Women’s Economic Empowerment in Trade Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4007 To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to modify the eligibility requirements for the Generalized System of Preferences to strengthen worker protec- tions and to ensure that beneficiary developing countries afford equal rights and protection under the law, regardless of gender, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 18, 2020 Mr. CASEY (for himself and Ms. CORTEZ MASTO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to modify the eligibility requirements for the Generalized System of Preferences to strengthen worker protections and to ensure that ben- eficiary developing countries afford equal rights and pro- tection under the law, regardless of gender, 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 ‘‘Women’s Economic 4 Empowerment in Trade Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4007.IS S4007 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4007 IS SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 1 FOR GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREF- 2 ERENCES. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 502 of the Trade Act of 4 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2462) is amended— 5 (1) in subsection (b)(2)— 6 (A) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘has 7 not taken or is not taking steps to’’ and insert- 8 ing ‘‘does not substantially’’; 9 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (H) 10 the following: 11 ‘‘(I) Such country does not substantially 12 afford equal rights and protection under the 13 law, regardless of gender, in the country (in- 14 cluding in any designated zone in that country). 15 ‘‘(J) Such country engages in gross viola- 16 tions of internationally recognized human rights 17 in that country (including any designated zone 18 in that country).’’; and 19 (C) in the flush text, by striking ‘‘and (H) 20 (to the extent described in section 507(6)(D))’’ 21 and inserting ‘‘(H) (to the extent described in 22 section 507(6)(D)), and (I)’’; and 23 (2) in subsection (c)— 24 (A) in paragraph (6)(B), by striking ‘‘; 25 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4007.IS S4007 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4007 IS (B) by striking paragraph (7) and insert- 1 ing the following: 2 ‘‘(7) the extent to which such country affords to 3 workers in that country (including any designated 4 zone in that country) internationally recognized 5 worker rights; and 6 ‘‘(8) the extent to which such country affords 7 equal rights and protection under the law, regardless 8 of gender, in that country (including any designated 9 zone in that country).’’. 10 (b) COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMA- 11 TION ON ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—Section 502 of the 12 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2462) is amended by add- 13 ing at the end the following: 14 ‘‘(g) COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMA- 15 TION ON ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—The President shall— 16 ‘‘(1) collect, from the United States embassy in 17 each country designated as a beneficiary developing 18 country for purposes of this title, information on the 19 extent to which the country meets the eligibility cri- 20 teria described in subparagraphs (G), (H), and (I) 21 of subsection (b)(2); and 22 ‘‘(2) publish on a publicly accessible internet 23 website of the Office of the United States Trade 24 Representative— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4007.IS S4007 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4007 IS ‘‘(A) the information collected under para- 1 graph (1); and 2 ‘‘(B) information on the process for filing 3 a petition for the review of the eligibility of a 4 country for designation as a beneficiary devel- 5 oping country. 6 ‘‘(h) PUBLICATION OF DETERMINATIONS RELATING 7 TO PETITIONS FOR REVIEW.—The United States Trade 8 Representative shall publish in the Federal Register a no- 9 tice of, and the rationale for, any determination of the 10 Trade Representative with respect to a petition for review 11 of the eligibility of a country for designation as a bene- 12 ficiary developing country, including a determination— 13 ‘‘(1) to accept or deny such a petition; 14 ‘‘(2) to continue to review the eligibility of the 15 country; or 16 ‘‘(3) to withdraw, suspend, or limit the applica- 17 tion of duty-free treatment under this title with re- 18 spect to the country.’’. 19 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 507 of the Trade Act of 20 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2467) is amended— 21 (1) in paragraph (4)— 22 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘; 23 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4007.IS S4007 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4007 IS (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the 1 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 2 (C) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(F) the elimination of all forms of dis- 4 crimination with respect to occupation and em- 5 ployment; and 6 ‘‘(G) the elimination of all forms of vio- 7 lence and harassment in the world of work, in- 8 cluding gender-based violence and harass- 9 ment.’’; and 10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(7) EQUAL RIGHTS AND PROTECTION UNDER 12 THE LAW.—The term ‘equal rights and protection 13 under the law’ refers to measures that provide the 14 same rights, privileges, and protections to all citi- 15 zens, including legal protections to ensure equal ac- 16 cess and protections on the basis of gender regard- 17 less of marital status, including with respect to— 18 ‘‘(A) all internationally recognized worker 19 rights; 20 ‘‘(B) mobility, including obtaining identi- 21 fication that allows for mobility; 22 ‘‘(C) employment conditions, including op- 23 portunities, remuneration including benefits and 24 equal treatment and pay in respect of work of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4007.IS S4007 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4007 IS equal value and protections from dismissal and 1 other adverse employment actions on the 2 grounds of pregnancy; 3 ‘‘(D) access to financial services, including 4 bank accounts, loans, mortgages, and credit; 5 ‘‘(E) assets, including property and inher- 6 itance rights; 7 ‘‘(F) access to education; 8 ‘‘(G) access to public institutions, including 9 courts; 10 ‘‘(H) protections from violence and harass- 11 ment, including gender-based violence and har- 12 assment; 13 ‘‘(I) marriage, divorce, and child custody; 14 and 15 ‘‘(J) participation in all levels of govern- 16 ment and nongovernmental organizations and 17 associations concerned with the public and po- 18 litical life of the country.’’. 19 SEC. 3. SUPPLEMENTAL REVIEW AND REPORTING. 20 (a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the pol- 21 icy of the United States to support gender equality and 22 worker rights by promoting legal reforms that address 23 legal, structural, and social barriers that constrain the full 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4007.IS S4007 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4007 IS and free economic participation of all workers in the global 1 economy. 2 (b) REVIEW OF COMPLIANCE.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Trade Act of 4 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) is amended by insert- 5 ing after section 504 the following: 6 ‘‘SEC. 504A. REVIEW OF COMPLIANCE RELATING TO INTER- 7 NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED WORKER RIGHTS 8 AND EQUAL RIGHTS AND PROTECTION 9 UNDER THE LAW. 10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than annu- 11 ally, the United States Trade Representative and the Dep- 12 uty Undersecretary of Labor for International Affairs, in 13 consultation with the policy advisory committee on labor 14 established under section 135(c)(1), shall jointly— 15 ‘‘(1) review the laws of each beneficiary devel- 16 oping country related to the compliance of the coun- 17 try with internationally recognized worker rights and 18 the affording of equal rights and protection under 19 the law, regardless of gender, in each of the cat- 20 egories described in subsection (b); 21 ‘‘(2) assess the legal rights and protections af- 22 forded in such counties and the extent to which the 23 country continues to meet the eligibility criteria de- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4007.IS S4007 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4007 IS scribed in subparagraphs (G), (H), and (I) of section 1 502(b)(2); and 2 ‘‘(3) submit to Congress a report on the laws 3 of and legal rights and protections afforded in such 4 countries. 5 ‘‘(b) CATEGORIES DESCRIBED.—The categories de- 6 scribed in this subsection are the following: 7 ‘‘(1) Internationally recognized worker rights. 8 ‘‘(2) Mobility. 9 ‘‘(3) Employment conditions, benefits and pay, 10 including equal pay for equal work and removal of 11 employment restrictions. 12 ‘‘(4) Entrepreneurship. 13 ‘‘(5) Assets, including property and inheritance 14 rights. 15 ‘‘(6) Equal access to education. 16 ‘‘(7) Access to institutions. 17 ‘‘(8) Protections from violence and harassment, 18 including gender-based violence and harassment. 19 ‘‘(9) Marriage, divorce, and child custody. 20 ‘‘(c) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—If, in the report re- 21 quired by subsection (a) for 5 consecutive years, the Trade 22 Representative and the Deputy Undersecretary, in con- 23 sultation with the policy advisory committee on labor es- 24 tablished under section 135(c)(1), determine that the laws 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4007.IS S4007 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4007 IS of and legal rights and protections afforded in a bene- 1 ficiary developing country fail to meet the eligibility cri- 2 teria described in subparagraphs (G), (H), and (I) of sec- 3 tion 502(b)(2), the benefits provided to that country under 4 this title shall be reduced by such amount and in such 5 manner as the Trade Representative considers appro- 6 priate. 7 ‘‘(d) METRICS.—The Trade Representative and the 8 Deputy Undersecretary shall establish metrics for the con- 9 duct of reviews and assessments under subsection (a). 10 ‘‘(e) MEASUREMENT OF WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EM- 11 POWERMENT.—To support the measurement of women’s 12 economic empowerment, the Trade Representative shall 13 encourage and support the reporting by beneficiary devel- 14 oping countries of sex-disaggregated economic and busi- 15 ness data, including the gathering of information con- 16 sistent with the United Nations Sustainable Development 17 Goals, particularly the goals relating to gender equality 18 and decent work.’’. 19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 20 tents for the Trade Act of 1974 is amended by in- 21 serting after the item relating to section 504 the fol- 22 lowing: 23 ‘‘Sec. 504A. Review of compliance relating to internationally recognized worker rights and equal rights and protection under the law.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4007.IS S4007 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS