[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4291 Introduced in House (IH)]







                                    


104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4291

   To provide for the multilateral negotiation of Western Hemisphere 
   environmental, labor, and agricultural standards, to implement as 
      United States negotiating objectives in any free trade area 
  negotiations pursuant to the Free Trade Agreement for the Americas 
  certain threshold protections regarding enforceable worker rights, 
 agricultural standards, and environmental quality, and to implement a 
corresponding, comprehensive multilateral dispute resolution mechanism 
 to investigate, adjudicate, and render binding, enforceable judgments 
     against any unfair trade practices arising within the Western 
 Hemisphere free trade area, including those involving the systematic 
 denial or practical nullification of certain threshold protections of 
   worker rights, agricultural standards, and environmental quality.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 28, 1996

   Mr. Brown of California introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for the multilateral negotiation of Western Hemisphere 
   environmental, labor, and agricultural standards, to implement as 
      United States negotiating objectives in any free trade area 
  negotiations pursuant to the Free Trade Agreement for the Americas 
  certain threshold protections regarding enforceable worker rights, 
 agricultural standards, and environmental quality, and to implement a 
corresponding, comprehensive multilateral dispute resolution mechanism 
 to investigate, adjudicate, and render binding, enforceable judgments 
     against any unfair trade practices arising within the Western 
 Hemisphere free trade area, including those involving the systematic 
 denial or practical nullification of certain threshold protections of 
   worker rights, agricultural standards, and environmental quality.

    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 ``Fair International Standards in 
Trade for the Americas Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. PRINCIPAL NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES OF THE UNITED STATES.

