[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1344 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1344

 To promote peace, prosperity, and open market economic development in 
 Armenia, through the establishment of a free trade agreement between 
             the United States and the Republic of Armenia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               August 3 (legislative day, June 30), 1993

 Mr. Gramm (for himself and Mr. McCain) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To promote peace, prosperity, and open market economic development in 
 Armenia, through the establishment of a free trade agreement between 
             the United States and the Republic of Armenia.

    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 ``Armenia Free Trade Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Enhanced trade and expanding economic prosperity are 
        strong supports for domestic tranquility and peaceful relations 
        among nations.
            (2) The history of Marxist misrule and government direction 
        of the economy has left the countries of the former Soviet 
        Union with severe economic problems which, if not resolved, can 
        undermine peace both domestically and abroad.
            (3) The economic development and the peaceful relations of 
        Armenia and the other countries of the former Soviet Union are 
        in the interests of the United States.
            (4) International trade and investment are the best forms 
        of assistance that the United States can provide, dwarfing the 
        amounts of funding that could be provided by traditional forms 
        of foreign assistance.
            (5) Trade protection endangers economic prosperity and 
        undermines civil liberty and constitutionally limited 
        government.
            (6) The reduction of government interference in the foreign 
        and domestic sectors of a nation's economy and the concomitant 
        promotion of economic opportunity and freedoms promote civil 
        liberty and constitutionally limited government.
            (7) Countries that observe a consistent policy of free 
        trade, the promotion of free enterprise and other economic 
        freedoms (including protection of private property), the 
        removal of barriers to foreign direct investment, in the 
        context of constitutionally limited government and minimal 
        interference in the economy, will follow the surest and most 
        effective prescription to alleviate poverty and provide for 
        economic, social, and political development.

SEC. 3. FREE TRADE AGREEMENT NEGOTIATING AUTHORITY.

    (a) In General.--The President shall take action to initiate 
negotiations to obtain a trade agreement with the Republic of Armenia, 
the terms of which provide for the elimination or reduction of tariffs 
and other nontariff barriers to trade and for the establishment of a 
free trade area between the Republic of Armenia and the United States.
    (b) Reciprocal Basis.--An agreement entered into under subsection 
(a) shall be reciprocal and provide mutual reductions in trade barriers 
to promote trade, economic growth, and employment.

SEC. 4. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF FREE TRADE AGREEMENT.

    A draft of a bill implementing a trade agreement entered into under 
section 3 of this Act, that is submitted to the Congress by the 
President, shall be considered to be an implementing bill or an 
implementing revenue bill, as the case may be, for purposes of section 
151 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2191). For purposes of this 
Act, the provisions of section 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
2191) shall remain in effect until January 1, 1999.

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