China Trade Relations Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 785 To withdraw normal trade relations treatment from, and apply certain provi- sions of title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 to, products of the People’s Republic of China, and to expand the eligibility requirements for products of the People’s Republic of China to receive normal trade relations treatment in the future, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 17 (legislative day, MARCH 16), 2021 Mr. COTTON (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, and Mr. INHOFE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To withdraw normal trade relations treatment from, and apply certain provisions of title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 to, products of the People’s Republic of China, and to expand the eligibility requirements for products of the People’s Republic of China to receive normal trade relations treatment in the future, 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 ‘‘China Trade Relations 4 Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S785.IS S785 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 785 IS SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL OF NORMAL TRADE RELATIONS 1 TREATMENT FROM THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC 2 OF CHINA. 3 Notwithstanding the provisions of title I of Public 4 Law 106–286 (114 Stat. 880) or any other provision of 5 law, effective on the date of the enactment of this Act— 6 (1) normal trade relations treatment shall not 7 apply pursuant to section 101 of that Act to the 8 products of the People’s Republic of China; 9 (2) normal trade relations treatment may there- 10 after be extended to the products of the People’s Re- 11 public of China only in accordance with the provi- 12 sions of chapter 1 of title IV of the Trade Act of 13 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2431 et seq.), as in effect with re- 14 spect to the products of the People’s Republic of 15 China on the day before the effective date of the ac- 16 cession of the People’s Republic of China to the 17 World Trade Organization; and 18 (3) the extension of waiver authority that was 19 in effect with respect to the People’s Republic of 20 China under section 402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 21 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2432(d)(1)) on the day before the 22 effective date of the accession of the People’s Repub- 23 lic of China to the World Trade Organization shall, 24 upon the enactment of this Act, be deemed not to 25 have expired, and shall continue in effect until the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S785.IS S785 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 785 IS date that is 90 days after the date of such enact- 1 ment. 2 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF BASES OF INELIGIBILITY OF PEO- 3 PLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA FOR NORMAL 4 TRADE RELATIONS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402 of the Trade Act of 6 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2432) is amended— 7 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘FREE- 8 DOM OF EMIGRATION IN EAST-WEST TRADE’’ 9 and inserting ‘‘EAST-WEST TRADE AND HUMAN 10 RIGHTS’’; and 11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 12 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL BASES OF INELIGIBILITY OF PEO- 13 PLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA FOR NORMAL TRADE RELA- 14 TIONS.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Products from the People’s 16 Republic of China shall not be eligible to receive 17 nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade rela- 18 tions), the People’s Republic of China shall not par- 19 ticipate in any program of the Government of the 20 United States which extends credits or credit guar- 21 antees or investment guarantees, directly or indi- 22 rectly, and the President shall not conclude any 23 commercial agreement with the People’s Republic of 24 China, during the period— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S785.IS S785 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 785 IS ‘‘(A) beginning with the date on which the 1 President determines that the People’s Republic 2 of China— 3 ‘‘(i) is in violation of paragraph (1), 4 (2), or (3) of subsection (a); 5 ‘‘(ii) uses or provides for the use of 6 slave labor; 7 ‘‘(iii) operates ‘vocational training and 8 education centers’ or other concentration 9 camps where people are held against their 10 will; 11 ‘‘(iv) performs or otherwise orders 12 forced abortion or sterilization procedures; 13 ‘‘(v) harvests the organs of prisoners 14 without their consent; 15 ‘‘(vi) hinders the free exercise of reli- 16 gion; 17 ‘‘(vii) intimidates or harasses nation- 18 als of the People’s Republic of China living 19 outside the People’s Republic of China; or 20 ‘‘(viii) engages in systematic economic 21 espionage against the United States, in- 22 cluding theft of the intellectual property of 23 United States persons; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S785.IS S785 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 785 IS ‘‘(B) ending on the date on which the 1 President determines that the People’s Republic 2 of China is no longer in violation of any of 3 clauses (i) through (viii) of subparagraph (A). 4 ‘‘(2) REPORT REQUIRED.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the date of the 6 enactment of this subsection, products of the 7 People’s Republic of China may be eligible to 8 receive nondiscriminatory treatment (normal 9 trade relations), the People’s Republic of China 10 may participate in any program of the Govern- 11 ment of the United States which extends credits 12 or credit guarantees or investment guarantees, 13 and the President may conclude a commercial 14 agreement with the People’s Republic of China, 15 only after the President has submitted to Con- 16 gress a report indicating that the People’s Re- 17 public of China is not in violation of any of 18 clauses (i) through (viii) of paragraph (1)(A). 19 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—The report required by 20 subparagraph (A) shall include information as 21 to the nature and implementation of laws and 22 policies of the People’s Republic of China relat- 23 ing to the matters specified in clauses (i) 24 through (viii) of paragraph (1)(A). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S785.IS S785 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 785 IS ‘‘(C) DEADLINES.—The report required by 1 subparagraph (A) shall be submitted on or be- 2 fore each June 30 and December 31 of each 3 year for as long as products of the People’s Re- 4 public of China receive nondiscriminatory treat- 5 ment (normal trade relations), the People’s Re- 6 public of China participates in any program of 7 the Government of the United States which ex- 8 tends credits or credit guarantees or investment 9 guarantees, or a commercial agreement with the 10 People’s Republic of China is in effect. 11 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.— 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President is au- 13 thorized to waive by Executive order the appli- 14 cation of paragraphs (1) and (2) for a 12- 15 month period if the President submits to Con- 16 gress a report that the President— 17 ‘‘(i) has determined that such waiver 18 will substantially promote the objectives of 19 this subsection; and 20 ‘‘(ii) has received assurances that the 21 practices of the People’s Republic of China 22 relating to the matters specified in clauses 23 (i) through (viii) of paragraph (1)(A) will 24 in the future lead substantially to the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S785.IS S785 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 785 IS achievement of the objectives of this sub- 1 section. 2 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION OF WAIVER.—A waiver 3 under subparagraph (A) shall terminate on the 4 earlier of— 5 ‘‘(i) the day after the waiver authority 6 granted by this paragraph ceases to be ef- 7 fective under paragraph (4); or 8 ‘‘(ii) the effective date of an Executive 9 order providing for termination of the 10 waiver. 11 ‘‘(4) EXTENSION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 12 ‘‘(A) RECOMMENDATIONS.—If the Presi- 13 dent determines that the further extension of 14 the waiver authority granted under paragraph 15 (3) will substantially promote the objectives of 16 this subsection, the President may recommend 17 further extensions of such authority for succes- 18 sive 12-month periods. Any such recommenda- 19 tions shall— 20 ‘‘(i) be made not later than 30 days 21 before the expiration of such authority; 22 ‘‘(ii) be made in a document sub- 23 mitted to the House of Representatives 24 and the Senate setting forth the reasons of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S785.IS S785 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 785 IS the President for recommending the exten- 1 sion of such authority; and 2 ‘‘(iii) include— 3 ‘‘(I) a determination that con- 4 tinuation of the waiver will substan- 5 tially promote the objectives of this 6 subsection; and 7 ‘‘(II) a statement setting forth 8 the reasons of the President for such 9 determination. 10 ‘‘(B) CONTINUATION IN EFFECT OF WAIV- 11 ER.—If the President recommends under sub- 12 paragraph (A) the further extension of the 13 waiver authority granted under paragraph (3), 14 such authority shall continue in effect until the 15 end of the 12-month period following the end of 16 the previous 12-month extension, unless— 17 ‘‘(i) Congress adopts and transmits to 18 the President a joint resolution of dis- 19 approval under paragraph (5) before the 20 end of the 60-day period beginning on the 21 date the waiver authority would expire but 22 for an extension under subparagraph (A); 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S785.IS S785 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 785 IS ‘‘(ii) if the President vetoes the joint 1 resolution, each House of Congress votes 2 to override the veto on or before the later 3 of— 4 ‘‘(I) the last day of the 60-day 5 period referred to in clause (i); or 6 ‘‘(II) the last day of the 15-day 7 period (excluding any day described in 8 section 154(b)) beginning on the date 9 on which Congress receives the veto 10 message from the President. 11 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION OF WAIVER PURSUANT 12 TO JOINT RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL.—If a 13 joint resolution of disapproval is enacted into 14 law pursuant to paragraph (5), the waiver au- 15 thority granted under paragraph (3) shall cease 16 to be effective as of the day after the 60-day 17 period beginning on the date of the enactment 18 of the joint resolution. 19 ‘‘(5) JOINT RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL.— 20 ‘‘(A) JOINT RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL 21 DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘joint 22 resolution of disapproval’ means a joint resolu- 23 tion the matter after the resolving clause of 24 which is as follows: ‘That Congress does not ap- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S785.IS S785 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 785 IS prove the extension of the authority contained 1 in paragraph (3) of section 402(f) of the Trade 2 Act of 1974 with respect to the People’s Repub- 3 lic of China recommended by the President to 4 Congress under paragraph (4) of that section 5 on lll.’, with the blank space being filled 6 with the appropriate date. 7 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES IN HOUSE AND SEN- 8 ATE.—The provisions of subsections (b) 9 through (f) of section 152 shall apply with re- 10 spect to a joint resolution of approval to the 11 same extent and in the same manner as such 12 provisions apply with respect to a resolution de- 13 scribed in subsection (a) of that section, except 14 that subsection (e)(2) of that section shall be 15 applied and administered by substituting ‘Con- 16 sideration’ for ‘Debate’. 17 ‘‘(C) RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REP- 18 RESENTATIVES AND SENATE.—This paragraph 19 is enacted by Congress— 20 ‘‘(i) as an exercise of the rulemaking 21 power of the House of Representatives and 22 the Senate, respectively, and as such is 23 deemed a part of the rules of each House, 24 respectively, and supersedes other rules 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S785.IS S785 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 785 IS only to the extent that it is inconsistent 1 with such other rules; and 2 ‘‘(ii) with full recognition of the con- 3 stitutional right of either House to change 4 the rules (so far as relating to the proce- 5 dure of that House) at any time, in the 6 same manner and to the same extent as in 7 the case of any other rule of that House.’’. 8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 9 for the Trade Act of 1974 is amended by striking the item 10 relating to section 402 and inserting the following: 11 ‘‘Sec. 402. East-West trade and human rights.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S785.IS S785 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS