[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 918 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 918

 To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to provide trade adjustment assistance 
during the implementation and phase-in of the North American Free Trade 
                   Agreement, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                May 6 (legislative day, April 19), 1993

 Mr. Roth (for himself, Mr. Durenberger, and Mr. Grassley) 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 trade adjustment assistance 
during the implementation and phase-in of the North American Free Trade 
                   Agreement, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``NAFTA Worker 
Adjustment Assistance Act''.
    (b) Reference.--Whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed in 
terms of an amendment to a section, subsection, or other provision, the 
reference shall be considered to be made to a section, subsection, or 
other provision of the Trade Act of 1974.

SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF WORKERS AFFECTED BY NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE 
              AGREEMENT.

    (a) Adjustment Assistance for Workers.--
            (1) In general.--Section 222 (19 U.S.C. 2272) is amended by 
        adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Special Rule for Workers Affected by North American Free 
Trade Agreement.--
            ``(1) In the case of a group of workers affected by the 
        North American Free Trade Agreement (including workers in any 
        agricultural firm or subdivision thereof), the Secretary shall 
        certify such group as eligible for adjustment assistance under 
        this chapter, if--
                    ``(A) the Secretary makes the determination under 
                paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a), and
                    ``(B) the Secretary determines that--
                            ``(i) increases of imports of articles like 
                        or directly competitive with articles which are 
                        produced by such workers' firm or appropriate 
                        subdivision thereof, contributed importantly to 
                        such total or partial separation, or threat 
                        thereof, and to such decline in sales,
                            ``(ii) the North American Free Trade 
                        Agreement contributed importantly to a shift in 
                        production to Mexico of articles like or 
                        directly competitive with articles which are 
                        produced by such workers' firm or appropriate 
                        subdivision thereof, or
                            ``(iii) the group of workers is employed in 
                        the manufacture of motor vehicles in the United 
                        States.
            ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term `North 
        American Free Trade Agreement' means an agreement between the 
        United States and Mexico (without regard to whether Canada is a 
        party to all or part of such agreement) which provides for the 
        establishment of a free trade area between the two nations 
        through the reduction and elimination of barriers to trade.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Subsection (b) of section 222 
        (19 U.S.C. 2272(b)) is amended by inserting ``and subsection 
        (c)'' after ``subsection (a)(3)''.
    (b) Determinations by Secretary of Labor.--Section 223 (19 U.S.C. 
2273) is amended by striking ``(a)'' and inserting ``(a)(1)'', and by 
adding at the end of subsection (a) the following new paragraph:
            ``(2) As soon as possible after the date a notice is 
        received under section 239(a)(5), but in no event later than 10 
        working days after that date, the Secretary shall determine 
        if--
                    ``(A) the group of workers is described in section 
                222(c)(1)(B)(iii), or
                    ``(B)(i) there has been a shift in production to 
                Mexico of articles like or directly competitive with 
                articles which are produced by such workers' firm or 
                appropriate subdivision thereof, and
                    ``(ii) the North American Free Trade Agreement 
                contributed importantly to such shift, and
        shall issue a certification of eligibility to apply for 
        assistance under this chapter covering workers in any group 
        with respect to which such determination has been made.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the day a bill implementing the North American Free Trade 
Agreement is enacted into law and shall terminate on the date on which 
such Agreement is fully phased in.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE II OF THE TRADE ACT OF 1974.

    (a) Reemployment Services.--Section 235 (19 U.S.C. 2295) is amended 
to read as follows:

``SEC. 235. EMPLOYMENT SERVICES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall ensure that adversely 
affected workers covered by a certification under subchapter A of this 
chapter are provided early and effective reemployment assistance. Such 
assistance should include--
            ``(1) counseling,
            ``(2) testing,
            ``(3) labor market information,
            ``(4) job development,
            ``(5) job search and placement services, and
            ``(6) other supportive services provided for under any 
        other Federal law, including services provided by a State 
        pursuant to title III of the Job Training Partnership Act.
    ``(b) Agreements With States.--The Secretary shall, whenever 
appropriate, procure the services described in subsection (a) by 
entering into agreements with States, and shall make available to 
States such funds as may be necessary to provide such services.''.
    (b) Training.--
            (1) In general.--Section 236(a)(2)(A) of such Act (19 
        U.S.C. 2296(a)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``$80,000,000'' 
        and inserting ``$120,000,000''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply to the first fiscal year after the fiscal year in 
        which the United States enters into the North American Free 
        Trade Agreement, and to each fiscal year thereafter.
    (c) Agreements With States.--
            (1) Section 239(a) (19 U.S.C. 2311(a)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``and (4)'' and inserting ``(4)'', 
                and
                    (B) by striking the period at the end thereof and 
                inserting ``, and (5) will notify the Employment and 
                Training Administration of any notice received under 
                the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act 
                within 5 working days after receiving such notice.''.
            (2) Section 239 (19 U.S.C. 2311) is amended by adding at 
        the end thereof the following new subsection:
    ``(g) Reporting.--
            ``(1) Any agreement entered into under this section shall 
        provide for the establishment of a standardized system for 
        reporting the operation and effectiveness of the State program 
        during the preceding year.
            ``(2) Reports under this subsection shall be submitted by 
        the States to the Secretary on an annual basis.''.

SEC. 4. FUNDING FOR NAFTA WORKER ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Temporary Imposition of De Minimus Worker Adjustment Fee.--The 
President shall make a determination of the amount necessary to fund 
worker assistance programs under chapter 2 of title II of the Trade Act 
of 1974 for workers described in section 222(c) of such Act and shall 
negotiate an agreement as part of the supplemental agreements to the 
North American Free Trade Agreement for the imposition by the United 
States of a de minimus uniform fee on all articles imported into the 
United States from Mexico. Such fee shall--
            (1) be used to fund programs which assist United States 
        workers experiencing dislocation as a result of the 
        implementation and operation of the North American Free Trade 
        Agreement,
            (2) take effect on the date that is 30 days after the date 
        a bill implementing the North American Free Trade Agreement is 
        enacted into law, and
            (3) expire on the date which is 30 days after the date on 
        which such Agreement is fully phased in.
    (b) Part of Revenues To Fund Trade Adjustment Assistance.--If the 
President is unable to negotiate the imposition of a de minimus uniform 
fee pursuant to subsection (a), the President shall determine the 
amount necessary to fund the programs described in such subsection and 
shall designate a portion of the tariffs imposed on articles imported 
from Mexico sufficient to fund such programs. Such amount shall be 
transferred to the Trade Adjustment Assistance Trust Fund (established 
under section 286 of the Trade Act of 1974). In negotiating the 
elimination of tariffs under the North American Free Trade Agreement, 
the President shall assure revenues from such tariffs are adequate to 
provide assistance to United States workers who are dislocated as a 
result of such Agreement.
    (c) Special Safeguard Provisions.--Any increase in duties under any 
special safeguard provision in the North American Free Trade Agreement, 
which are imposed to remedy injury to United States industries 
resulting from increased imports, shall be transferred to the Trade 
Adjustment Assistance Trust Fund.

SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE TRUST 
              FUND.

    (a) In General.--Section 286(b)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
U.S.C. 2396(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``the duty imposed by section 
287'' and inserting ``any fees imposed or duties collected pursuant to 
section 4 of the NAFTA Worker Adjustment Assistance Act.''.
    (b) Availability of Amounts in Trust Fund; Authorization.--
Subsections (d) and (e) of section 286 (19 U.S.C. 2396) are amended to 
read as follows:
    ``(d) Availability of Amounts in Treasury.--
            ``(1) Amounts in the Trust Fund shall be available as 
        provided in appropriation Acts for expenditures that are 
        required to carry out the provisions of chapter 2 with respect 
        to workers described in section 222(c) (including 
        administrative costs) and for payments required under 
        subsection (e)(2).
            ``(2)(A) If the total amount of funds expended in any 
        fiscal year to carry out chapter 2 with respect to such workers 
        (including administrative costs) exceeds the amount collected 
        under section 4 of the NAFTA Worker Adjustment Assistance Act 
        during the preceding 1-year period, the Secretary of Labor and 
        the Secretary of Commerce (in consultation with the Secretary 
        of the Treasury) shall make a pro rata reduction in the amount 
        of trade adjustment allowances that are paid under sections 231 
        through 234 to such workers.
            ``(B) The reduction shall be--
                    ``(i) based on estimates of the amount of funds 
                that will be necessary to carry out chapter 2 and the 
                amount of revenue that will be raised by section 4 of 
                the NAFTA Worker Adjustment Assistance Act during the 
                remainder of such fiscal year and the succeeding fiscal 
                year,
                    ``(ii) made in a manner that ensures that all 
                workers eligible for assistance under section 222(c) 
                receive some assistance under such chapter 2, and
                    ``(iii) made in a manner that ensures that the 
                expenditures for such assistance during the remainder 
                of the fiscal year and the succeeding fiscal year do 
                not exceed the amount of funds available in the Trust 
                Fund.
            ``(C) No reduction may be made under this paragraph in the 
        amount of trade readjustment allowance payable under sections 
        231 through 234 to a worker who--
                    ``(i) is described in section 222(c), and
                    ``(ii) received a trade readjustment allowance 
                under sections 231 through 234 for the week preceding 
                the first week for which a reduction is otherwise being 
                made under this paragraph.
            ``(D) If a pro rata reduction is in effect at the close of 
        a fiscal year, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of 
        Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, 
        may adjust or modify such reduction at the beginning of the 
        fiscal year succeeding such fiscal year, based on estimates of 
        the amount of funds that will be necessary to carry out chapter 
        2 with respect to workers described in section 222(c), and of 
        the amount of revenue that will be raised by section 4 of the 
        NAFTA Worker Adjustment Assistance Act during the succeeding 
        fiscal year.
            ``(E) Any pro rata reduction made under subparagraph (A), 
        and any pro rata reduction which is adjusted or modified under 
        subparagraph (D), shall cease to apply after the week in 
        which--
                    ``(i) a 1-year period ends during which the total 
                amount of funds that would have been expended to carry 
                out chapter 2 with respect to workers described in 
                section 222(c) (including administrative costs), if 
                such reduction were not in effect, did not exceed an 
                amount equal to the total amount collected under 
                section 4 of the NAFTA Worker Adjustment Assistance Act 
                during such 1-year period, or
                    ``(ii) the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of 
                Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of the 
                Treasury, determine that the amount of funds available 
                in the Trust Fund are sufficient to carry out chapter 2 
                with respect to workers described in section 222(c) 
                without such reduction.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations; Repayable Advances.--
            ``(1)(A) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
        Trust Fund, as repayable advances, such sums as may from time 
        to time be necessary to make the expenditures described in 
        subsection (d)(1).
            ``(B) Any advance appropriated to the Trust Fund under 
        subparagraph (A) may be paid to the Trust Fund only to the 
        extent that the total amount of advances paid during the fiscal 
        year to the Trust Fund from any appropriation authorized under 
        subparagraph (A) that are outstanding after such advance is 
        paid to the Trust Fund does not exceed the lesser of--
                    ``(i) the excess of--
                            ``(I) the total amount of funds that the 
                        Secretary of the Treasury (in consultation with 
                        the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of 
                        Commerce) estimates will be necessary for the 
                        payments and expenditures described in 
                        subsection (d)(1) for such fiscal year, over
                            ``(II) the total amount of funds that the 
                        Secretary of the Treasury estimates will be 
                        available in the Trust Fund during the fiscal 
                        year (determined without regard to any advances 
                        made under this subsection during such fiscal 
                        year), or
                    ``(ii) the excess of--
                            ``(I) an amount equal to the total amount 
                        the Secretary of the Treasury estimates will be 
                        collected under section 4 of the NAFTA Worker 
                        Adjustment Assistance Act during such fiscal 
                        year, over
                            ``(II) the amount described in clause 
                        (i)(II).
            ``(2) Advances made to the Trust Fund from appropriations 
        authorized under paragraph (1)(A) shall be repaid, and interest 
        on such advances shall be paid, to the general fund of the 
        Treasury of the United States when the Secretary of the 
        Treasury determines that sufficient funds are available in the 
        Trust Fund for such purposes.
            ``(3) Interest on advances made from appropriations 
        authorized under paragraph (1)(A) shall be at a rate determined 
        by the Secretary of the Treasury (as of the close of the 
        calendar month preceding the month in which the advance is 
        made) to be equal to the current average market yield on 
        outstanding marketable obligations of the United States with 
        remaining periods to maturity comparable to the anticipated 
        period during which the advance will be outstanding.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--Section 1430(c) of the Omnibus Trade and 
Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 2397 note) is amended by 
striking ``the first date'' and all that follows through the end period 
and inserting ``the day on which a bill implementing the North American 
Free Trade Agreement is enacted into law.''.

SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF SUNSET.

    Subsection (b) of section 285 (19 U.S.C. 2271, preceding note) is 
amended by striking ``no duty shall be imposed under section 287, after 
September 30, 1993'' and inserting ``no fee shall be imposed under 
section 4 of the NAFTA Worker Adjustment Assistance Act after September 
30, 1998''.

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