[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 269 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 269

 To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to provide that interested persons may 
   request review by the Trade Representative of a foreign country's 
                   compliance with trade agreements.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             February 2 (legislative day, January 5), 1993

  Mr. Baucus (for himself, Mr. Riegle, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Reid, Mr. 
Levin, and Mr. Danforth) introduced the following bill; which was read 
             twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to provide that interested persons may 
   request review by the Trade Representative of a foreign country's 
                   compliance with 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 ``Trade Agreement Compliance Act of 
1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the United States has entered into numerous trade 
        agreements with foreign country trading partners;
            (2) foreign country performance with respect to certain 
        agreements has been less than contemplated, and in some cases 
        rises to the level of noncompliance; and
            (3) there is a need to provide a mechanism whereby 
        interested parties can obtain a periodic review of the 
        performance of a foreign country under a trade agreement.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to ensure that foreign countries which have made 
        commitments through agreements with the United States fully 
        abide by those commitments;
            (2) to obtain foreign country compliance with agreements 
        with the United States through negotiation or, in the 
        alternative, through unilateral action in cases in which the 
        GATT dispute settlement procedures cannot be employed;
            (3) to achieve a more open world trading system which 
        provides mutually advantageous market opportunities for trade 
        between the United States and foreign countries;
            (4) to facilitate the opening of foreign country markets to 
        exports of the United States and third countries by eliminating 
        trade barriers and increasing the access of industry of the 
        United States and third countries to such markets; and
            (5) to reduce diversion of third country exports to the 
        United States because of restricted market access in foreign 
        countries.

SEC. 3. REVIEW OF TRADE AGREEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title III of the Trade Act of 1974 
(19 U.S.C. 2411 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 306, the 
following new section:

``SEC. 306A. REQUEST FOR REVIEW OF TRADE AGREEMENTS.

    ``(a) Annual Review of Trade Agreements.--
            ``(1)(A) At the written request of an interested person, 
        the Trade Representative shall commence a review to determine 
        whether a foreign country is in compliance with any trade 
        agreement such country has with the United States.
            ``(B) An interested person may file a written request for 
        review under paragraph (1) at any time after the date which is 
        within 30 days after the anniversary of the effective date of 
        such agreement, but not later than 90 days before the date of 
        the expiration of such agreement.
            ``(C) A written request filed under this paragraph shall--
                    ``(i) identify the person filing the request and 
                the interest of that person which is affected by the 
                noncompliance of a foreign country with a trade 
                agreement with the United States;
                    ``(ii) describe the rights of the United States 
                being denied under such trade agreement; and
                    ``(iii) include information reasonably available to 
                the person regarding the failure of the foreign country 
                to comply with such trade agreement.
            ``(2) Not later than 90 days after receipt of a request for 
        review under paragraph (1), the Trade Representative shall 
        determine whether any act, policy, or practice of the foreign 
        country that is the subject of the review is in material 
        noncompliance with the terms of such agreement.
            ``(3) In conducting a review under this subsection, the 
        Trade Representative may, as the Trade Representative 
        determines appropriate, consult with the Secretary of Commerce 
        or the Secretary of Agriculture.
            ``(4)(A) For purposes of this subsection, the term 
        `interested person' means a person who has a significant 
        economic interest that is affected by the failure of a foreign 
        country to comply with a trade agreement.
            ``(B) For purposes of this subsection, the term `trade 
        agreement' means an agreement with the United States and is not 
        intended to include multilateral trade agreements such as the 
        General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
    ``(b) Factors To Be Taken Into Account.--In making a determination 
under subsection (a)(2), the Trade Representative shall take into 
account, among other relevant factors--
            ``(1) achievement of the objectives of the agreement,
            ``(2) adherence to commitments given, and
            ``(3) any evidence of actual patterns of trade that do not 
        reflect patterns of trade which would reasonably be anticipated 
        to flow from the concessions or commitments of such country 
        based on the international competitive position and export 
        potential of a United States industry.
The Trade Representative may seek the advice of the United States 
International Trade Commission when considering these factors.
    ``(c) Further Action.--
            ``(1) If, on the basis of the review carried out under 
        subsection (a), the Trade Representative determines that a 
        foreign country is in material noncompliance with an agreement 
        within the meaning of subsection (a)(2), the Trade 
        Representative shall determine what further action to take 
        under section 301(a).
            ``(2) For purposes of section 301, any determination made 
        under subsection (a) shall be treated as a determination made 
        under section 304.
            ``(3) In determining what further action to take under 
        paragraph (1), the Trade Representative shall take into account 
        the criteria described in subsection (d) with respect to 
        possible sanctions.
    ``(d) Sanctions.--In developing a list of possible sanctions to be 
imposed in the event a determination is made under subsection (a)(2), 
the Trade Representative shall seek to minimize any adverse impact on 
existing business relations or economic interests of United States 
persons, including consideration of taking action with respect to 
future products for which a significant volume of current trade does 
not exist.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents of chapter 1 of 
title III of the Trade Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 306 the following new item:

``Sec. 306A. Request for review of trade agreements.''.

SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS.

    The amendments made by this Act shall not be construed to require 
actions inconsistent with the international obligations of the United 
States, including obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs 
and Trade.

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