Reciprocal Market Access Act of 2013 - Prohibits the President from agreeing to the reduction or elimination of the existing rate of duty on any product in order to carry out a trade agreement with a foreign country until the President certifies to Congress that: (1) the United States has obtained that country's reduction or elimination of tariff and nontariff barriers and policies and practices with respect to U.S. exports of any product that has the same physical characteristics and uses as the product for which the President seeks to modify its rate of duty, and (2) any violation of the trade agreement is immediately enforceable by withdrawal of the duty modification until the President certifies to Congress that the United States has obtained the country's reduction or elimination of the tariff or nontariff barrier or policy or practice.
Requires the withdrawal of such a modification in specified circumstances determined by the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center until the President makes such a certification to Congress.
Requires the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), with respect to any proposed trade agreement that seeks a modification that would reduce or eliminate an existing duty on any product in order to carry out a trade agreement with a foreign country, to investigate the possible market access opportunities for similar U.S. exports to that country if such barriers and policies are modified or eliminated.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3467 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3467
To enhance reciprocal market access for United States domestic
producers in the negotiating process of bilateral, regional, and
multilateral trade agreements.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 13, 2013
Ms. Slaughter (for herself, Mr. Jones, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. DeFazio, Mr.
Tonko, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Tierney,
Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Higgins, and Ms. McCollum) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance reciprocal market access for United States domestic
producers in the negotiating process of bilateral, regional, and
multilateral trade agreements.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Reciprocal Market Access Act of
2013''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) One of the fundamental tenets of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) is reciprocal market access. This principle
is underscored in the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the
World Trade Organization which called for ``entering into
reciprocal and mutually advantageous arrangements directed to
the substantial reduction of tariffs and other barriers to
trade and to the elimination of discriminatory treatment in
international trade relations''.
(2) The American people have a right to expect that the
promises that trade negotiators and policy makers offer in
terms of the market access opportunities that will be available
to United States businesses and their employees if trade
agreements are reached, will, in fact, be realized. A results-
oriented approach must form the basis of future trade
negotiations that includes verification procedures to ensure
that the promised market access is achieved and that reciprocal
trade benefits result.
(3) With each subsequent round of bilateral, regional, and
multilateral trade negotiations, tariffs have been
significantly reduced or eliminated for many manufactured
goods, leaving nontariff barriers as the most pervasive,
significant, and challenging barriers to United States exports
and market opportunities.
(4) The United States market is widely recognized as one of
the most open markets in the world. Average United States
tariff rates are very low and the United States has limited, if
any, nontariff barriers.
(5) Often the only leverage the United States has to obtain
the reduction or elimination of nontariff barriers imposed by
foreign countries is to negotiate the amount of tariffs the
United States imposes on imports from those foreign countries.
(6) Under the current negotiating process, negotiations to
reduce or eliminate tariff barriers and nontariff barriers are
separate and self-contained, meaning that tradeoffs are tariff-
for-tariff and nontariff-for-nontariff. As a result, a tariff
can be reduced or eliminated without securing elimination of
the real barrier or barriers that deny United States businesses
access to a foreign market.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to require that United
States trade negotiations achieve measurable results for United States
businesses by ensuring that trade agreements result in expanded market
access for United States exports and not solely the elimination of
tariffs on goods imported into the United States.
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE RATES OF DUTY
PURSUANT TO CERTAIN TRADE AGREEMENTS.
(a) Limitation.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on or
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President may not
agree to a modification of an existing duty that would reduce or
eliminate the bound or applied rate of such duty on any product in
order to carry out a trade agreement entered into between the United
States and a foreign country until the President transmits to Congress
a certification described in subsection (b).
(b) Certification.--A certification referred to in subsection (a)
is a certification by the President that--
(1) the United States has obtained the reduction or
elimination of tariff and nontariff barriers and policies and
practices of the government of a foreign country described in
subsection (a) with respect to United States exports of any
product identified by United States domestic producers as
having the same physical characteristics and uses as the
product for which a modification of an existing duty is sought
by the President as described in subsection (a); and
(2) a violation of any provision of the trade agreement
described in subsection (a) relating to the matters described
in paragraph (1) is immediately enforceable in accordance with
the provisions of section 4.
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS.
(a) Withdrawal of Tariff Concessions.--If the President does agree
to a modification described in section 3(a), and the Interagency Trade
Enforcement Center determines pursuant to subsection (c) that--
(1) a tariff or nontariff barrier or policy or practice of
the government of a foreign country described in section 3(a)
has not been reduced or eliminated, or
(2) a tariff or nontariff barrier or policy or practice of
such government has been imposed or discovered,
the United States Trade Representative shall withdraw the modification
until such time as the President transmits to Congress a certification
described in section 3(b)(1).
(b) Investigation.--
(1) In general.--The Interagency Trade Enforcement Center,
in coordination with the Department of Labor, shall initiate an
investigation if an interested party files a petition with the
Interagency Trade Enforcement Center which alleges the elements
necessary for the withdrawal of the modification of an existing
duty under subsection (a), and which is accompanied by
information reasonably available to the petitioner supporting
such allegations.
(2) Interested party defined.--For purposes of paragraph
(1), the term ``interested party'' means--
(A) a manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler in the
United States of a domestic product that has the same
physical characteristics and uses as the product for
which a modification of an existing duty is sought;
(B) a certified union or recognized union or group
of workers engaged in the manufacture, production, or
wholesale in the United States of a domestic product
that has the same physical characteristics and uses as
the product for which a modification of an existing
duty is sought;
(C) a trade or business association a majority of
whose members manufacture, produce, or wholesale in the
United States a domestic product that has the same
physical characteristics and uses as the product for
which a modification of an existing duty is sought; or
(D) a member of the Committee on Ways and Means of
the House of Representatives or a member of the
Committee on Finance of the Senate.
(c) Determination by ITEC.--Not later than 45 days after the date
on which a petition is filed under subsection (b), the Interagency
Trade Enforcement Center shall--
(1) determine whether the petition alleges the elements
necessary for the withdrawal of the modification of an existing
duty under subsection (a); and
(2) notify the petitioner of the determination under
paragraph (1) and the reasons for the determination.
(d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Interagency Trade
Enforcement Center'' means the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center
established under section 2 of Executive Order 13601 (77 Fed. Reg.
12981; February 28, 2012).
SEC. 5. MARKET ACCESS ASSESSMENT BY UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE
COMMISSION.
(a) In General.--With respect to any proposed trade agreement in
which the President seeks a modification of an existing duty that would
reduce or eliminate the bound or applied rate of such duty on any
product in order to carry out a trade agreement entered into between
the United States and a foreign country, the United States
International Trade Commission shall initiate an investigation and
report as to the possible market access opportunities of the
modification or elimination of foreign tariff and nontariff measures
for United States industries producing and exporting similar products.
In preparing its report, the International Trade Commission shall
identify the tariff and nontariff measures for such products and the
expected opportunities for United States exports.
(b) Consultation.--In preparing its report under subsection (a),
the United States International Trade Commission shall, as appropriate,
seek to obtain relevant information from domestic producers of similar
products, industry associations, government representatives, and other
interested organizations.
(c) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 240 days after the
President notifies Congress of his intent to enter into
negotiations for a proposed trade agreement described in
subsection (a), or not later than 45 days after the President
notifies Congress of his intent to enter into a trade
agreement, whichever occurs first, the United States
International Trade Commission shall submit to the United
States Trade Representative, the Secretary of Commerce, and
Congress the report required under subsection (a).
(2) Form.--Such report shall be submitted in unclassified
form, but may contain a classified annex, if necessary.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
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