I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 764 To authorize the President to take certain actions relating to reciprocal trade, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 24, 2019 Mr. DUFFY (for himself, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. COLLINS of New York, Mr. COOK, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. KELLY of Penn- sylvania, Mr. LONG, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mrs. MILLER, Mr. SENSEN- BRENNER, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. PALAZZO, and Mr. ROUZER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To authorize the President to take certain actions relating to reciprocal trade, 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 ‘‘United States Recip- 4 rocal Trade Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H764.IH H764 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 764 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The United States maintains an open mar- 3 ket for goods, with relatively low tariffs, and has 4 long encouraged trading partners, both bilaterally 5 and in multilateral fora, to liberalize their markets. 6 (2) The United States is the world’s largest im- 7 porter of goods. 8 (3) Trading partners of the United States in 9 many instances impose significantly higher tariffs on 10 United States goods than the United States imposes 11 on the same or similar goods imported from those 12 same countries. 13 (4) United States trading partners in many in- 14 stances impose significant nontariff barriers that 15 greatly undermine the value of negotiated tariff con- 16 cessions. 17 (5) The lack of reciprocity in tariff levels and 18 disproportionate use of nontariff barriers by United 19 States trading partners facilitates foreign imports, 20 discourages United States exports, and puts United 21 States producers, farmers, and workers at a com- 22 petitive disadvantage. 23 (6) The lack of reciprocity in tariff levels and 24 nontariff barriers contributes to the large and grow- 25 ing United States trade deficit in goods, which is a 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H764.IH H764 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 764 IH drag on economic growth and undermines economic 1 prosperity. 2 (7) To date a number of United States trading 3 partners have been unwilling, including in multilat- 4 eral negotiations, to reduce tariffs and eliminate 5 nontariff barriers applied to United States exports. 6 (8) The United States should seek action by 7 United States trading partners to lower tariffs and 8 eliminate nontariff barriers, to promote efficiency in 9 those markets and enhance opportunities for United 10 States producers, farmers, and workers. 11 (9) The President should have a wide array of 12 tools to open the markets of United States trading 13 partners and encourage participation in negotiations 14 to liberalize trade in goods on a fair and reciprocal 15 basis, including the authority to adjust tariff rates 16 to reciprocal levels. 17 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO TAKE CERTAIN ACTIONS RELATING 18 TO RECIPROCAL TRADE. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the President determines 20 that— 21 (1) the rate of duty imposed by a foreign coun- 22 try with respect to a particular good, when imported 23 from the United States, is significantly higher than 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H764.IH H764 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 764 IH the rate of duty imposed by the United States on 1 that good, when imported from that country, or 2 (2) the nontariff barriers applied by a foreign 3 country with respect to a particular good, when im- 4 ported from the United States, impose significantly 5 higher burdens, alone or in combination with any 6 tariffs imposed by that country on that good, than 7 the burdens of the nontariff barriers applied by the 8 United States with respect to that good, alone or in 9 combination with any tariffs imposed by the United 10 States on that good, when imported from that coun- 11 try, 12 the President may take one or more of the actions author- 13 ized under subsection (b). 14 (b) ACTIONS AUTHORIZED.—The actions authorized 15 under this subsection are the following: 16 (1) To negotiate and seek to enter into an 17 agreement with the foreign country that commits the 18 country to reduce the rate of duty or reduce or 19 eliminate nontariff barriers on the good that is the 20 subject of the determination under subsection (a). 21 (2) To impose a rate of duty on imports of the 22 good that is equal to— 23 (A) the rate of duty imposed by the foreign 24 country with respect to the good, in the case of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H764.IH H764 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 764 IH a determination described in subsection (a)(1); 1 or 2 (B) the effective rate of duty of the non- 3 tariff barriers applied by the foreign country 4 with respect to the good, alone or in combina- 5 tion with any tariffs imposed by that country 6 on that good, in the case of a determination de- 7 scribed in subsection (a)(2). 8 (c) FACTORS.—In taking an action authorized under 9 subsection (b), the President shall consider the following 10 factors: 11 (1) The tariff classification of the good by the 12 United States and the tariff classification of the 13 good by the foreign country. 14 (2) The rate of duty applied by the United 15 States with respect to the good and the rate of duty 16 applied by the foreign country with respect to the 17 good. 18 (3) The physical characteristics of the good. 19 (4) The end uses and existence of a competitive 20 relationship between the good— 21 (A) as exported from the United States to 22 the foreign country; and 23 (B) as imported from the country to the 24 United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H764.IH H764 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 764 IH (5) The level of exports of the good by the 1 country to the United States and to other countries. 2 (6) In the case of a determination described in 3 subsection (a)(1), the extent to which the rate of 4 duty applied by the foreign country with respect to 5 the good is impeding or distorting trade. 6 (7) In the case of a determination described in 7 subsection (a)(2)— 8 (A) the extent of the nontariff barriers ap- 9 plied by the foreign country with respect to the 10 good and the extent of the nontariff barriers 11 applied by the United States with respect to the 12 good; 13 (B) the extent to which the nontariff bar- 14 riers applied by the country with respect to the 15 good, alone or in combination with any tariffs 16 imposed by that country on that good, are im- 17 peding or distorting trade; 18 (C) the identified purpose of the nontariff 19 barriers applied by the country with respect to 20 the good, if any, and the extent to which the 21 nontariff barriers are more restrictive than nec- 22 essary to meet that purpose; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H764.IH H764 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 764 IH (D) the degree of transparency of the proc- 1 ess by which the country adopted the nontariff 2 barriers. 3 (8) Other factors, as the President determines 4 appropriate. 5 (d) ROLE OF USTR.—The United States Trade Rep- 6 resentative, in consultation with the Secretary of Treas- 7 ury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other 8 relevant Federal agencies, shall advise the President in de- 9 termining the effective rate of duty imposed by the non- 10 tariff barriers applied by a foreign country with respect 11 to a good, alone or in combination with any tariffs imposed 12 by that country on that good, in the case of a determina- 13 tion described in subsection (a)(2). 14 (e) LOWER RATE OF DUTY.—The President may im- 15 pose a rate of duty on imports of a good from a foreign 16 country that is lower than the rate of duty described in 17 subsection (b)(2)(A) or lower than the effective rate of 18 duty described in subsection (b)(2)(B), as the case may 19 be, if the President determines that application of such 20 lower rate of duty is necessary and appropriate. 21 (f) HIGHER RATE OF DUTY.—If the President im- 22 poses a rate of duty on imports of a good from a foreign 23 country under subsection (b)(2), and the country further 24 increases its rate of duty on imports of the good from the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H764.IH H764 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 764 IH United States, the President may further increase the rate 1 of duty on imports of the good from the country to a rate 2 that is equal to the rate of duty applied by that country. 3 (g) TERMINATION.—The President shall terminate 4 the imposition of any increase in the rate of duty on im- 5 ports of a good from a foreign country under subsection 6 (b)(2) effective on the date on which the President deter- 7 mines that— 8 (1) the foreign country is no longer— 9 (A) imposing a rate of duty with respect to 10 the good, as described in subsection (a)(1); or 11 (B) applying nontariff barriers with re- 12 spect to the good, as described in subsection 13 (a)(2); or 14 (2) continued imposition of the increased rate 15 of duty on imports of the good from the foreign 16 country is not in the economic or public interest of 17 the United States. 18 SEC. 4. NOTICE AND CONSULTATION. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Before taking any action author- 20 ized under section 3(b)(1), the President shall provide no- 21 tice to and consult with the Committee on Ways and 22 Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee 23 on Finance of the Senate regarding the proposed action. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H764.IH H764 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 764 IH (b) NOTICE.—Before taking any action authorized 1 under section 3(b)(2), the President shall— 2 (1) not less than 45 days before the date on 3 which imposition of an increased rate of duty on im- 4 ports of a good from a foreign country is to take ef- 5 fect, publish notice in the Federal Register of, and 6 allow for public comment on, the proposed imposi- 7 tion and level of such increased rate of duty; and 8 (2) seek advice regarding the proposed action 9 from the advisory committees established under sec- 10 tion 135 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 11 2155). 12 (c) ADDITIONAL NOTICE.—The President shall 13 promptly publish in the Federal Register notice of any ac- 14 tion taken pursuant to section 3(f) or 3(g). 15 SEC. 5. CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF PRESIDENTIAL 16 IMPOSITION OF RATES OF DUTY ON IMPORTS 17 OF GOODS FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES 18 UNDER SECTION 3(b)(2); DISAPPROVAL RESO- 19 LUTION. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—An action taken by the President 21 under section 3(b)(2) to impose a rate of duty on imports 22 of a good from a foreign country shall cease to have force 23 and effect upon the enactment of a disapproval resolution, 24 provided for in subsection (b), relating to that action. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H764.IH H764 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 764 IH (b) CONGRESSIONAL RULEMAKING POWER; DIS- 1 APPROVAL RESOLUTION.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section is enacted by 3 the Congress— 4 (A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power 5 of the House of Representatives and the Sen- 6 ate, respectively, and as such is deemed a part 7 of the rules of each House, respectively, but ap- 8 plicable only with respect to the procedures to 9 be followed in that House in the case of dis- 10 approval resolutions and such procedures super- 11 sede other rules only to the extent that they are 12 inconsistent therewith; and 13 (B) with the full recognition of the con- 14 stitutional right of either House to change the 15 rules (so far as relating to the procedure of that 16 House) at any time, in the same manner, and 17 to the same extent as any other rule of that 18 House. 19 (2) DISAPPROVAL RESOLUTION.—For purposes 20 of this section, the term ‘‘disapproval resolution’’ 21 means only a joint resolution of either House of 22 Congress the matter after the resolving clause of 23 which is as follows: ‘‘That the Congress disapproves 24 the action taken under section 3(b)(2) of the United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H764.IH H764 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 764 IH States Reciprocal Trade Act with respect to the im- 1 position of a rate of duty on imports of ll from 2 ll under such section 3(b)(2).’’, the first blank 3 space being filled with a description of the good with 4 respect to which the duty is imposed under section 5 3(b)(2) and the second blank being filled with the 6 name of the foreign country from which the good is 7 imported into the United States. 8 (3) CONSIDERATION.— 9 (A) INTRODUCTION.—All disapproval reso- 10 lutions introduced in the House of Representa- 11 tives shall be referred to the Committee on 12 Ways and Means and all disapproval resolutions 13 introduced in the Senate shall be referred to the 14 Committee on Finance. 15 (B) AMENDMENTS PROHIBITED; MOTIONS 16 TO SUSPEND APPLICATION OF THIS SUBPARA- 17 GRAPH PROHIBITED.—No amendment to a dis- 18 approval resolution shall be in order in either 19 the House of Representatives or the Senate, 20 and no motion to suspend the application of 21 this subparagraph shall be in order in either 22 House nor shall it be in order in either House 23 for the Presiding Officer to entertain a request 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H764.IH H764 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 764 IH to suspend the application of this subparagraph 1 by unanimous consent. 2 (C) MAJORITY REQUIRED FOR ADOP- 3 TION.—A disapproval resolution considered 4 under this subsection shall require an affirma- 5 tive vote of two-thirds of the Members, duly 6 chosen and sworn, for adoption. 7 SEC. 6. REPORT. 8 Before entering into a [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]