Global Trade Accountability Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1284 To provide for congressional review of the imposition of duties and other trade measures by the executive branch, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 2, 2019 Mr. LEE (for himself, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. MORAN, Mr. GARDNER, and Mr. BLUNT) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide for congressional review of the imposition of duties and other trade measures by the executive branch, 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 ‘‘Global Trade Account- 4 ability Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1284.IS S1284 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1284 IS SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF UNILATERAL TRADE 1 ACTIONS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title I of the Trade 3 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2191 et seq.) is amended by add- 4 ing at the end the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 155. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF UNILATERAL 6 TRADE ACTIONS. 7 ‘‘(a) UNILATERAL TRADE ACTION DEFINED.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 9 ‘unilateral trade action’ means any of the following 10 actions taken with respect to the importation of an 11 article pursuant to a provision of law specified in 12 paragraph (2): 13 ‘‘(A) A prohibition on importation of the 14 article. 15 ‘‘(B) The imposition of or an increase in a 16 duty applicable to the article. 17 ‘‘(C) The imposition or tightening of a tar- 18 iff-rate quota applicable to the article. 19 ‘‘(D) The imposition or tightening of a 20 quantitative restriction on the importation of 21 the article. 22 ‘‘(E) The suspension, withdrawal, or pre- 23 vention of the application of trade agreement 24 concessions with respect to the article. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1284.IS S1284 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1284 IS ‘‘(F) Any other restriction on importation 1 of the article. 2 ‘‘(2) PROVISIONS OF LAW SPECIFIED.—The 3 provisions of law specified in this paragraph are the 4 following: 5 ‘‘(A) Section 122. 6 ‘‘(B) Chapter 1 of title II. 7 ‘‘(C) Title III. 8 ‘‘(D) Section 406. 9 ‘‘(E) Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 10 (19 U.S.C. 1338). 11 ‘‘(F) Section 232 of the Trade Expansion 12 Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1862). 13 ‘‘(G) Section 103(a) of the Bipartisan 14 Congressional Trade Priorities and Account- 15 ability Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4202(a)). 16 ‘‘(H) The Trading with the Enemy Act (50 17 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.). 18 ‘‘(I) The International Emergency Eco- 19 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 20 ‘‘(J) Any provision of law enacted to im- 21 plement a trade agreement to which the United 22 States is a party. 23 ‘‘(K) Any provision of a trade agreement 24 to which the United States is a party. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1284.IS S1284 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1284 IS ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS 1 TO HARMONIZED TARIFF SCHEDULE.—A technical 2 correction to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 3 United States shall not be considered a unilateral 4 trade action for purposes of this section. 5 ‘‘(b) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL REQUIRED.—A 6 unilateral trade action may not take effect unless— 7 ‘‘(1) the President submits to Congress and to 8 the Comptroller General of the United States a re- 9 port that includes— 10 ‘‘(A) a description of the proposed unilat- 11 eral trade action; 12 ‘‘(B) the proposed effective period for the 13 action; 14 ‘‘(C) an economic cost-benefit analysis of 15 the action, including an assessment of— 16 ‘‘(i) whether the action is in the na- 17 tional economic interest of the United 18 States; and 19 ‘‘(ii) the macroeconomic effects of the 20 action on— 21 ‘‘(I) employment in the United 22 States; 23 ‘‘(II) the gross domestic product 24 of the United States; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1284.IS S1284 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1284 IS ‘‘(III) revenues and expenditures 1 of the Federal Government; and 2 ‘‘(D) a list of articles that will be affected 3 by the action by subheading number of the 4 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 5 States; and 6 ‘‘(2) a joint resolution of approval is enacted 7 pursuant to subsection (d) with respect to the ac- 8 tion. 9 ‘‘(c) REPORT OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Not 10 later than 30 days after the submission of the report re- 11 quired by subsection (b)(1) with respect to a proposed uni- 12 lateral trade action, the Comptroller General shall submit 13 to Congress a report on the proposed action that includes 14 an assessment of the compliance of the President with the 15 provision of law specified in subsection (a)(2) pursuant to 16 which the action would be taken. 17 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURES FOR JOINT RESOLUTION OF AP- 18 PROVAL.— 19 ‘‘(1) JOINT RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL DE- 20 FINED.—For purposes of this subsection, the term 21 ‘joint resolution of approval’ means a joint resolution 22 of either House of Congress that— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1284.IS S1284 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1284 IS ‘‘(A) states that Congress approves an ac- 1 tion proposed by the President in a report sub- 2 mitted under subsection (b)(1); and 3 ‘‘(B) describes the action being approved 4 by Congress. 5 ‘‘(2) INTRODUCTION.—During the period of 45 6 days after a House of Congress receives a report 7 under subsection (b)(1) with respect to a unilateral 8 trade action, a joint resolution of approval may be 9 introduced by any Member of that House. 10 ‘‘(3) COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION.— 11 ‘‘(A) REFERRAL.—A joint resolution of ap- 12 proval introduced in the House of Representa- 13 tives shall be referred to the Committee on 14 Ways and Means and a joint resolution of ap- 15 proval introduced in the Senate shall be re- 16 ferred to the Committee on Finance. 17 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION.—The Committee on 18 Ways and Means and the Committee on Fi- 19 nance may, in considering a joint resolution of 20 approval, hold such hearings and meetings and 21 solicit such testimony as the Committee con- 22 siders appropriate. 23 ‘‘(C) REPORTING.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1284.IS S1284 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1284 IS ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to sub- 1 paragraph (D), the Committee on Ways 2 and Means and the Committee on Finance 3 may, at any time after receiving a joint 4 resolution of approval, report the resolu- 5 tion favorably or unfavorably. 6 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT RESOLUTIONS.—If 7 a subsequent joint resolution of approval 8 relating to the same unilateral trade action 9 proposed in the same report submitted 10 under subsection (b)(1) is referred to the 11 Committee on Ways and Means or the 12 Committee on Finance after the first such 13 resolution is reported or discharged, the 14 subsequent resolution shall not be reported 15 under this subparagraph. 16 ‘‘(iii) PLACEMENT ON CALENDAR.—A 17 joint resolution of approval reported by the 18 Committee on Ways and Means or the 19 Committee on Finance shall lie over one 20 legislative day and then be placed on the 21 appropriate calendar. 22 ‘‘(D) DISCHARGE.— 23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Committee 24 on Ways and Means or the Committee on 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1284.IS S1284 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1284 IS Finance has not reported a joint resolution 1 of approval by the date that is 15 days 2 after the resolution is referred to the com- 3 mittee, the resolution shall be automati- 4 cally discharged from the committee and 5 placed on the appropriate calendar. 6 ‘‘(ii) PROHIBITION ON MOTIONS TO 7 RECOMMIT.—A motion to recommit a joint 8 resolution of approval shall not be in order. 9 ‘‘(iii) SUBSEQUENT RESOLUTIONS.—If 10 a subsequent joint resolution of approval 11 relating to the same unilateral trade action 12 proposed in the same report submitted 13 under subsection (b)(1) is referred to the 14 Committee on Ways and Means or the 15 Committee on Finance after the first such 16 resolution is reported or discharged, the 17 subsequent resolution shall not be dis- 18 charged under this subparagraph. 19 ‘‘(4) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.—In 20 the Senate: 21 ‘‘(A) MOTION TO PROCEED.— 22 ‘‘(i) TIMING.—A motion to proceed to 23 a joint resolution of approval is in order at 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1284.IS S1284 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1284 IS any time after the resolution is placed on 1 the calendar. 2 ‘‘(ii) MOTION BY ANY SENATOR.—Any 3 Senator may move to proceed to a joint 4 resolution of approval. 5 ‘‘(iii) PRIVILEGE.—A motion to pro- 6 ceed to the consideration of the joint reso- 7 lution of approval is privileged, except that 8 this clause shall apply only to a motion to 9 proceed to a joint resolution of approval 10 reported or discharged from the Committee 11 on Finance under paragraph (3) or to the 12 first joint resolution of approval placed on 13 the calendar after passage in the House of 14 Representatives. 15 ‘‘(iv) DEBATE.—Debate on a motion 16 to proceed to a joint resolution of approval 17 is limited to not more than 5 hours, equal- 18 ly divided between Senators favoring and 19 Senators opposing the resolution. 20 ‘‘(v) MOTION NOT AMENDABLE.—The 21 motion to proceed to the joint resolution of 22 approval is not amendable. A motion to re- 23 consider is not in order. A motion to table 24 is not in order. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1284.IS S1284 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1284 IS ‘‘(vi) OTHER MOTIONS NOT IN 1 ORDER.—After a motion to proceed to a 2 joint resolution of approval is agreed to, 3 motions to postpone or to consider other 4 business are not in order. 5 ‘‘(B) MOTIONS AND APPEALS.—All mo- 6 tions and appeals relating to a joint resolution 7 of approval shall be decided by the Senate with- 8 out debate. 9 ‘‘(5) CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REP- 10 RESENTATIVES.—In the House of Representatives, if 11 any committee to which a joint resolution of ap- 12 proval has been referred has not reported it to the 13 House at the end of 10 calendar days after its intro- 14 duction, such committee shall be discharged from 15 further consideration of the joint resolution, and it 16 shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. On 17 Thursdays it shall be in order at any time for the 18 Speaker to recognize a Member who favors passage 19 of a joint resolution that has appeared on the cal- 20 endar for at least 3 calendar days to call up that 21 joint resolution for immediate consideration in the 22 House without intervention of any point of order. 23 When so called up, a joint resolution shall be consid- 24 ered as read and shall be debatable for 1 hour equal- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1284.IS S1284 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1284 IS ly divided and controlled by the proponent and an 1 opponent, and the previous question shall be consid- 2 ered as ordered to its passage without intervening 3 motion. It shall not be in order to reconsider the 4 vote on passage. If a vote on final passage of the 5 joint resolution has not been taken on or before the 6 close of the 10th calendar day after the resolution 7 is reported by the committee or committees to which 8 it was referred, or after such committee or commit- 9 tees have been discharged from further consideration 10 of the resolution, such vote shall be taken on that 11 day. 12 ‘‘(6) RECEIPT OF RESOLUTION FROM OTHER 13 HOUSE.—If, before passing a joint resolution of ap- 14 proval, one House receives from the other a joint 15 resolution of approval from the other House, then— 16 ‘‘(A) the joint resolution of the other 17 House shall not be referred to a committee and 18 shall be deemed to have been discharged from 19 committee on the day it is received; and 20 ‘‘(B) the procedures set forth in paragraph 21 (4) or (5), as applicable, shall apply in the re- 22 ceiving House to the joint resolution received 23 from the other House to the same extent as 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1284.IS S1284 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1284 IS such procedures apply to a joint resolution of 1 the receiving House. 2 ‘‘(7) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 3 AND SENATE.—This subsection is enacted by Con- 4 gress— 5 ‘‘(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking 6 power of the House of Representatives and the 7 Senate, respectively, and as such is deemed a 8 part of the rules of each House, respectively, 9 and the rules provided for in this section super- 10 sede other rules only to the extent that they are 11 inconsistent with such other rules; and 12 ‘‘(B) with the full recognition of the con- 13 stitutional right of either House to change the 14 rules provided for in this section (so far as re- 15 lating to the procedures of that House) at any 16 time, in the same manner, and to the same ex- 17 tent as any other rule of that House. 18 ‘‘(e) REPORT BY THE UNITED STATES INTER- 19 NATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION.—Not later than 12 20 months after the date of a unilateral trade action taken 21 pursuant to this section, the United States International 22 Trade Commission shall submit to Congress a report on 23 the effects of the action on the United States economy, 24 including a comprehensive assessment of the economic ef- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1284.IS S1284 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 1284 IS fects of the action on producers and consumers in the 1 United States.’’. 2 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 3 for the Trade Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after 4 the item relating to section 154 the following: 5 ‘‘Sec. 155. Congressional review of unilateral trade actions.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1284.IS S1284 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS