Championing American Business Through Diplomacy Act of 2019

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1704 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 8, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT To foster commercial relations with foreign countries and support United States economic and business interests abroad in the conduct of foreign policy, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1704.RFS H1704 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 1704 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Championing Amer- 2 ican Business Through Diplomacy Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) According to the 2017 National Security 6 Strategy of the United States of America, ‘‘Retain- 7 ing our position as the world’s preeminent economic 8 actor strengthens our ability to use the tools of eco- 9 nomic diplomacy for the good of Americans and oth- 10 ers.’’. 11 (2) A November 7, 2018, cable from Secretary 12 of State Michael R. Pompeo to all diplomatic and 13 consular posts—‘‘Boosting Commercial Diplomacy 14 Around the World’’—stated that ‘‘helping American 15 companies is a foreign policy priority * * *. Pro- 16 moting broad-based, responsible, and sustainable 17 economic growth helps to stabilize regions and cre- 18 ates new and growing markets for U.S. companies. 19 A transparent and level playing field for U.S. invest- 20 ment in these countries counters real and growing 21 challenges such as China’s Belt and Road initia- 22 tive.’’. 23 (3) In the January–February 2019 issue of The 24 Foreign Service Journal, Ambassador Barbara Ste- 25 phenson, the President of the American Foreign 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1704.RFS H1704 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 1704 RFS Service Association, wrote ‘‘Foreign Service support 1 for American business * * * is a major reason why 2 the U.S. Foreign Service was created.’’. 3 SEC. 3. ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT 4 OF STATE. 5 Subsection (c) of section 1 of the State Department 6 Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a) is 7 amended— 8 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para- 9 graph (4); and 10 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol- 11 lowing new paragraph: 12 ‘‘(3) ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC 13 AND BUSINESS MATTERS.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the numer- 15 ical limitation specified in paragraph (1), there 16 is authorized to be established in the Depart- 17 ment of State an Assistant Secretary of State 18 who shall be responsible to the Secretary of 19 State for matters pertaining to international ec- 20 onomics and business matters in the conduct of 21 foreign policy. 22 ‘‘(B) MATTERS CONTEMPLATED.—The 23 matters referred to in subparagraph (A) include 24 the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1704.RFS H1704 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 1704 RFS ‘‘(i) International trade and invest- 1 ment policy. 2 ‘‘(ii) International finance, economic 3 development, and debt policy. 4 ‘‘(iii) Economic sanctions and com- 5 bating terrorist financing. 6 ‘‘(iv) International transportation pol- 7 icy. 8 ‘‘(v) Support for United States busi- 9 nesses. 10 ‘‘(vi) Economic policy analysis and 11 private sector outreach. 12 ‘‘(vii) International data privacy and 13 innovation policies. 14 ‘‘(viii) Such other related duties as 15 the Secretary may from time to time des- 16 ignate.’’. 17 SEC. 4. CHIEF OF MISSION RESPONSIBILITIES. 18 Section 207 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 19 U.S.C. 3927) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 20 lowing new subsection: 21 ‘‘(d) PROMOTION OF UNITED STATES ECONOMIC IN- 22 TERESTS.—Each chief of mission to a foreign country 23 shall have as a principal duty the promotion of United 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1704.RFS H1704 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 1704 RFS States economic and commercial interests in such coun- 1 try.’’. 2 SEC. 5. INCREASED TRAINING IN ECONOMIC AND COMMER- 3 CIAL DIPLOMACY. 4 Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 5 U.S.C. 4028) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 6 lowing new subsection: 7 ‘‘(d) ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL DIPLOMACY.— 8 The Secretary of State, with the assistance of other rel- 9 evant officials and the private sector, shall establish as 10 part of the standard training provided for economic and 11 commercial officers of the Foreign Service, chiefs of mis- 12 sion, and deputy chiefs of mission, training on matters re- 13 lated to economic and commercial diplomacy, with par- 14 ticular attention to market access and other elements of 15 an enabling framework for United States businesses, com- 16 mercial advocacy, and United States foreign economic pol- 17 icy, in addition to awareness about the support of the 18 United States Government available to United States busi- 19 nesses, including support provided by the Department of 20 Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Export- 21 Import Bank of the United States, the Millennium Chal- 22 lenge Corporation, the Trade and Development Agency, 23 the Department of the Treasury, the United States Agen- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1704.RFS H1704 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 HR 1704 RFS cy for International Development, and the United States 1 International Development Finance Corporation.’’. 2 SEC. 6. REPORT FROM EACH MISSION ON MATTERS OF 3 COMMERCIAL RELATIONS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 5 date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, 6 the chief of mission at each bilateral diplomatic mission 7 of the United States and the Director of the American 8 Institute in Taiwan shall submit to the Secretary of State 9 the following: 10 (1) Data and other information regarding ac- 11 tions taken by each such mission or Institute during 12 the previous year to foster commercial relations and 13 safeguard United States economic and business in- 14 terests in the country or region in which each such 15 chief of mission and the Director serves. 16 (2) Each such mission’s and Institute’s antici- 17 pated economic and commercial priorities for the 18 coming year. 19 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of State, 20 after receiving the information required under subsection 21 (a), shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 22 the House of Representatives and the Committee on For- 23 eign Relations of the Senate a report, disaggregated by 24 country or region, on activities and initiatives, including 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1704.RFS H1704 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 HR 1704 RFS with appropriate examples, to create an enabling environ- 1 ment and otherwise promote United States economic and 2 business interests in each such country or region, as well 3 as information about significant foreign competition to 4 United States businesses in the relevant country or region, 5 including state-directed investments by foreign govern- 6 ments and United States strategic competitors in such 7 country or region. 8 SEC. 7. REPORT ON UNIFIED INVESTMENT CLIMATE STATE- 9 MENT AND COUNTRY COMMERCIAL GUIDE. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State and the 11 Secretary of Commerce shall jointly produce and make 12 publicly available on a United States Government internet 13 website an annual country- and region-specific report re- 14 garding commercial relations with foreign countries and 15 regions and safeguarding United States economic and 16 business interests abroad, including with regard to United 17 States exports and investments, including by small- and 18 medium-size enterprises. 19 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—Each report re- 20 quired under subsection (a) shall include the following 21 with respect to each country or region covered by each 22 such report: 23 (1) Information about doing business in each 24 country or region. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1704.RFS H1704 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 HR 1704 RFS (2) Background information about each coun- 1 try’s or region’s political environment. 2 (3) Information about selling United States 3 products and services in each country or region. 4 (4) Leading sectors for United States exports 5 and investment in each country or region. 6 (5) Information about trade regulations, cus- 7 toms, and standards in each country or region, such 8 as— 9 (A) information on import tariffs; and 10 (B) documentation about which United 11 States businesses should be aware when export- 12 ing, including any prohibited items or tem- 13 porary entry procedures. 14 (6) Investment climate statements describing 15 each country’s or region’s openness to foreign invest- 16 ments, such as information relating to each coun- 17 try’s or region’s— 18 (A) investment policies; 19 (B) market barriers; 20 (C) business risks; 21 (D) legal and regulatory system, including 22 dispute resolution; 23 (E) level of public and private sector cor- 24 ruption; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1704.RFS H1704 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 HR 1704 RFS (F) level of political violence and insta- 1 bility; 2 (G) adherence to internationally recognized 3 core labor standards; and 4 (H) protection of property rights. 5 (7) Information about trade and project financ- 6 ing in each country or region, such as each country’s 7 or region’s— 8 (A) banking and financial system, and how 9 United States businesses typically get paid; 10 (B) foreign exchange controls; and 11 (C) important sources of funding for 12 project financing. 13 (8) Relevant business travel information and 14 business customs in each country or region. 15 (9) Information about services and personnel of 16 the diplomatic mission of the United States available 17 to United States businesses to support their activi- 18 ties in each country or region. 19 (10) Any significant trade or commercial agree- 20 ment that exists between the United States and each 21 country or region. 22 (11) A point of contact at the diplomatic or 23 consular mission of the United States in each coun- 24 try or region for United States businesses. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1704.RFS H1704 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 HR 1704 RFS SEC. 8. IMPROVING AWARENESS OF UNITED STATES GOV- 1 ERNMENT TOOLS AND SERVICES TO SUP- 2 PORT UNITED STATES BUSINESSES OVER- 3 SEAS. 4 The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Com- 5 merce shall take actions to improve United States busi- 6 nesses’ awareness of United States Government tools and 7 services to assist such businesses overseas, especially small 8 and medium-sized enterprises, including by coordinating 9 with State trade agencies, Export Assistance Centers, and 10 Small Businesses Development Centers. 11 SEC. 9. NEGOTIATIONS TO ESTABLISH INTERNATIONAL 12 QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT 13 STANDARDS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the 15 Secretary of State, and in coordination with other relevant 16 Federal agency heads, shall initiate and pursue negotia- 17 tions with countries to establish international standards 18 for government-supported quality infrastructure invest- 19 ment overseas, including with respect to the following: 20 (1) Respect for the sovereignty of countries in 21 which infrastructure investments are made. 22 (2) Anti-corruption. 23 (3) Fiscal and debt sustainability. 24 (4) Environmental, social and governance safe- 25 guards. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1704.RFS H1704 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 HR 1704 RFS (5) Local labor. 1 (6) Transparency. 2 (b) REPORT ON PROGRESS OF NEGOTIATIONS.—Not 3 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 4 the President shall provide a briefing to the Committee 5 on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and 6 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate on the 7 progress of any negotiations described in subsection (a). 8 SEC. 10. REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE 9 UNITED STATES. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 12 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 13 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 14 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report 15 on United States economic and commercial diplomacy. 16 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re- 17 quired under subsection (a) shall include an assessment 18 of the following: 19 (1) What is known about the effectiveness of 20 United States economic and commercial diplomacy 21 in influencing foreign governments and supporting 22 United States businesses abroad. 23 (2) Coordination between the Department of 24 State and the Department of Commerce with respect 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1704.RFS H1704 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 HR 1704 RFS to United States economic and commercial diplo- 1 macy. 2 (3) The effectiveness of training provided pur- 3 suant to subsection (d) of section 708 of the Foreign 4 Service Act of 1980 (as added by section 4 of this 5 Act) on matters relating to economic and commer- 6 cial diplomacy. 7 (4) The status and effectiveness of actions 8 taken by the Secretary of State under section 7 of 9 this Act regarding commercial relations with foreign 10 countries and regions and safeguarding United 11 States economic and business interests abroad. 12 (5) Recommendations to improve United States 13 economic and commercial diplomacy. 14 Passed the House of Representatives May 7, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1704.RFS H1704 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS