A bill to provide for the development and implementation of economic defense response teams.

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1824 To provide for the development and implementation of economic defense response teams. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 25, 2021 Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Mr. RISCH, and Mr. CARDIN) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on For- eign Relations A BILL To provide for the development and implementation of economic defense response teams. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. ECONOMIC DEFENSE RESPONSE TEAMS. 3 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 180 days after 4 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, act- 5 ing through the Secretary of State, shall develop and im- 6 plement a pilot program for the creation of deployable eco- 7 nomic defense response teams to help provide emergency 8 technical assistance and support to a country subjected 9 to the threat or use of coercive economic measures and 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1824 IS to play a liaison role between the legitimate government 1 of that country and the United States Government. Such 2 assistance and support may include the following activi- 3 ties: 4 (1) Reducing the partner country’s vulnerability 5 to coercive economic measures. 6 (2) Minimizing the damage that such measures 7 by an adversary could cause to that country. 8 (3) Implementing any bilateral or multilateral 9 contingency plans that may exist for responding to 10 the threat or use of such measures. 11 (4) In coordination with the partner country, 12 developing or improving plans and strategies by the 13 country for reducing vulnerabilities and improving 14 responses to such measures in the future. 15 (5) Assisting the partner country in dealing 16 with foreign sovereign investment in infrastructure 17 or related projects that may undermine the partner 18 country’s sovereignty. 19 (6) Assisting the partner country in responding 20 to specific efforts from an adversary attempting to 21 employ economic coercion that undermines the part- 22 ner country’s sovereignty, including efforts in the 23 cyber domain, such as efforts that undermine cyber- 24 security or digital security of the partner country or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1824 IS initiatives that introduce digital technologies in a 1 manner that undermines freedom, security, and sov- 2 ereignty of the partner country. 3 (7) Otherwise providing direct and relevant 4 short-to-medium term economic or other assistance 5 from the United States and marshalling other re- 6 sources in support of effective responses to such 7 measures. 8 (b) INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT.—The pilot program 9 required by subsection (a) should include the following ele- 10 ments: 11 (1) Identification and designation of relevant 12 personnel within the United States Government with 13 expertise relevant to the objectives specified in sub- 14 section (a), including personnel in— 15 (A) the Department of State, for over- 16 seeing the economic defense response team’s ac- 17 tivities, engaging with the partner country gov- 18 ernment and other stakeholders, and other pur- 19 poses relevant to advancing the success of the 20 mission of the economic defense response team; 21 (B) the United States Agency for Inter- 22 national Development, for the purposes of pro- 23 viding technical, humanitarian, and other as- 24 sistance, generally; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1824 IS (C) the Department of the Treasury, for 1 the purposes of providing advisory support and 2 assistance on all financial matters and fiscal 3 implications of the crisis at hand; 4 (D) the Department of Commerce, for the 5 purposes of providing economic analysis and as- 6 sistance in market development relevant to the 7 partner country’s response to the crisis at hand, 8 technology security as appropriate, and other 9 matters that may be relevant; 10 (E) the Department of Energy, for the 11 purposes of providing advisory services and 12 technical assistance with respect to energy 13 needs as affected by the crisis at hand; 14 (F) the Department of Homeland Security, 15 for the purposes of providing assistance with re- 16 spect to digital and cybersecurity matters, and 17 assisting in the development of any contingency 18 plans referred to in paragraphs (3) and (6) of 19 subsection (a) as appropriate; 20 (G) the Department of Agriculture, for 21 providing advisory and other assistance with re- 22 spect to responding to coercive measures such 23 as arbitrary market closures that affect the 24 partner country’s agricultural sector; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1824 IS (H) the Office of the United States Trade 1 Representative with respect to providing sup- 2 port and guidance on trade and investment 3 matters; and 4 (I) other Federal departments and agen- 5 cies as determined by the President. 6 (2) Negotiation of memoranda of under- 7 standing, where appropriate, with other United 8 States Government components for the provision of 9 any relevant participating or detailed non-Depart- 10 ment of State personnel identified under paragraph 11 (1). 12 (3) Negotiation of contracts, as appropriate, 13 with private sector representatives or other individ- 14 uals with relevant expertise to advance the objectives 15 specified in subsection (a). 16 (4) Development within the United States Gov- 17 ernment of— 18 (A) appropriate training curricula for rel- 19 evant experts identified under paragraph (1) 20 and for United States diplomatic personnel in a 21 country actually or potentially threatened by co- 22 ercive economic measures; 23 (B) operational procedures and appropriate 24 protocols for the rapid assembly of such experts 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1824 IS into one or more teams for deployment to a 1 country actually or potentially threatened by co- 2 ercive economic measures; and 3 (C) procedures for ensuring appropriate 4 support for such teams when serving in a coun- 5 try actually or potentially threatened by coer- 6 cive economic measures, including, as applica- 7 ble, logistical assistance, office space, informa- 8 tion support, and communications. 9 (5) Negotiation with relevant potential host 10 countries of procedures and methods for ensuring 11 the rapid and effective deployment of such teams, 12 and the establishment of appropriate liaison relation- 13 ships with local public and private sector officials 14 and entities. 15 (c) REPORTS REQUIRED.— 16 (1) REPORT ON ESTABLISHMENT.—Upon estab- 17 lishment of the pilot program required by subsection 18 (a), the Secretary of State shall provide the Com- 19 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 20 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep- 21 resentatives with a detailed report and briefing de- 22 scribing the pilot program, the major elements of the 23 program, the personnel and institutions involved, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1824 IS and the degree to which the program incorporates 1 the elements described in subsection (a). 2 (2) FOLLOW-UP REPORT.—Not later than one 3 year after the report required by paragraph (1), the 4 Secretary of State shall provide the Committee on 5 Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee 6 on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 7 with a detailed report and briefing describing the op- 8 erations over the previous year of the pilot program 9 established pursuant to subsection (a), as well as the 10 Secretary’s assessment of its performance and suit- 11 ability for becoming a permanent program. 12 (3) FORM.—Each report required under this 13 subsection shall be submitted in unclassified form, 14 but may include a classified annex. 15 (d) DECLARATION OF AN ECONOMIC CRISIS RE- 16 QUIRED.— 17 (1) NOTIFICATION.—The President may acti- 18 vate an economic defense response team for a period 19 of 180 days under the authorities of this section to 20 assist a partner country in responding to an unusual 21 and extraordinary economic coercive threat by an 22 adversary of the United States upon the declaration 23 of a coercive economic emergency, together with no- 24 tification to the Committee on Foreign Relations of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1824 IS the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 1 the House of Representatives. 2 (2) EXTENSION AUTHORITY.—The President 3 may activate the response team for an additional 4 180 days upon the submission of a detailed analysis 5 to the committees described in paragraph (1) justi- 6 fying why the continued deployment of the economic 7 defense response team in response to the economic 8 emergency is in the national security interest of the 9 United States. 10 (e) SUNSET.—The authorities provided under this 11 section shall expire on December 31, 2026. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS