UNITED Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3653 To provide the President with authority to enter into a comprehensive trade agreement with the United Kingdom, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 24, 2023 Mr. SMITH of Nebraska (for himself and Mr. HIMES) 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 de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide the President with authority to enter into a comprehensive trade agreement with the United King- dom, 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 ‘‘Undertaking Negotia- 4 tions on Investment and Trade for Economic Dynamism 5 Act’’ or the ‘‘UNITED Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 7 It is the sense of Congress that— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3653.IH H3653 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3653 IH (1) the United States should pursue more open 1 trade and investment relationships with its allies to 2 strengthen the economy of the United States, im- 3 prove the standard of living of the people of the 4 United States, and advance the strategic interests of 5 the United States; 6 (2) agreements to reduce or eliminate barriers 7 to trade and investment between the United States 8 and its allies will foster mutually beneficial economic 9 relationships that advance the economic interests of 10 workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses of all 11 sizes in the United States; 12 (3) the shared values and long history of the 13 ‘‘special relationship’’ between the United States and 14 the United Kingdom present a unique opportunity to 15 deepen the mutually beneficial economic and stra- 16 tegic relationship between those countries and fur- 17 ther expand prosperity for the citizens of those coun- 18 tries; 19 (4) a high-standard, comprehensive trade agree- 20 ment between the United States and the United 21 Kingdom would help strengthen that relationship, 22 improve the economic prospects of people in both 23 countries, increase the resilience of critical supply 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3653.IH H3653 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3653 IH chains, and create export opportunities for busi- 1 nesses of all sizes; 2 (5) the efforts of the United States-United 3 Kingdom Trade and Investment Working Group and 4 the bilateral negotiations initiated by President Don- 5 ald Trump have laid groundwork toward a com- 6 prehensive trade agreement; 7 (6) the United States-United Kingdom Dia- 8 logue on the Future of Atlantic Trade initiated by 9 President Joe Biden continues longstanding efforts 10 to improve economic cooperation between the United 11 States and the United Kingdom; 12 (7) the robust labor and environmental protec- 13 tions in the United Kingdom reduce the risk of regu- 14 latory arbitrage that undercuts workers and busi- 15 nesses in the United States; 16 (8) Congress passed the USMCA with over- 17 whelming bipartisan support, setting high standards 18 in North America with respect to labor rights, the 19 environment, intellectual property, non-market prac- 20 tices, and services, and those standards should in- 21 form future negotiations; 22 (9) trade agreements with foreign trading part- 23 ners that share the values and ambition of the 24 United States offer an opportunity to build on the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3653.IH H3653 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3653 IH USMCA and set high international standards across 1 many important policy areas; 2 (10) any trade negotiations between the United 3 States and the United Kingdom must honor the 4 agreement between the Government of Ireland and 5 the Government of the United Kingdom signed on 6 April 10, 1998 (commonly known as the ‘‘Good Fri- 7 day Agreement’’), and any trade agreement between 8 those countries must advance peace, stability, and 9 prosperity in Ireland and Northern Ireland; 10 (11) the United Kingdom, like many key trad- 11 ing partners of the United States, is actively negoti- 12 ating for expanded access to foreign markets, includ- 13 ing through both new bilateral agreements and exist- 14 ing regional agreements such as the Comprehensive 15 and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Part- 16 nership, and the United States must likewise seek to 17 advance its access to foreign markets to ensure that 18 businesses, consumers, farmers, ranchers, and work- 19 ers in the United States are not left behind; and 20 (12) to effectively pursue comprehensive trade 21 negotiations with the United Kingdom for purposes 22 of a trade agreement between the United States and 23 the United Kingdom, Congress must grant new ne- 24 gotiating authority to the President, which should— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3653.IH H3653 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3653 IH (A) enable the swift negotiation and pas- 1 sage through Congress of such an agreement; 2 and 3 (B) be narrowly tailored to provide clear 4 direction to the executive branch of the United 5 States Government. 6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 7 In this Act: 8 (1) USMCA.—The term ‘‘USMCA’’ means the 9 Agreement between the United States of America, 10 the United Mexican States, and Canada, which is— 11 (A) attached as an Annex to the Protocol 12 Replacing the North American Free Trade 13 Agreement with the Agreement between the 14 United States of America, the United Mexican 15 States, and Canada, done at Buenos Aires on 16 November 30, 2018, as amended by the Pro- 17 tocol of Amendment to the Agreement Between 18 the United States of America, the United Mexi- 19 can States, and Canada, done at Mexico City 20 on December 10, 2019; and 21 (B) approved by Congress under section 22 101(a)(1) of the United States-Mexico-Canada 23 Agreement Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 24 4511(a)). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3653.IH H3653 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3653 IH (2) UNITED KINGDOM.—The term ‘‘United 1 Kingdom’’ means the United Kingdom of Great 2 Britain and Northern Ireland. 3 SEC. 4. NEGOTIATING AND TRADE AGREEMENTS AUTHOR- 4 ITY FOR COMPREHENSIVE AGREEMENT WITH 5 THE UNITED KINGDOM. 6 (a) INITIATION OF NEGOTIATIONS.—Not later than 7 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, in 8 order to enhance the economic well-being of the United 9 States, the President shall seek to initiate negotiations 10 with the United Kingdom regarding tariff and nontariff 11 barriers affecting any industry, product, or service sector. 12 (b) AUTHORITY FOR COMPREHENSIVE TRADE 13 AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED KINGDOM.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—To strengthen the economic 15 competitiveness of the United States, the President 16 may enter into a comprehensive trade agreement 17 with the United Kingdom regarding tariff and non- 18 tariff barriers affecting trade between the United 19 States and United Kingdom. 20 (2) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The au- 21 thority under paragraph (1) terminates on March 1, 22 2025. 23 (c) MODIFICATIONS PERMITTED.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3653.IH H3653 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3653 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 1 the President may proclaim such modification or 2 continuance of any existing duty, continuance of ex- 3 isting duty-free or excise treatment, or such addi- 4 tional duties as the President determines to be re- 5 quired or appropriate to carry out an agreement en- 6 tered into under subsection (b). 7 (2) LIMITATIONS.— 8 (A) MODIFICATIONS OR ADDITIONS TO 9 AGREEMENT.—Substantial modifications to, or 10 substantial additional provisions of, an agree- 11 ment entered into after March 1, 2025, are not 12 covered by the authority under paragraph (1). 13 (B) AMOUNT OF DUTY MODIFICATION.— 14 No proclamation may be made under paragraph 15 (1) that— 16 (i) reduces any rate of duty (other 17 than a rate of duty that does not exceed 5 18 percent ad valorem on the date of the en- 19 actment of this Act) to a rate of duty that 20 is less than 50 percent of the rate of such 21 duty that applies on such date of enact- 22 ment; 23 (ii) reduces the rate of duty below 24 that applicable under the Uruguay Round 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3653.IH H3653 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3653 IH Agreements (as defined in section 2(7) of 1 the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 2 U.S.C. 3501)) or a successor agreement, 3 on any import sensitive agricultural prod- 4 uct; or 5 (iii) increases any rate of duty above 6 the rate that applied on the date of the en- 7 actment of this Act. 8 (d) CONSULTATION WITH AND NOTIFICATION TO 9 CONGRESS.—To ensure the alignment of the trade policy 10 priorities of Congress with the content of any agreement 11 under this section, the President shall consult with Con- 12 gress before and throughout negotiations initiated under 13 subsection (a) and shall notify Congress of the intention 14 of the President to enter into an agreement under sub- 15 section (b) or to make a proclamation under subsection 16 (c). 17 (e) BILLS QUALIFYING FOR TRADE AUTHORITIES 18 PROCEDURES.— 19 (1) IMPLEMENTING BILLS.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of sec- 21 tion 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 22 2191) apply to a bill of either House of Con- 23 gress that contains provisions described in sub- 24 paragraph (B) to the same extent as such sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3653.IH H3653 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3653 IH tion 151 applies to implementing bills under 1 that section. A bill to which this paragraph ap- 2 plies shall hereafter in this section be referred 3 to as an ‘‘implementing bill’’. 4 (B) PROVISIONS SPECIFIED.—The provi- 5 sions described in this subparagraph are— 6 (i) a provision approving a trade 7 agreement entered into under this section 8 and approving the statement of adminis- 9 trative action, if any, proposed to imple- 10 ment such trade agreement; and 11 (ii) if changes in existing laws or new 12 statutory authority are required to imple- 13 ment such trade agreement, only such pro- 14 visions as are strictly necessary or appro- 15 priate to implement such trade agreement, 16 either repealing or amending existing laws 17 or providing new statutory authority. 18 (2) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF BILL.—The 19 procedures under paragraph (1) apply to imple- 20 menting bills submitted with respect to a trade 21 agreement entered into under this section before 22 March 1, 2025. 23 (f) LIMITATION ON WAIVER, SUSPENSION, OR TER- 24 MINATION.—An agreement entered into under this section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3653.IH H3653 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3653 IH shall not be waived, suspended, or terminated, in whole 1 or in part, with respect to the United States without the 2 express approval by Congress of such termination. 3 (g) RELATIONSHIP TO BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL 4 TRADE PRIORITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 5 2015.—An agreement under this section shall not enter 6 into force with respect to the United States and an imple- 7 menting bill shall not qualify for trade authorities proce- 8 dures under subsection (e), including an agreement that 9 does not require changes to United States law or an imple- 10 menting bill in connection therewith, unless the following 11 requirements under the Bipartisan Congressional Trade 12 Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4201 13 et seq.) are carried out with respect to that agreement 14 or implementing bill to the same extent as would be re- 15 quired of an agreement entered into under section 103(b) 16 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4202(b)), notwithstanding the expi- 17 ration of authority to enter into an agreement under such 18 section 103(b): 19 (1) The trade negotiating objectives under sec- 20 tion 102 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4201). 21 (2) The congressional oversight and consulta- 22 tion requirements under section 104 of that Act (19 23 U.S.C. 4203). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3653.IH H3653 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3653 IH (3) The notification, consultation, and reporting 1 requirements under section 105 of that Act (19 2 U.S.C. 4204). 3 (4) The implementation procedures under sec- 4 tion 106 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4205). 5 (5) The provisions related to sovereignty under 6 section 108 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4207). 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3653.IH H3653 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB