IS ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT RESOLUTIONS.—If 1 a subsequent joint resolution of approval 2 relating to the same unilateral trade action 3 proposed in the same report submitted 4 under subsection (b)(1) is referred to the 5 Committee on Ways and Means or the 6 Committee on Finance after the first such 7 resolution is reported or discharged, the 8 subsequent resolution shall not be reported 9 under this subparagraph. 10 ‘‘(iii) PLACEMENT ON CALENDAR.—A 11 joint resolution of approval reported by the 12 Committee on Ways and Means or the 13 Committee on Finance shall lie over one 14 legislative day and then be placed on the 15 appropriate calendar. 16 ‘‘(D) DISCHARGE.— 17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Committee 18 on Ways and Means or the Committee on 19 Finance has not reported a joint resolution 20 of approval by the date that is 15 days 21 after the resolution is referred to the com- 22 mittee, the resolution shall be automati- 23 cally discharged from the committee and 24 placed on the appropriate calendar. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S691.IS S691 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 691 IS ‘‘(ii) PROHIBITION ON MOTIONS TO 1 RECOMMIT.—A motion to recommit a joint 2 resolution of approval shall not be in order. 3 ‘‘(iii) SUBSEQUENT RESOLUTIONS.—If 4 a subsequent joint resolution of approval 5 relating to the same unilateral trade action 6 proposed in the same report submitted 7 under subsection (b)(1) is referred to the 8 Committee on Ways and Means or the 9 Committee on Finance after the first such 10 resolution is reported or discharged, the 11 subsequent resolution shall not be dis- 12 charged under this subparagraph. 13 ‘‘(4) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.—In 14 the Senate: 15 ‘‘(A) MOTION TO PROCEED.— 16 ‘‘(i) TIMING.—A motion to proceed to 17 a joint resolution of approval is in order at 18 any time after the resolution is placed on 19 the calendar. 20 ‘‘(ii) MOTION BY ANY SENATOR.—Any 21 Senator may move to proceed to a joint 22 resolution of approval. 23 ‘‘(iii) PRIVILEGE.—A motion to pro- 24 ceed to the consideration of the joint reso- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S691.IS S691 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 691 IS lution of approval is privileged, except that 1 this clause shall apply only to a motion to 2 proceed to a joint resolution of approval 3 reported or discharged from the Committee 4 on Finance under paragraph (3) or to the 5 first joint resolution of approval placed on 6 the calendar after passage in the House of 7 Representatives. 8 ‘‘(iv) DEBATE.—Debate on a motion 9 to proceed to a joint resolution of approval 10 is limited to not more than 5 hours, equal- 11 ly divided between Senators favoring and 12 Senators opposing the resolution. 13 ‘‘(v) MOTION NOT AMENDABLE.—The 14 motion to proceed to the joint resolution of 15 approval is not amendable. A motion to re- 16 consider is not in order. A motion to table 17 is not in order. 18 ‘‘(vi) OTHER MOTIONS NOT IN 19 ORDER.—After a motion to proceed to a 20 joint resolution of approval is agreed to, 21 motions to postpone or to consider other 22 business are not in order. 23 ‘‘(B) MOTIONS AND APPEALS.—All mo- 24 tions and appeals relating to a joint resolution 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S691.IS S691 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 691 IS of approval shall be decided by the Senate with- 1 out debate. 2 ‘‘(5) CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REP- 3 RESENTATIVES.—In the House of Representatives, if 4 any committee to which a joint resolution of ap- 5 proval has been referred has not reported it to the 6 House at the end of 10 calendar days after its intro- 7 duction, such committee shall be discharged from 8 further consideration of the joint resolution, and it 9 shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. On 10 Thursdays it shall be in order at any time for the 11 Speaker to recognize a Member who favors passage 12 of a joint resolution that has appeared on the cal- 13 endar for at least 3 calendar days to call up that 14 joint resolution for immediate consideration in the 15 House without intervention of any point of order. 16 When so called up, a joint resolution shall be consid- 17 ered as read and shall be debatable for 1 hour equal- 18 ly divided and controlled by the proponent and an 19 opponent, and the previous question shall be consid- 20 ered as ordered to its passage without intervening 21 motion. It shall not be in order to reconsider the 22 vote on passage. If a vote on final passage of the 23 joint resolution has not been taken on or before the 24 close of the 10th calendar day after the resolution 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S691.IS S691 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 691 IS is reported by the committee or committees to which 1 it was referred, or after such committee or commit- 2 tees have been discharged from further consideration 3 of the resolution, such vote shall be taken on that 4 day. 5 ‘‘(6) RECEIPT OF RESOLUTION FROM OTHER 6 HOUSE.—If, before passing a joint resolution of ap- 7 proval, one House receives from the other a joint 8 resolution of approval from the other House, then— 9 ‘‘(A) the joint resolution of the other 10 House shall not be referred to a committee and 11 shall be deemed to have been discharged from 12 committee on the day it is received; and 13 ‘‘(B) the procedures set forth in paragraph 14 (4) or (5), as applicable, shall apply in the re- 15 ceiving House to the joint resolution received 16 from the other House to the same extent as 17 such procedures apply to a joint resolution of 18 the receiving House. 19 ‘‘(7) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 20 AND SENATE.—This subsection is enacted by Con- 21 gress— 22 ‘‘(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking 23 power of the House of Representatives and the 24 Senate, respectively, and as such is deemed a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S691.IS S691 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 691 IS part of the rules of each House, respectively, 1 and the rules provided for in this section super- 2 sede other rules only to the extent that they are 3 inconsistent with such other rules; and 4 ‘‘(B) with the full recognition of the con- 5 stitutional right of either House to change the 6 rules provided for in this section (so far as re- 7 lating to the procedures of that House) at any 8 time, in the same manner, and to the same ex- 9 tent as any other rule of that House. 10 ‘‘(e) REPORT BY THE UNITED STATES INTER- 11 NATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION.—Not later than 12 12 months after the date of a unilateral trade action taken 13 pursuant to this section, the United States International 14 Trade Commission shall submit to Congress a report on 15 the effects of the action on the United States economy, 16 including a comprehensive assessment of the economic ef- 17 fects of the action on producers and consumers in the 18 United States.’’. 19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 20 for the Trade Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after 21 the item relating to section 154 the following: 22 ‘‘Sec. 155. Congressional review of unilateral trade actions.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S691.IS S691 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS