United States Reciprocal Trade Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2409 To authorize the President to take certain actions relating to reciprocal trade, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 31, 2019 Mr. GRAHAM (for himself and Mr. MANCHIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 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 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The United States maintains an open mar- 8 ket for goods, with relatively low tariffs, and has 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2409.IS S2409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2409 IS long encouraged trading partners, both bilaterally 1 and in multilateral fora, to liberalize their markets. 2 (2) The United States is the largest importer of 3 goods in the world. 4 (3) Trading partners of the United States in 5 many instances impose significantly higher tariffs on 6 United States goods than the United States imposes 7 on the same or similar goods imported from those 8 same countries. 9 (4) Trading partners of the United States in 10 many instances impose significant nontariff barriers 11 that greatly undermine the value of negotiated tariff 12 concessions. 13 (5) The lack of reciprocity in tariff levels and 14 disproportionate use of nontariff barriers by trading 15 partners of the United States facilitates foreign im- 16 ports, discourages United States exports, and puts 17 producers, farmers, and workers in the United 18 States at a competitive disadvantage. 19 (6) The lack of reciprocity in tariff levels and 20 nontariff barriers contributes to the large and grow- 21 ing United States trade deficit in goods, which is a 22 drag on economic growth and undermines economic 23 prosperity. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2409.IS S2409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2409 IS (7) To date a number of trading partners of the 1 United States have been unwilling, including in mul- 2 tilateral negotiations, to reduce tariffs and eliminate 3 nontariff barriers applied to United States exports. 4 (8) The United States should seek action by 5 trading partners of the United States to lower tar- 6 iffs and eliminate nontariff barriers, to promote effi- 7 ciency in those markets and enhance opportunities 8 for producers, farmers, and workers in the United 9 States. 10 (9) The President should have a wide array of 11 tools to open the markets of trading partners of the 12 United States and encourage participation in nego- 13 tiations to liberalize trade in goods on a fair and re- 14 ciprocal basis, including the authority to adjust tar- 15 iff rates to reciprocal levels. 16 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO TAKE CERTAIN ACTIONS RELATING 17 TO RECIPROCAL TRADE. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President may take one or 19 more of the actions specified in subsection (b) if the Presi- 20 dent determines 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 the rate of duty imposed by the United States with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2409.IS S2409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2409 IS respect to that good, when imported from that coun- 1 try; 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 (b) ACTIONS SPECIFIED.—The actions specified in 13 this subsection are the following: 14 (1) To negotiate and seek to enter into an 15 agreement with the foreign country that commits the 16 country to reduce the rate of duty or reduce or 17 eliminate nontariff barriers with respect to the good 18 that is the subject of the determination under sub- 19 section (a). 20 (2) To impose a rate of duty on imports of the 21 good that is equal to— 22 (A) in the case of a determination de- 23 scribed in subsection (a)(1), the rate of duty 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2409.IS S2409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2409 IS imposed by the foreign country with respect to 1 the good; or 2 (B) in the case of a determination de- 3 scribed in subsection (a)(2), the effective rate of 4 duty of the nontariff barriers applied by the 5 foreign country with respect to the good, alone 6 or in combination with any tariffs imposed by 7 that country on that good. 8 (c) FACTORS.—In taking an action specified in sub- 9 section (b), the President shall consider the following fac- 10 tors: 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 foreign country 24 to the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2409.IS S2409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2409 IS (5) The level of exports of the good by the for- 1 eign country to the United States and to other coun- 2 tries. 3 (6) In the case of a determination described in 4 subsection (a)(1), the extent to which the rate of 5 duty applied by the foreign country with respect to 6 the good is impeding or distorting trade. 7 (7) In the case of a determination described in 8 subsection (a)(2)— 9 (A) the extent of the nontariff barriers ap- 10 plied by the foreign country with respect to the 11 good and the extent of the nontariff barriers 12 applied by the United States with respect to the 13 good; 14 (B) the extent to which the nontariff bar- 15 riers applied by the foreign country with respect 16 to the good, alone or in combination with any 17 tariffs imposed by that country on that good, 18 are impeding or distorting trade; 19 (C) the identified purpose of the nontariff 20 barriers applied by the foreign country with re- 21 spect to the good, if any, and the extent to 22 which the nontariff barriers are more restrictive 23 than necessary to meet that purpose; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2409.IS S2409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2409 IS (D) the degree of transparency of the proc- 1 ess by which the foreign country adopted the 2 nontariff barriers. 3 (8) Such other factors as the President deter- 4 mines appropriate. 5 (d) ROLE OF USTR.—In the case of a determination 6 described in subsection (a)(2), the United States Trade 7 Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of the 8 Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of 9 other relevant Federal agencies, shall advise the President 10 in determining the effective rate of duty imposed by the 11 nontariff barriers applied by a foreign country with re- 12 spect to a good, alone or in combination with any tariffs 13 imposed by that country on that good. 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 04:26 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2409.IS S2409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2409 IS 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 described in 10 subsection (a)(1) with respect to the good; or 11 (B) applying nontariff barriers described in 12 subsection (a)(2) with respect to the good; or 13 (2) continued imposition of the increased rate 14 of duty on imports of the good from the foreign 15 country is not in the economic or public interest of 16 the United States. 17 SEC. 4. NOTICE, CONSULTATION, AND REPORT. 18 (a) NEGOTIATIONS AND AGREEMENT.—Before tak- 19 ing any action under section 3(b)(1), the President shall 20 provide notice to and consult with the Committee on Fi- 21 nance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and 22 Means of the House of Representatives regarding the pro- 23 posed action. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2409.IS S2409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2409 IS (b) IMPOSITION OF DUTY.—Before taking any action 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 subsection (e), (f), or (g) of section 15 3. 16 (d) REPORT.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Before entering into an 18 agreement with a foreign country under section 19 3(b)(1), the United States Trade Representative 20 shall submit to the appropriate congressional com- 21 mittees and leadership a report that describes— 22 (A) the implementation of the agreement, 23 including how it is consistent with and does not 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2409.IS S2409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2409 IS materially differ from or otherwise affect Fed- 1 eral or State laws; 2 (B) the impact of the agreement on the 3 competitiveness of businesses in the United 4 States; and 5 (C) the impact of the agreement on con- 6 sumers in the United States. 7 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 8 TEES AND LEADERSHIP.—In this subsection, the 9 term ‘‘appropriate congressional committees and 10 leadership’’ means— 11 (A) the Committee on Ways and Means of 12 the House of Representatives and the Com- 13 mittee on Finance of the Senate; and 14 (B) the Speaker of the House of Rep- 15 resentatives, the minority leader of the House 16 of Representatives, the majority leader of the 17 Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate. 18 SEC. 5. CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF PRESIDENTIAL 19 IMPOSITION OF RATES OF DUTY ON IMPORTS 20 OF GOODS FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—An action taken by the President 22 under section 3(b)(2) to impose a rate of duty on imports 23 of a good from a foreign country shall cease to have force 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2409.IS S2409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2409 IS and effect upon the enactment of a disapproval resolution 1 relating to that action. 2 (b) DISAPPROVAL RESOLUTION.— 3 (1) DISAPPROVAL RESOLUTION.—For purposes 4 of this section, the term ‘‘disapproval resolution’’ 5 means only a joint resolution of either House of 6 Congress the matter after the resolving clause of 7 which is as follows: ‘‘That Congress disapproves the 8 action taken under section 3(b)(2) of the United 9 States Reciprocal Trade Act with respect to the im- 10 position of a rate of duty on imports of ll from 11 ll under such section 3(b)(2).’’, the first blank 12 space being filled with a description of the good with 13 respect to which the duty is imposed under section 14 3(b)(2) and the second blank being filled with the 15 name of the foreign country from which the good is 16 imported into the United States. 17 (2) CONSIDERATION.— 18 (A) INTRODUCTION.—All disapproval reso- 19 lutions introduced in the House of Representa- 20 tives shall be referred to the Committee on 21 Ways and Means and all disapproval resolutions 22 introduced in the Senate shall be referred to the 23 Committee on Finance. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2409.IS S2409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2409 IS (B) AMENDMENTS PROHIBITED; MOTIONS 1 TO SUSPEND APPLICATION OF THIS SUBPARA- 2 GRAPH PROHIBITED.—No amendment to a dis- 3 approval resolution shall be in order in either 4 the House of Representatives or the Senate, 5 and no motion to suspend the application of 6 this subparagraph shall be in order in either 7 House nor shall it be in order in either House 8 for the Presiding Officer to entertain a request 9 to suspend the application of this subparagraph 10 by unanimous consent. 11 (C) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF 12 REPRESENTATIVES.— 13 (i) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—If 14 the Committee on Ways and Means has 15 not reported a disapproval resolution with- 16 in 10 legislative days after the date of re- 17 ferral, that committee shall be discharged 18 from further consideration thereof. 19 (ii) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDER- 20 ATION.— [Text truncated for display. 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