United States Technical Assistance for Mexican Labor Capacity Building Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 3002 To amend the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 to increase amounts transferred to the Trade Enforcement Trust Fund and to require the use of certain amounts in the fund to implement labor obligations in a free trade agreement with Mexico, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 9, 2019 Ms. CANTWELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 to increase amounts transferred to the Trade Enforcement Trust Fund and to require the use of certain amounts in the fund to implement labor obliga- tions in a free trade agreement with Mexico, 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 Tech- 4 nical Assistance for Mexican Labor Capacity Building Act 5 of 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3002.IS S3002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 3002 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The Trade Enforcement Trust Fund was 3 established on February 24, 2016, with the enact- 4 ment of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforce- 5 ment Act of 2015 (Public Law 114–125). 6 (2) Congress created the Trade Enforcement 7 Trust Fund— 8 (A) to provide dedicated resources to en- 9 force the commitments and obligations under 10 the WTO Agreements (as defined in section 11 611(g) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade En- 12 forcement Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4405(g))) 13 and free trade agreements to which the United 14 States is a party; 15 (B) to monitor and ensure the full imple- 16 mentation by foreign trading partners of com- 17 mitments and obligations under free trade 18 agreements to which the United States is a 19 party; 20 (C) to investigate and respond to enforce- 21 ment petitions filed under section 302 of the 22 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2412); and 23 (D) to support capacity-building efforts 24 undertaken by the United States pursuant to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3002.IS S3002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 3002 IS free trade agreements to which the United 1 States is a party. 2 (3) Since its establishment, the Trade Enforce- 3 ment Trust Fund (under section 611 of the Trade 4 Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (19 5 U.S.C. 4405)) has supported efforts to investigate 6 discriminatory trade practices and enforce obliga- 7 tions relating to labor, the environment, intellectual 8 property, and trade in goods and services among 9 trading partners of the United States in Africa, 10 Asia, Europe, and South America. 11 (4) The renegotiation of the North American 12 Free Trade Agreement presents an opportunity to 13 further and expand the goals of the Trade Enforce- 14 ment Trust Fund with respect to Mexico and Can- 15 ada, particularly regarding the implementation and 16 enforcement by Mexico of labor obligations under 17 the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. 18 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF TRADE ENFORCEMENT TRUST 19 FUND. 20 (a) INCREASE OF AMOUNTS IN FUND.—Subsection 21 (b) of section 611 of the Trade Facilitation and Trade 22 Enforcement Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4405) is amended— 23 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking 24 ‘‘$15,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$90,000,000’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3002.IS S3002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 3002 IS (2) in paragraph (2), by striking 1 ‘‘$30,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$105,000,000’’. 2 (b) MODIFICATION OF ADMINISTRATION OF FUND.— 3 Subsection (d)(1) of such section is amended, in the mat- 4 ter preceding subparagraph (A)— 5 (1) by striking ‘‘relevant subordinate bodies of 6 the TPC’’ and inserting ‘‘, relevant subordinate bod- 7 ies of the TPC, and other Federal agencies as re- 8 quired by law’’; and 9 (2) by striking ‘‘, only as provided by appro- 10 priations Acts,’’. 11 (c) USE OF CERTAIN AMOUNTS TO IMPLEMENT 12 LABOR OBLIGATIONS IN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH 13 MEXICO.—Subsection (d) of such section is amended— 14 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para- 15 graph (3); and 16 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol- 17 lowing: 18 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION OF LABOR OBLIGATIONS 19 IN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH MEXICO.— 20 ‘‘(A) AMOUNTS FOR DEPARTMENT OF 21 LABOR.—Not less than $59,400,000 of the 22 amount transferred to the Trust Fund under 23 subsection (b)(1) each fiscal year shall be used 24 by the Department of Labor as follows: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3002.IS S3002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 3002 IS ‘‘(i) For the Office of Trade and 1 Labor Affairs at the Bureau of Inter- 2 national Labor Affairs of the Department 3 of Labor— 4 ‘‘(I) not less than $35,000,000— 5 ‘‘(aa) to monitor the en- 6 forcement by Mexico of obliga- 7 tions under a free trade agree- 8 ment between Mexico and the 9 United States, including laws and 10 practices related to the imple- 11 mentation by Mexico of labor 12 laws that relate to the labor obli- 13 gations in the agreement; 14 ‘‘(bb) to conduct capacity 15 building, provide technical assist- 16 ance, and promote the use of dig- 17 ital technologies to assist Mexico 18 with enforcement of those labor 19 laws; 20 ‘‘(cc) to assist Mexico in 21 making available online and in an 22 easily accessible format all cur- 23 rent collective bargaining agree- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3002.IS S3002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 3002 IS ments in Federal and local juris- 1 dictions in Mexico; 2 ‘‘(dd) to inspect facilities in 3 Mexico to determine whether 4 those facilities are complying 5 with those labor laws; 6 ‘‘(ee) to cooperate with Can- 7 ada, the International Labour 8 Organization, and international 9 financial institutions with respect 10 to monitoring the labor obliga- 11 tions in the agreement that apply 12 to Mexico; 13 ‘‘(ff) in coordination with 14 nongovernmental organizations 15 that have a history of working 16 with independent labor unions on 17 labor rights advocacy, to fund 18 programs to improve working 19 conditions, educate workers about 20 labor rights, and strengthen the 21 capacity of independent workers’ 22 organizations in Mexico; and 23 ‘‘(gg) to support a long-term 24 commitment by the Bureau of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3002.IS S3002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 3002 IS International Labor Affairs to 1 promote sustainable, independent 2 worker organizations in Mexico; 3 and 4 ‘‘(II) not less than $2,100,000 to 5 provide for 12 full-time equivalent 6 personnel to monitor, report on, and 7 assist with the implementation by 8 Mexico of labor law that relate to the 9 labor obligations in the agreement. 10 ‘‘(ii) For the Office of Child Labor, 11 Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking at 12 the Bureau of International Labor Affairs 13 of the Department of Labor— 14 ‘‘(I) not less than $20,000,000— 15 ‘‘(aa) to combat child labor 16 and forced labor in Mexico and to 17 report on the prevalence of child 18 labor and forced labor in Mexico; 19 and 20 ‘‘(bb) to support technical 21 assistance and cooperation efforts 22 to combat child labor and forced 23 labor in Mexico; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3002.IS S3002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 3002 IS ‘‘(II) not less than $1,400,000 to 1 provide for 8 full-time equivalent per- 2 sonnel to research, monitor, and re- 3 port on the effective enforcement by 4 Mexico of its child labor laws and 5 forced labor laws. 6 ‘‘(iii) Not less than $900,000 to pro- 7 vide for 3 permanent Labor Attache´s at 8 the United States Embassy in Mexico or 9 consulates of the United States in Mexico 10 to monitor, report on, and assist with the 11 implementation by Mexico of labor laws 12 that relate to the labor obligations in the 13 agreement, including one attache´ to mon- 14 itor, report on, and assist with efforts to 15 combat child labor in Mexico. 16 ‘‘(B) AMOUNTS FOR UNITED STATES 17 AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOP- 18 MENT.—Not less than $15,600,000 of the 19 amount transferred to the Trust Fund under 20 subsection (b)(1) each fiscal year shall be used 21 by the United States Agency for International 22 Development as follows: 23 ‘‘(i) To monitor anti-corruption obli- 24 gations and obligations intended to pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3002.IS S3002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 3002 IS mote the rule of law in a free trade agree- 1 ment between Mexico and the United 2 States and to provide capacity building, 3 technical assistance, and judicial and legal 4 training related to that monitoring. 5 ‘‘(ii) To conduct capacity building and 6 provide technical assistance to assist Mex- 7 ico with enforcement of labor laws that re- 8 late to the labor obligations in the agree- 9 ment. 10 ‘‘(C) USE OF NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANI- 11 ZATIONS.—Amounts may be expended under 12 subparagraphs (A) and (B) through the award 13 of grants to nongovernmental organizations. 14 ‘‘(D) STATUS OF LABOR COMMITMENTS 15 AND COORDINATION OF ASSISTANCE.—Not less 16 frequently than biannually, the Secretary of 17 Labor, the Administrator of the United States 18 Agency for International Development, the 19 United States Trade Representative, and the 20 Secretary of State shall meet to discuss the sta- 21 tus of labor commitments under a free trade 22 agreement between Mexico and the United 23 States and the coordination of activities and as- 24 sistance under subparagraphs (A) and (B). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3002.IS S3002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 3002 IS ‘‘(E) ANNUAL REPORTS ON AMOUNTS 1 SPENT.— 2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not less fre- 3 quently than annually, the Secretary of 4 Labor and the Administrator of the United 5 States Agency for International Develop- 6 ment shall each submit to the Committee 7 on Finance of the Senate and the Com- 8 mittee on Ways and Means of the House 9 of Representatives and make available to 10 the public a report on— 11 ‘‘(I) how amounts described in 12 subparagraphs (A) and (B) were 13 spent and what outcomes were 14 achieved during the year covered by 15 the report; and 16 ‘‘(II) proposed future allocations 17 and priorities for those amounts. 18 ‘‘(ii) ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTIVE- 19 NESS.—The Secretary of Labor and the 20 Administrator of the United States Agency 21 for International Development shall include 22 in each report submitted under clause (i) 23 an assessment of the effectiveness of past 24 expenditures and proposed future alloca- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3002.IS S3002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 3002 IS tions in achieving the goals described in 1 subparagraphs (A) and (B).’’. 2 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Subsection (e) of such sec- 3 tion is amended— 4 (1) in the subsection heading by striking ‘‘RE- 5 PORT’’ and inserting ‘‘REPORTS’’; 6 (2) by striking ‘‘Not’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) RE- 7 PORT ON ACTIONS TAKEN WITH RESPECT TO 8 AGREEMENTS.—Not’’; and 9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT ON ACTIONS TAKEN.— 11 Not later than one year after the date of the enact- 12 ment of the United States Technical Assistance for 13 Mexican Labor Capacity Building Act of 2019, and 14 annually thereafter, the United States Trade Rep- 15 resentative, in consultation with the Federal agen- 16 cies represented on the TPC, shall submit to Con- 17 gress a report on the actions taken under subsection 18 (d) during the year covered by the report.’’. 19 (e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Increased fund- 20 ing for efforts relating to trade enforcement, trade capac- 21 ity building, and foreign assistance efforts pursuant to the 22 amendments made by this section shall supplement, not 23 supplant, existing funding for those efforts. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3002.IS S3002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 3002 IS SEC. 4. REPORT ON STATUS OF LABOR OBLIGATIONS WITH 1 RESPECT TO MEXICO. 2 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 3 ment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the Sec- 4 retary of Labor shall submit to the Committee on Finance 5 of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of 6 the House of Representatives a report on the status of 7 the laws and regulations in Mexico that are intended to 8 implement the labor obligations of Mexico under a free 9 trade agreement between Mexico and the United States 10 and an assessment of the effectiveness of those laws and 11 regulations. 12 SEC. 5. LABOR ENFORCEMENT TRIGGER WITH RESPECT TO 13 MEXICO. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after the 15 date on which a majority of the members of the Labor 16 Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade 17 Policy request that the United States Trade Representa- 18 tive and the Secretary of Labor investigate a covered labor 19 matter, the Trade Representative and the Secretary shall 20 submit to the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Nego- 21 tiations and Trade Policy, the Committee on Finance of 22 the Senate, and the Committee on Ways and Means of 23 the House of Representatives a report— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3002.IS S3002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 3002 IS (1) indicating whether the Trade Representative 1 and the Secretary plan to investigate the covered 2 labor matter; and 3 (2) if the Trade Representative and the Sec- 4 retary do not plan to investigate the matter, explain- 5 ing why not. 6 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—A request under 7 subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, a description 8 of the covered labor matter requested to be investigated 9 under that subsection and any related documentary evi- 10 dence. 11 (c) MANNER OF REQUEST.—A request may be made 12 under subsection (a) by— 13 (1) a notification to the United States Trade 14 Representative, the Secretary of Labor, the Com- 15 mittee on Finance of the Sena [Text truncated for display. 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