3.0.0 1121 2023-01-15T15:48:18Z 2023-01-15T15:48:18Z Senate S S 2003-05-22 108 ssfi00 Finance Committee Senate Standing Referred to 2003-05-22T21:50:17Z Middle East Trade and Engagement Act of 2003 108 2467 HR 2003-06-19 Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade. Related bill CRS Middle East Trade and Engagement Act of 2003 108 2267 HR 2003-06-05 Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade. Identical bill CRS 2003-05-22 ssfi00 Finance Committee Senate Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S7005-7007) IntroReferral 2003-05-22 Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S7004-7005) IntroReferral B00100 9 Library of Congress 2003-05-22 Introduced in Senate IntroReferral 10000 9 Library of Congress B000243 Sen. Baucus, Max [D-MT] MAX BAUCUS D MT SIEBEN N M000303 Sen. McCain, John [R-AZ] JOHN MCCAIN R AZ SIDNEY 2003-05-22 True C000127 Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] Maria Cantwell D WA 2003-06-09 False D000064 Sen. Daschle, Thomas A. [D-SD] THOMAS DASCHLE D SD ANDREW 2003-06-11 False F000062 Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] Dianne Feinstein D CA 2003-06-17 False D000294 Sen. DeWine, Mike [R-OH] MICHAEL DEWINE R OH 2004-03-29 False International Affairs Access to health care Administrative procedure Afghanistan Age and employment Algeria American investments Arab countries Arab-Israeli conflict Armed Forces and National Security Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Boycott Bribery Child labor Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues Collective bargaining Commerce Commercial blacklisting Communist countries Conferences Congress Congress and foreign policy Congressional oversight Congressional reporting requirements Crime and Law Enforcement Customs unions Democracy Department of the Treasury Diversification in industry Due process of law Economic development Economics and Public Finance Education Egypt Elementary and secondary education Employee rights Environmental Protection Equality before the law Europe Executive orders Expropriation Families Finance and Financial Sector Forced labor Foreign Trade and International Finance Foreign investments Free enterprise Free trade Freedom of association Freedom of speech Freedom of the press Government Operations and Politics Government ethics Government ownership Government paperwork Government publicity Health Human rights Imports Infrastructure Infrastructure (Economics) Intellectual property International agencies International broadcasting International cooperation International environmental cooperation Iraq Iraq compilation Israel Job creation Joint ventures Jordan Kuwait Labor and Employment Labor unions Law Lebanon Loans Middle East and North Africa Morocco Nongovernmental organizations Nontariff trade barriers Occupational health and safety Oman Pakistan Palestinians Peace negotiations Planning Pluralism (Social sciences) Political persecution Poverty President and foreign policy Price regulation Public Lands and Natural Resources Public corruption Qatar Recognition (International law) Religion Religious liberty Right of assembly Right of property Rule of law Saudi Arabia Science, Technology, Communications Slavery Small business Social Welfare South Asia State-sponsored terrorism Subsidies Sustainable development Tariff Tariff preferences Terrorism Trade agreements Trade negotiations Tunisia Turkey United Arab Emirates Yemen International Affairs 00 2003-05-22 Introduced in Senate 2004-03-25T19:39:25Z Middle East Trade and Engagement Act of 2003 - Authorizes the President to designate any of 18 specified Middle Eastern countries as a beneficiary country if the country meets specified requirements, which focus on economic policy, the rule of law, political freedom, alignment with U.S. trade and foreign policy interests, the promotion of human rights, and combating terrorism. Authorizes the President to designate the Palestinian Authority as a beneficiary country if it satisfies specified requirements, including cooperation in anti-terrorism efforts and the acceptance of Israel's right to exist.

Authorizes the President to designate articles from all beneficiary countries, including Israel and Jordan, as eligible for duty-free treatment, subject to rules of origin requirements and certain restrictions under existing law.

Requires the President to establish a United States-Middle East Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum.

Declares that bilateral free trade agreements should be negotiated with interested countries or political entities in the greater Middle East. Requires any country or political entity that desires to negotiate such an agreement with the United States to be a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) or working toward WTO membership and to satisfy the criteria for designation as a beneficiary country. Directs the President to develop a plan for negotiating and entering into trade agreements with interested beneficiary countries.

Terminates the preferential treatment extended to beneficiary countries under this Act on December 31, 2011.

]]> Middle East Trade and Engagement Act of 2003 Display Title Middle East Trade and Engagement Act of 2003 Official Title as Introduced A bill to extend certain trade benefits to countries of the greater Middle East. Introduced in Senate IS Short Titles as Introduced Middle East Trade and Engagement Act of 2003 Introduced in Senate 2003-05-22T04:00:00Z 2003-05-22 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S7005-7007) text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.