China Trade Relations Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8610 To withdraw normal trade relations treatment from, and apply certain provi- sions of title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 to, products of the People’s Republic of China, and to expand the eligibility requirements for products of the People’s Republic of China to receive normal trade relations treatment in the future, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 16, 2020 Mr. SMITH of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To withdraw normal trade relations treatment from, and apply certain provisions of title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 to, products of the People’s Republic of China, and to expand the eligibility requirements for products of the People’s Republic of China to receive normal trade relations treatment in the future, 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 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8610.IH H8610 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8610 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘China Trade Relations 2 Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL OF NORMAL TRADE RELATIONS 4 TREATMENT FROM THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC 5 OF CHINA. 6 Notwithstanding the provisions of title I of Public 7 Law 106–286 (114 Stat. 880) or any other provision of 8 law, effective on the date of the enactment of this Act— 9 (1) normal trade relations treatment shall not 10 apply pursuant to section 101 of that Act to the 11 products of the People’s Republic of China; 12 (2) normal trade relations treatment may there- 13 after be extended to the products of the People’s Re- 14 public of China only in accordance with the provi- 15 sions of chapter 1 of title IV of the Trade Act of 16 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2431 et seq.), as in effect with re- 17 spect to the products of the People’s Republic of 18 China on the day before the effective date of the ac- 19 cession of the People’s Republic of China to the 20 World Trade Organization; and 21 (3) the extension of waiver authority that was 22 in effect with respect to the People’s Republic of 23 China under section 402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 24 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2432(d)(1)) on the day before the 25 effective date of the accession of the People’s Repub- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8610.IH H8610 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8610 IH lic of China to the World Trade Organization shall, 1 upon the enactment of this Act, be deemed not to 2 have expired, and shall continue in effect until the 3 date that is 90 days after the date of such enact- 4 ment. 5 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF BASES OF INELIGIBILITY OF PEO- 6 PLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA FOR NORMAL 7 TRADE RELATIONS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402 of the Trade Act of 9 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2432) is amended— 10 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘FREE- 11 DOM OF EMIGRATION IN EAST-WEST TRADE’’ 12 and inserting ‘‘EAST-WEST TRADE AND HUMAN 13 RIGHTS’’; and 14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL BASES OF INELIGIBILITY OF PEO- 16 PLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA FOR NORMAL TRADE RELA- 17 TIONS.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Products from the People’s 19 Republic of China shall not be eligible to receive 20 nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade rela- 21 tions), the People’s Republic of China shall not par- 22 ticipate in any program of the Government of the 23 United States which extends credits or credit guar- 24 antees or investment guarantees, directly or indi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8610.IH H8610 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8610 IH rectly, and the President shall not conclude any 1 commercial agreement with the People’s Republic of 2 China, during the period— 3 ‘‘(A) beginning with the date on which the 4 President determines that the People’s Republic 5 of China— 6 ‘‘(i) is in violation of paragraph (1), 7 (2), or (3) of subsection (a); 8 ‘‘(ii) uses or provides for the use of 9 slave labor; 10 ‘‘(iii) operates ‘vocational training and 11 education centers’ or other concentration 12 camps where people are held against their 13 will; 14 ‘‘(iv) performs or otherwise orders 15 forced abortion or sterilization procedures; 16 ‘‘(v) harvests the organs of prisoners 17 without their consent; 18 ‘‘(vi) hinders the free exercise of reli- 19 gion; 20 ‘‘(vii) intimidates or harasses nation- 21 als of the People’s Republic of China living 22 outside the People’s Republic of China; or 23 ‘‘(viii) engages in systematic economic 24 espionage against the United States, in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8610.IH H8610 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8610 IH cluding theft of the intellectual property of 1 United States persons; and 2 ‘‘(B) ending on the date on which the 3 President determines that the People’s Republic 4 of China is no longer in violation of any of 5 clauses (i) through (viii) of subparagraph (A). 6 ‘‘(2) REPORT REQUIRED.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the date of the 8 enactment of this subsection, products of the 9 People’s Republic of China may be eligible to 10 receive nondiscriminatory treatment (normal 11 trade relations), the People’s Republic of China 12 may participate in any program of the Govern- 13 ment of the United States which extends credits 14 or credit guarantees or investment guarantees, 15 and the President may conclude a commercial 16 agreement with the People’s Republic of China, 17 only after the President has submitted to Con- 18 gress a report indicating that the People’s Re- 19 public of China is not in violation of any of 20 clauses (i) through (viii) of paragraph (1)(A). 21 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—The report required by 22 subparagraph (A) shall include information as 23 to the nature and implementation of laws and 24 policies of the People’s Republic of China relat- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8610.IH H8610 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8610 IH ing to the matters specified in clauses (i) 1 through (viii) of paragraph (1)(A). 2 ‘‘(C) DEADLINES.—The report required by 3 subparagraph (A) shall be submitted on or be- 4 fore each June 30 and December 31 of each 5 year for as long as products of the People’s Re- 6 public of China receive nondiscriminatory treat- 7 ment (normal trade relations), the People’s Re- 8 public of China participates in any program of 9 the Government of the United States which ex- 10 tends credits or credit guarantees or investment 11 guarantees, or a commercial agreement with the 12 People’s Republic of China is in effect. 13 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President is au- 15 thorized to waive by Executive order the appli- 16 cation of paragraphs (1) and (2) for a 12- 17 month period if the President submits to Con- 18 gress a report that the President— 19 ‘‘(i) has determined that such waiver 20 will substantially promote the objectives of 21 this subsection; and 22 ‘‘(ii) has received assurances that the 23 practices of the People’s Republic of China 24 relating to the matters specified in clauses 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8610.IH H8610 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8610 IH (i) through (viii) of paragraph (1)(A) will 1 in the future lead substantially to the 2 achievement of the objectives of this sub- 3 section. 4 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION OF WAIVER.—A waiver 5 under subparagraph (A) shall terminate on the 6 earlier of— 7 ‘‘(i) the day after the waiver authority 8 granted by this paragraph ceases to be ef- 9 fective under paragraph (4); or 10 ‘‘(ii) the effective date of an Executive 11 order providing for termination of the 12 waiver. 13 ‘‘(4) EXTENSION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 14 ‘‘(A) RECOMMENDATIONS.—If the Presi- 15 dent determines that the further extension of 16 the waiver authority granted under paragraph 17 (3) will substantially promote the objectives of 18 this subsection, the President may recommend 19 further extensions of such authority for succes- 20 sive 12-month periods. Any such recommenda- 21 tions shall— 22 ‘‘(i) be made not later than 30 days 23 before the expiration of such authority; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8610.IH H8610 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8610 IH ‘‘(ii) be made in a document sub- 1 mitted to the House of Representatives 2 and the Senate setting forth the reasons of 3 the President for recommending the exten- 4 sion of such authority; and 5 ‘‘(iii) include— 6 ‘‘(I) a determination that con- 7 tinuation of the waiver will substan- 8 tially promote the objectives of this 9 subsection; and 10 ‘‘(II) a statement setting forth 11 the reasons of the President for such 12 determination. 13 ‘‘(B) CONTINUATION IN EFFECT OF WAIV- 14 ER.—If the President recommends under sub- 15 paragraph (A) the further extension of the 16 waiver authority granted under paragraph (3), 17 such authority shall continue in effect until the 18 end of the 12-month period following the end of 19 the previous 12-month extension, unless— 20 ‘‘(i) Congress adopts and transmits to 21 the President a joint resolution of dis- 22 approval under paragraph (5) before the 23 end of the 60-day period beginning on the 24 date the waiver authority would expire but 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8610.IH H8610 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8610 IH for an extension under subparagraph (A); 1 and 2 ‘‘(ii) if the President vetoes the joint 3 resolution, each House of Congress votes 4 to override the veto on or before the later 5 of— 6 ‘‘(I) the last day of the 60-day 7 period referred to in clause (i); or 8 ‘‘(II) the last day of the 15-day 9 period (excluding any day described in 10 section 154(b)) beginning on the date 11 on which Congress receives the veto 12 message from the President. 13 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION OF WAIVER PURSUANT 14 TO JOINT RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL.—If a 15 joint resolution of disapproval is enacted into 16 law pursuant to paragraph (5), the waiver au- 17 thority granted under paragraph (3) shall cease 18 to be effective as of the day after the 60-day 19 period beginning on the date of the enactment 20 of the joint resolution. 21 ‘‘(5) JOINT RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL.— 22 ‘‘(A) JOINT RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL 23 DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘joint 24 resolution of disapproval’ means a joint resolu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8610.IH H8610 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8610 IH tion the matter after the resolving clause of 1 which is as follows: ‘That Congress does not ap- 2 prove the extension of the authority contained 3 in paragraph (3) of section 402(f) of the Trade 4 Act of 1974 with respect to the People’s Repub- 5 lic of China recommended by the President to 6 Congress under paragraph (4) of that section 7 on lll.’, with the blank space being filled 8 with the appropriate date. 9 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES IN HOUSE AND SEN- 10 ATE.—The provisions of subsections (b) 11 through (f) of section 152 shall apply with re- 12 spect to a joint resolution of approval to the 13 same extent and in the same manner as such 14 provisions apply with respect to a resolution de- 15 scribed in subsection (a) of that section, except 16 that subsection (e)(2) of that section shall be 17 applied and administered by substituting ‘Con- 18 sideration’ for ‘Debate’. 19 ‘‘(C) RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REP- 20 RESENTATIVES AND SENATE.—This paragraph 21 is enacted by Congress— 22 ‘‘(i) as an exercise of the rulemaking 23 power of the House of Representatives and 24 the Senate, respectively, and as such is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8610.IH H8610 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8610 IH deemed a part of the rules of each House, 1 respectively, and supersedes other rules 2 only to the extent that it is inconsistent 3 with such other rules; and 4 ‘‘(ii) with full recognition of the con- 5 stitutional right of either House to change 6 the rules (so far as relating to the proce- 7 dure of that House) at any time, in the 8 same manner and to the same extent as in 9 the case of any other rule of that House.’’. 10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 11 for the Trade Act of 1974 is amended by striking the item 12 relating to section 402 and inserting the following: 13 ‘‘Sec. 402. East-West trade and human rights.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8610.IH H8610 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS