What This Bill Does
This bill removes special trade benefits that China currently receives from the United States. It also creates new rules that China would need to follow to get those benefits back in the future. The bill adds requirements related to human rights, labor standards and other practices before China can trade with the U.S. on equal terms.
##
Who It Affects
- The People's Republic of China
- Businesses that import or export products to and from China
- The President of the United States
- Congress (the House and Senate)
- U.S. government agencies that give loans, loan guarantees (promises to pay if someone cannot) or investment guarantees to other countries
##
Key Provisions
- The President's normal trade relations treatment (fair, non-discriminatory trading status) with China ends immediately when this law is signed, meaning China will no longer automatically receive equal trading terms with the U.S. (Sec. 2)
- China cannot participate in U.S. government programs that provide loans, loan guarantees or investment guarantees, and the President cannot make trade agreements with China, unless the President reports to Congress that China is meeting nine specific conditions (Sec. 3)
- The nine conditions China must meet include: stopping the operation of concentration camps, protecting religious freedom in Tibet, ending economic theft from American companies, releasing people held for political beliefs, stopping forced abortion or sterilization, ending torture, and allowing international human rights groups into prisons (Sec. 3)
- The President must report to Congress on June 30 and December 31 each year about whether China is following these conditions for as long as China receives trade benefits (Sec. 3)
- The President can temporarily waive (skip) these requirements for 12 months at a time if he certifies that doing so will help achieve the bill's goals, but Congress can reject the waiver with a vote (Sec. 3)
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What Changes
If this becomes law, China loses its automatic right to trade with the U.S. on equal terms immediately. China would have to prove it is meeting nine specific human rights and labor standards before getting those benefits back. The President gains power to temporarily waive these rules, but Congress can block those waivers. Reports about China's compliance with these standards must go to Congress twice yearly.
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Important Definitions
- Normal trade relations treatment: the right to trade goods and services without facing higher taxes or restrictions than other countries receive
- Nondiscriminatory treatment: being treated the same as other countries in trade
- Joint resolution of disapproval: an official vote by both the House and Senate to reject something the President wants to do (Sec. 3)
##
Effective Date
The date this law is signed by the President (Sec. 2)
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 638
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
JANUARY 30, 2023
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. TIFFANY) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means,
and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction 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
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•HR 638 IH
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
1
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘China Trade Relations
2
Act of 2023’’.
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
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•HR 638 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
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•HR 638 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) has not substantially promoted
9
the freedom of emigration objectives of this
10
section;
11
‘‘(iii) has not complied with the
12
China-United States Memorandum of Un-
13
derstanding on Prohibiting Import and Ex-
14
port Trade in Prison Labor Products, done
15
at Washington, DC, on August 7, 1992;
16
‘‘(iv) has not complied with Inter-
17
national Labour Organization standards;
18
‘‘(v) operates ‘vocational training and
19
education centers’ or other concentration
20
camps where people are held against their
21
will;
22
‘‘(vi) intimidates or harasses nationals
23
of the People’s Republic of China living
24
outside the People’s Republic of China;
25
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•HR 638 IH
‘‘(vii) fails to protect Tibet’s distinc-
1
tive religious and cultural heritage;
2
‘‘(viii) engages in systematic economic
3
espionage against the United States, in-
4
cluding theft of the intellectual property of
5
United States persons; and
6
‘‘(ix)
has
not
made
significant
7
progress on—
8
‘‘(I) taking steps to begin adher-
9
ing to the Universal Declaration of
10
Human Rights;
11
‘‘(II) eliminating the use of tor-
12
ture;
13
‘‘(III) releasing and providing an
14
acceptable accounting for Chinese citi-
15
zens imprisoned or detained for the
16
non-violent expression of their polit-
17
ical and religious beliefs, including
18
such expression of beliefs in connec-
19
tion with the independence of Hong
20
Kong and Taiwan;
21
‘‘(IV) ensuring humane treat-
22
ment of prisoners, such as by allowing
23
access to prisons by international hu-
24
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•HR 638 IH
manitarian and human rights organi-
1
zations;
2
‘‘(V)
permitting
international
3
radio and television broadcasts into
4
China;
5
‘‘(VI) humanely treating pris-
6
oners;
7
‘‘(VII) allowing access to inter-
8
national humanitarian and human
9
rights organizations;
10
‘‘(VIII) ceasing harvesting the
11
organs of prisoners without their con-
12
sent; or
13
‘‘(IX) ceasing performing and
14
otherwise ordering forced abortion or
15
sterilization procedures; and
16
‘‘(B) ending on the date on which the
17
President determines that the People’s Republic
18
of China is no longer in violation of any of
19
clauses (i) through (ix) of subparagraph (A).
20
‘‘(2) REPORT REQUIRED.—
21
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the date of the
22
enactment of this subsection, products of the
23
People’s Republic of China may be eligible to
24
receive nondiscriminatory treatment (normal
25
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•HR 638 IH
trade relations), the People’s Republic of China
1
may participate in any program of the Govern-
2
ment of the United States which extends credits
3
or credit guarantees or investment guarantees,
4
and the President may conclude a commercial
5
agreement with the People’s Republic of China,
6
only after the President has submitted to Con-
7
gress a report indicating that the People’s Re-
8
public of China is not in violation of any of
9
clauses (i) through (ix) of paragraph (1)(A).
10
‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—The report required by
11
subparagraph (A) shall include information as
12
to the nature and implementation of laws and
13
policies of the People’s Republic of China relat-
14
ing to the matters specified in clauses (i)
15
through (ix) of paragraph (1)(A).
16
‘‘(C) DEADLINES.—The report required by
17
subparagraph (A) shall be submitted on or be-
18
fore each June 30 and December 31 of each
19
year for as long as products of the People’s Re-
20
public of China receive nondiscriminatory treat-
21
ment (normal trade relations), the People’s Re-
22
public of China participates in any program of
23
the Government of the United States which ex-
24
tends credits or credit guarantees or investment
25
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•HR 638 IH
guarantees, or a commercial agreement with the
1
People’s Republic of China is in effect.
2
‘‘(3) WAIVER.—
3
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President is au-
4
thorized to waive by Executive order the appli-
5
cation of paragraphs (1) and (2) for a 12-
6
month period if the President submits to Con-
7
gress a report that the President—
8
‘‘(i) has determined that such waiver
9
will substantially promote the objectives of
10
this subsection; and
11
‘‘(ii) has received assurances that the
12
practices of the People’s Republic of China
13
relating to the matters specified in clauses
14
(i) through (ix) of paragraph (1)(A) will in
15
the future lead substantially to the achieve-
16
ment of the objectives of this subsection.
17
‘‘(B) TERMINATION OF WAIVER.—A waiver
18
under subparagraph (A) shall terminate on the
19
earlier of—
20
‘‘(i) the day after the waiver authority
21
granted by this paragraph ceases to be ef-
22
fective under paragraph (4); or
23
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•HR 638 IH
‘‘(ii) the effective date of an Executive
1
order providing for termination of the
2
waiver.
3
‘‘(4) EXTENSION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.—
4
‘‘(A) RECOMMENDATIONS.—If the Presi-
5
dent determines that the further extension of
6
the waiver authority granted under paragraph
7
(3) will substantially promote the objectives of
8
this subsection, the President may recommend
9
further extensions of such authority for succes-
10
sive 12-month periods. Any such recommenda-
11
tions shall—
12
‘‘(i) be made not later than 30 days
13
before the expiration of such authority;
14
‘‘(ii) be made in a document sub-
15
mitted to the House of Representatives
16
and the Senate setting forth the reasons of
17
the President for recommending the exten-
18
sion of such authority; and
19
‘‘(iii) include—
20
‘‘(I) a determination that con-
21
tinuation of the waiver will substan-
22
tially promote the objectives of this
23
subsection; and
24
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•HR 638 IH
‘‘(II) a statement setting forth
1
the reasons of the President for such
2
determination.
3
‘‘(B) CONTINUATION IN EFFECT OF WAIV-
4
ER.—If the President recommends under sub-
5
paragraph (A) the further extension of the
6
waiver authority granted under paragraph (3),
7
such authority shall continue in effect until the
8
end of the 12-month period following the end of
9
the previous 12-month extension, unless—
10
‘‘(i) Congress adopts and transmits to
11
the President a joint resolution of dis-
12
approval under paragraph (5) before the
13
end of the 60-day period beginning on the
14
date the waiver authority would expire but
15
for an extension under subparagraph (A);
16
and
17
‘‘(ii) if the President vetoes the joint
18
resolution, each House of Congress votes
19
to override the veto on or before the later
20
of—
21
‘‘(I) the last day of the 60-day
22
period referred to in clause (i); or
23
‘‘(II) the last day of the 15-day
24
period (excluding any day described in
25
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•HR 638 IH
section 154(b)) beginning on the date
1
on which Congress receives the veto
2
message from the President.
3
‘‘(C) TERMINATION OF WAIVER PURSUANT
4
TO JOINT RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL.—If a
5
joint resolution of disapproval is enacted into
6
law pursuant to paragraph (5), the waiver au-
7
thority granted under paragraph (3) shall cease
8
to be effective as of the day after the 60-day
9
period beginning on the date of the enactment
10
of the joint resolution.
11
‘‘(5) JOINT RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL.—
12
‘‘(A) JOINT RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL
13
DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘joint
14
resolution of disapproval’ means a joint resolu-
15
tion the matter after the resolving clause of
16
which is as follows: ‘That Congress does not ap-
17
prove the extension of the authority contained
18
in paragraph (3) of section 402(f) of the Trade
19
Act of 1974 with respect to the People’s Repub-
20
lic of China recommended by the President to
21
Congress under paragraph (4) of that section
22
on lll.’, with the blank space being filled
23
with the appropriate date.
24
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•HR 638 IH
‘‘(B) PROCEDURES IN HOUSE AND SEN-
1
ATE.—The
provisions
of
subsections
(b)
2
through (f) of section 152 shall apply with re-
3
spect to a joint resolution of approval to the
4
same extent and in the same manner as such
5
provisions apply with respect to a resolution de-
6
scribed in subsection (a) of that section, except
7
that subsection (e)(2) of that section shall be
8
applied and administered by substituting ‘Con-
9
sideration’ for ‘Debate’.
10
‘‘(C) RULES
OF
THE
HOUSE
OF
REP-
11
RESENTATIVES AND SENATE.—This paragraph
12
is enacted by Congress—
13
‘‘(i) as an exercise of the rulemaking
14
power of the House of Representatives and
15
the Senate, respectively, and as such is
16
deemed a part of the rules of each House,
17
respectively, and supersedes other rules
18
only to the extent that it is inconsistent
19
with such other rules; and
20
‘‘(ii) with full recognition of the con-
21
stitutional right of either House to change
22
the rules (so far as relating to the proce-
23
dure of that House) at any time, in the
24
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•HR 638 IH
same manner and to the same extent as in
1
the case of any other rule of that House.’’.
2
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
3
for the Trade Act of 1974 is amended by striking the item
4
relating to section 402 and inserting the following:
5
‘‘Sec. 402. East-West trade and human rights.’’.
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[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]