What This Bill Does
This bill gives the President authority to negotiate and enter into a comprehensive trade agreement with the United Kingdom. The bill is designed to reduce or eliminate trade barriers between the two countries. Congress states it believes such an agreement would strengthen the U.S. economy and create export opportunities for American businesses.
##
Who It Affects
- The President of the United States
- Congress
- U.S. workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses of all sizes
- People in the United Kingdom
- The executive branch of the U.S. Government
##
Key Provisions
- The President must seek to start negotiations with the United Kingdom within 180 days after the law is passed, focusing on tariffs and non-tariff barriers (charges or restrictions on imported goods) affecting industries, products and services (Sec. 4(a))
- The President can enter into a comprehensive trade agreement with the United Kingdom regarding tariff and non-tariff barriers between the two countries (Sec. 4(b)(1))
- The President's authority to enter into such an agreement ends on March 1, 2025 (Sec. 4(b)(2))
- The President must consult with Congress before and during negotiations and must notify Congress of plans to enter an agreement or make tariff changes (Sec. 4(d))
- Any agreement cannot be waived, suspended or terminated without the express approval of Congress (Sec. 4(f))
- The President cannot reduce most existing tariffs to less than 50 percent of their current rate, cannot reduce tariffs on agricultural products below levels set in previous trade agreements, and cannot increase any tariffs above current levels (Sec. 4(c)(2)(B))
##
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the President gains new legal authority to negotiate a trade deal with the United Kingdom. Congress will have the power to approve or reject any agreement through special expedited procedures. The President will be required to lower some trade barriers with the United Kingdom but is limited in how much tariffs can be reduced.
##
Important Definitions
- **USMCA**: The trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada finalized in 2018 and 2019 (Sec. 3(1))
- **United Kingdom**: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Sec. 3(2))
- **Tariff**: A tax or fee placed on imported goods
- **Non-tariff barriers**: Rules, regulations or restrictions (other than taxes) that make it harder to import or sell goods
##
Effective Date
The law takes effect upon enactment. The President's authority to enter an agreement expires March 1, 2025.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 629
To provide the President with authority to enter into a comprehensive trade
agreement with the United Kingdom, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 2, 2023
Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. THUNE) 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 a
comprehensive trade agreement with the United King-
dom, 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 ‘‘Undertaking Negotia-
4
tions on Investment and Trade for Economic Dynamism
5
Act’’ or the ‘‘UNITED Act’’.
6
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
7
It is the sense of Congress that—
8
(1) the United States should pursue more open
9
trade and investment relationships with its allies to
10
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strengthen the economy of the United States, im-
1
prove the standard of living of the people of the
2
United States, and advance the strategic interests of
3
the United States;
4
(2) agreements to reduce or eliminate barriers
5
to trade and investment between the United States
6
and its allies will foster mutually beneficial economic
7
relationships that advance the economic interests of
8
workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses of all
9
sizes in the United States;
10
(3) the shared values and long history of the
11
‘‘special relationship’’ between the United States and
12
the United Kingdom present a unique opportunity to
13
deepen the mutually beneficial economic and stra-
14
tegic relationship between those countries and fur-
15
ther expand prosperity for the citizens of those coun-
16
tries;
17
(4) a high-standard, comprehensive trade agree-
18
ment between the United States and the United
19
Kingdom would help strengthen that relationship,
20
improve the economic prospects of people in both
21
countries, increase the resilience of critical supply
22
chains, and create export opportunities for busi-
23
nesses of all sizes;
24
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(5) the efforts of the United States-United
1
Kingdom Trade and Investment Working Group and
2
the bilateral negotiations initiated by President Don-
3
ald Trump have laid groundwork toward a com-
4
prehensive trade agreement;
5
(6) the United States-United Kingdom Dia-
6
logue on the Future of Atlantic Trade initiated by
7
President Joe Biden continues longstanding efforts
8
to improve economic cooperation between the United
9
States and the United Kingdom;
10
(7) the robust labor and environmental protec-
11
tions in the United Kingdom reduce the risk of regu-
12
latory arbitrage that undercuts workers and busi-
13
nesses in the United States;
14
(8) Congress passed the USMCA with over-
15
whelming bipartisan support, setting high standards
16
in North America with respect to labor rights, the
17
environment, intellectual property, non-market prac-
18
tices, and services, and those standards should in-
19
form future negotiations;
20
(9) trade agreements with foreign trading part-
21
ners that share the values and ambition of the
22
United States offer an opportunity to build on the
23
USMCA and set high international standards across
24
many important policy areas;
25
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(10) any trade negotiations between the United
1
States and the United Kingdom must honor the
2
agreement between the Government of Ireland and
3
the Government of the United Kingdom signed on
4
April 10, 1998 (commonly known as the ‘‘Good Fri-
5
day Agreement’’), and any trade agreement between
6
those countries must advance peace, stability, and
7
prosperity in Ireland and Northern Ireland;
8
(11) the United Kingdom, like many key trad-
9
ing partners of the United States, is actively negoti-
10
ating for expanded access to foreign markets, includ-
11
ing through both new bilateral agreements and exist-
12
ing regional agreements such as the Comprehensive
13
and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Part-
14
nership, and the United States must likewise seek to
15
advance its access to foreign markets to ensure that
16
businesses, consumers, farmers, ranchers, and work-
17
ers in the United States are not left behind; and
18
(12) to effectively pursue comprehensive trade
19
negotiations with the United Kingdom for purposes
20
of a trade agreement between the United States and
21
the United Kingdom, Congress must grant new ne-
22
gotiating authority to the President, which should—
23
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(A) enable the swift negotiation and pas-
1
sage through Congress of such an agreement;
2
and
3
(B) be narrowly tailored to provide clear
4
direction to the executive branch of the United
5
States Government.
6
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
7
In this Act:
8
(1) USMCA.—The term ‘‘USMCA’’ means the
9
Agreement between the United States of America,
10
the United Mexican States, and Canada, which is—
11
(A) attached as an Annex to the Protocol
12
Replacing the North American Free Trade
13
Agreement with the Agreement between the
14
United States of America, the United Mexican
15
States, and Canada, done at Buenos Aires on
16
November 30, 2018, as amended by the Pro-
17
tocol of Amendment to the Agreement Between
18
the United States of America, the United Mexi-
19
can States, and Canada, done at Mexico City
20
on December 10, 2019; and
21
(B) approved by Congress under section
22
101(a)(1) of the United States-Mexico-Canada
23
Agreement Implementation Act (19 U.S.C.
24
4511(a)).
25
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(2) UNITED
KINGDOM.—The term ‘‘United
1
Kingdom’’ means the United Kingdom of Great
2
Britain and Northern Ireland.
3
SEC. 4. NEGOTIATING AND TRADE AGREEMENTS AUTHOR-
4
ITY FOR COMPREHENSIVE AGREEMENT WITH
5
THE UNITED KINGDOM.
6
(a) INITIATION OF NEGOTIATIONS.—Not later than
7
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, in
8
order to enhance the economic well-being of the United
9
States, the President shall seek to initiate negotiations
10
with the United Kingdom regarding tariff and nontariff
11
barriers affecting any industry, product, or service sector.
12
(b)
AUTHORITY
FOR
COMPREHENSIVE
TRADE
13
AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED KINGDOM.—
14
(1) IN GENERAL.—To strengthen the economic
15
competitiveness of the United States, the President
16
may enter into a comprehensive trade agreement
17
with the United Kingdom regarding tariff and non-
18
tariff barriers affecting trade between the United
19
States and United Kingdom.
20
(2) TERMINATION
OF
AUTHORITY.—The au-
21
thority under paragraph (1) terminates on March 1,
22
2025.
23
(c) MODIFICATIONS PERMITTED.—
24
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),
1
the President may proclaim such modification or
2
continuance of any existing duty, continuance of ex-
3
isting duty-free or excise treatment, or such addi-
4
tional duties as the President determines to be re-
5
quired or appropriate to carry out an agreement en-
6
tered into under subsection (b).
7
(2) LIMITATIONS.—
8
(A) MODIFICATIONS
OR
ADDITIONS
TO
9
AGREEMENT.—Substantial modifications to, or
10
substantial additional provisions of, an agree-
11
ment entered into after March 1, 2025, are not
12
covered by the authority under paragraph (1).
13
(B) AMOUNT OF DUTY MODIFICATION.—
14
No proclamation may be made under paragraph
15
(1) that—
16
(i) reduces any rate of duty (other
17
than a rate of duty that does not exceed 5
18
percent ad valorem on the date of the en-
19
actment of this Act) to a rate of duty that
20
is less than 50 percent of the rate of such
21
duty that applies on such date of enact-
22
ment;
23
(ii) reduces the rate of duty below
24
that applicable under the Uruguay Round
25
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Agreements (as defined in section 2(7) of
1
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19
2
U.S.C. 3501)) or a successor agreement,
3
on any import sensitive agricultural prod-
4
uct; or
5
(iii) increases any rate of duty above
6
the rate that applied on the date of the en-
7
actment of this Act.
8
(d) CONSULTATION WITH
AND NOTIFICATION
TO
9
CONGRESS.—To ensure the alignment of the trade policy
10
priorities of Congress with the content of any agreement
11
under this section, the President shall consult with Con-
12
gress before and throughout negotiations initiated under
13
subsection (a) and shall notify Congress of the intention
14
of the President to enter into an agreement under sub-
15
section (b) or to make a proclamation under subsection
16
(c).
17
(e) BILLS QUALIFYING FOR TRADE AUTHORITIES
18
PROCEDURES.—
19
(1) IMPLEMENTING BILLS.—
20
(A) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of sec-
21
tion 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
22
2191) apply to a bill of either House of Con-
23
gress that contains provisions described in sub-
24
paragraph (B) to the same extent as such sec-
25
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tion 151 applies to implementing bills under
1
that section. A bill to which this paragraph ap-
2
plies shall hereafter in this section be referred
3
to as an ‘‘implementing bill’’.
4
(B) PROVISIONS
SPECIFIED.—The provi-
5
sions described in this subparagraph are—
6
(i) a provision approving a trade
7
agreement entered into under this section
8
and approving the statement of adminis-
9
trative action, if any, proposed to imple-
10
ment such trade agreement; and
11
(ii) if changes in existing laws or new
12
statutory authority are required to imple-
13
ment such trade agreement, only such pro-
14
visions as are strictly necessary or appro-
15
priate to implement such trade agreement,
16
either repealing or amending existing laws
17
or providing new statutory authority.
18
(2) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF BILL.—The
19
procedures under paragraph (1) apply to imple-
20
menting bills submitted with respect to a trade
21
agreement entered into under this section before
22
March 1, 2025.
23
(f) LIMITATION ON WAIVER, SUSPENSION, OR TER-
24
MINATION.—An agreement entered into under this section
25
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shall not be waived, suspended, or terminated, in whole
1
or in part, with respect to the United States without the
2
express approval by Congress of such termination.
3
(g) RELATIONSHIP TO BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL
4
TRADE
PRIORITIES
AND
ACCOUNTABILITY
ACT
OF
5
2015.—An agreement under this section shall not enter
6
into force with respect to the United States and an imple-
7
menting bill shall not qualify for trade authorities proce-
8
dures under subsection (e), including an agreement that
9
does not require changes to United States law or an imple-
10
menting bill in connection therewith, unless the following
11
requirements under the Bipartisan Congressional Trade
12
Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4201
13
et seq.) are carried out with respect to that agreement
14
or implementing bill to the same extent as would be re-
15
quired of an agreement entered into under section 103(b)
16
of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4202(b)), notwithstanding the expi-
17
ration of authority to enter into an agreement under such
18
section 103(b):
19
(1) The trade negotiating objectives under sec-
20
tion 102 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4201).
21
(2) The congressional oversight and consulta-
22
tion requirements under section 104 of that Act (19
23
U.S.C. 4203).
24
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(3) The notification, consultation, and reporting
1
requirements under section 105 of that Act (19
2
U.S.C. 4204).
3
(4) The implementation procedures under sec-
4
tion 106 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4205).
5
(5) The provisions related to sovereignty under
6
section 108 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4207).
7
Æ
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