    The purposes, policies, and objectives that are applicable with 
respect to any free-trade area trade agreement negotiated under the 
authority of such title I in furtherance of the Free Trade Agreement 
for the Americas, as proposed at the Summit of the Americas that was 
held in December, 1994, in Miami, Florida with any country in the 
Western Hemisphere outside North America (hereafter in this Act 
referred to as the ``FTAA'') include the achievement of the overall and 
principal trade negotiating objectives of the United States set forth 
in section 1101 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, 
and the following principal negotiating objectives:
            (1) Worker rights and standards and protection.--With a 
        view to establishing open, expanding, mutually beneficial trade 
        among the countries of the Western Hemisphere, to spreading the 
        benefits of such trade as widely as possible, to protecting 
        citizens interests, and to enhancing respect for human rights 
        throughout the Western Hemisphere, the principal negotiating 
        objectives of the United States with respect to worker rights 
        and standards, and the protection thereof, in the conduct of 
        international trade, commerce, and finance are--
                    (A) to ensure freedom of association and to affirm 
                the vital role that free and independent unions play in 
                democratic governance;
                    (B) to ensure the rights of working people to 
                organize, to bargain collectively, and to strike, and 
                to ensure the right of workers' representatives to 
                legal protection in the free exercise of their duties 
                and fundamental human rights;
                    (C) to establish a minimum age for the employment 
                of children at 14 years if the employment will not 
                result in the neglect of their education and will not 
                harm their health and well-being;
                    (D) to ensure the right to health at the workplace 
                and to a healthy working environment, including freedom 
                from exposure to toxic substances;
                    (E) to guarantee the right of all workers to equal 
                protection, including freedom from discrimination in 
                wages or working conditions, regardless of their 
                nationality, race, religion, age, or sex; and
                    (F) to guarantee humane standards of wages and 
                hours of work that take into account different levels 
                of national economic development, but provide for 
                improvement concurrently with gains in productivity.
            (2) Environmental quality and protection.--In recognition 
        of the shared responsibility of the countries of the Western 
        Hemisphere as stewards responsible for, and their common 
        interest in, preserving and sustaining the Western Hemisphere's 
        natural habitat and resources over time, the principal 
        negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to 
        environmental quality and protection are--
                    (A) the protection of environmental quality and of 
                the integrity of ecosystems, as well as the maintenance 
                of scarce biological and physical resources, in the 
                conduct of international trade, commerce, and finance;
                    (B) the establishment of a process for the full and 
                public disclosure of the kinds, quantities, and risks 
                associated with toxic chemical and hazardous substance 
                discharges into the air, water, and land;
                    (C) the prevention of the export of toxic and 
                hazardous substances and products, such as carcinogens 
                and unsafe drugs, that are banned in the country of 
                origin;
                    (D) the prevention of the export of products 
                (except to the extent of remediation or repatriation 
                contracts that already exist) manufactured, extracted, 
                harvested, or grown under environmental conditions or 
                workplace safety and health conditions that undermine 
                counterpart standards, particularly those applicable to 
                the counterpart industry in the importing country or 
                the counterpart standards, in general, in the importing 
                country; and
                    (E) to require that industries within their 
                national borders reduce the amount and toxicity of 
                hazardous substances that they use, minimize the amount 
                and toxicity of wastes they generate, and demonstrate 
                publicly their use of best available technology for 
                pollution abatement in their production processes.
            (3) Unfair trade practices.--In acknowledging different, 
        evolving comparative advantages among trading nations, but with 
a view to distinguishing between acceptable and unacceptable means of 
competition among trading nations, the principal negotiating objectives 
of the United States with respect to unfair trade practices shall 
include the adoption, as a principle, and in enforcement action that 
the systematic denial or practical nullification of the protections 
accorded worker rights and standards and environmental quality (within 
the context of paragraphs (1) and (2)) as a means for any country or 
its industries to gain competitive advantage in international trade, 
commerce, and finance is an actionable unfair trade practice.
            (4) Comprehensive dispute resolution.--The principal 
        negotiating objectives of the United States are to achieve a 
        process for the settlement of disputes that arise between or 
        among the signatories with respect to unfair trade practices, 
        including not only those involving commonly identified unfair 
        trade barriers, but unfair practices, within the context of the 
        negotiating objectives listed in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) 
        involving the systematic denial or practical nullification of 
        worker rights and standards and failure to apply or enforce 
        standards relating to environmental quality or protection, 
        resulting in distortions to international trade, commerce, and 
        finance. Such a process shall include--
                    (A) notification by each signatory nation to the 
                other signatories regarding changes in law or practice 
                that will materially affect the agreement;
                    (B) provision, on a sequential basis and subject to 
                reasonable time limits, for consultation between or 
                among signatories, for mediation, and, if necessary, 
                for binding arbitration;
                    (C) the establishment of a multilateral commission, 
                with authority to investigate, adjudicate, issue 
                binding judgments, and take enforcement action, in a 
                timely manner regarding the issues in dispute pursuant 
                to subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) that consists of equal numbers of 
                        experts from the signatory nations (with United 
                        States experts being subject to the advice and 
                        consent of the United States Senate), and
                            (ii) the chairmanship of which will be 
                        filled by individuals who--
                                    (I) are citizens of the respective 
                                signatories,
                                    (II) serve on a rotational basis 
                                among the signatories for 2-year terms, 
                                except that no individual may serve in 
                                such office for more than one term, and
                                    (III) are appointed to such office 
                                by the respective chief executive 
                                officers of the signatories (and any 
                                chairperson appointed from the United 
                                States is subject to the advice and 
                                consent of the United States);
                    (D) provision for the multilateral commission, in 
                its proceedings and deliberations, to consult with a 
                wide array of representative organizations, in addition 
                to government agencies, with expertise in labor, 
                environmental, agricultural, and scientific matters in 
                each of the signatory nations;
                    (E) provision for the multilateral commission to 
                enforce its judgments, as appropriate, by authorizing 
                an aggrieved signatory nation to--
                            (i) suspend, withdraw, or prevent the 
                        application of the benefits of trade agreement 
                        concessions to carry out any trade agreement 
                        entered into pursuant to the FTAA with the 
                        offending signatory nation,
                            (ii) impose proportionate duties on 
                        specific products, companies, or industries, or 
                        other offsetting import restrictions on the 
                        goods of, and offsetting fees or restrictions 
                        on the services of, the offending signatory 
                        nation for such time as the multilateral 
                        commission determines, or
                            (iii) enter into binding agreements with 
                        the offending signatory nation that commit such 
                        nation to--
                                    (I) eliminate, or phase out, the 
                                act, policy, or practice that 
                                constitutes an unfair trade practice 
                                and that is the subject of the action 
                                to be taken under clause (i) or (ii),
                                    (II) eliminate any burden or 
                                restriction on Western Hemisphere 
                                trade, as defined in the FTAA, 
                                resulting from such unfair trade 
                                practice,
                                    (III) provide the aggrieved 
                                signatory nation with compensatory 
                                trade benefits that are satisfactory to 
                                the multilateral commission and meet 
                                the requirements of subparagraph (F), 
                                or
                                    (IV) enter into debt-for-science 
                                exchanges, or similar arrangements, as 
                                appropriate, that are satisfactory to 
                                the multilateral commission and that 
                                serve, as potential funding sources for 
                                remedies recommended under paragraph 
                                (5), to ameliorate the issues in 
                                dispute pursuant to subparagraph (B);
                    (F) provision that any binding agreement described 
                in subparagraph (E)(iii)(III) provide compensatory 
                trade benefits (including, but not limited to, 
                appropriate fees on trans-border movements of products, 
                services, or capital) that benefit the economic sector 
                which includes the domestic industry in the aggrieved 
                signatory nation that would benefit from the 
                elimination of the act, policy, or practice that 
                constitutes an unfair trade practice and that is the 
                subject of the action to be taken under subparagraph 
                (E), or benefit the economic sector within the 
                aggrieved signatory nation as closely related as 
                possible to such sector, unless--
                            (i) the provision of such trade benefits is 
                        not feasible, or
                            (ii) trade benefits that benefit any other 
                        economic sector within the aggrieved signatory 
                        nation would be clearly and substantially more 
                        satisfactory than such trade benefits;
                    (G) provision for the multilateral commission, in 
                taking action against unfair trade practices, as 
                defined in the FTAA, to avoid diminishing higher 
                protections accorded worker rights and standards and 
                environmental quality and protection and to give 
                preference to the prompt elimination of the act, 
                policy, or practice at issue over--
                            (i) the imposition of duties or other 
                        offsetting import restrictions or compensatory 
                        trade benefits, or
                            (ii) the entering into of debt relief 
                        arrangements described in subparagraph 
                        (E)(iii)(IV);
                    (H) provision for the government of any signatory 
                nation or any informed person within a signatory nation 
                to file a petition requesting the multilateral 
                commission to take action under subparagraph (E) 
                against any unfair trade practice, including the 
                systematic denial or practical nullification of worker 
                rights and standards and failure to apply or enforce 
                standards relating to environmental quality or 
                protection (referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2)), and 
                setting forth the allegations in support of the request 
                in public hearings and written testimony; and
                    (I) provision for the proceedings, record, and 
                decisions (along with the supporting rationale) of the 
                multilateral commission to be made public information.

SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--In the event of the establishment of a 
multilateral Commission described in paragraph (4) of section 2, the 
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall 
establish, through the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, 
Engineering, and Technology, an interagency committee to provide 
technical assistance, advice, and recommendations to United States 
experts on the multilateral commission. The interagency committee shall 
include one representative from each of the following agencies:
            (1) The National Science Foundation.
            (2) The Environmental Protection Agency.
            (3) Department of Labor.
            (4) The Department of the Interior.
            (5) The Department of Agriculture.
            (6) The Department of Energy.
            (7) The National Institute of Standards and Technology.
            (8) The Department of Justice.
    (b) Specific Functions.--In addition to the general functions 
referred to in subsection (a), the interagency committee established 
under such subsection shall evaluate the scientific and technological 
aspects of certain disputes brought before the multilateral commission 
that pertain to environmental quality and protection and to workplace 
safety and health, and shall determine if violations related to the 
disputes reflect--
            (1) inadequate or insufficient application of known 
        technologies and techniques for mitigation of the violations, 
        or
            (2) need for additional research on, and the development 
        of, new technologies and techniques for mitigation of the 
        violations.
Consistent with paragraph (4)(G) of section 2, and after consultations 
with State and local government officials and a wide array of 
representative organizations with expertise in environmental, labor, 
agricultural, and scientific matters, the interagency committee shall 
recommend to the United States experts on the multilateral commission, 
when appropriate, specific technological remedies to eliminate 
violations or further research that is needed to develop scientific and 
technological remedies.

SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR FUTURE TRADE AGREEMENTS PURSUANT TO THE FREE 
              TRADE AGREEMENT FOR THE AMERICAS AND ANY INTERIM 
              AGREEMENTS.

    The authority of the President to enter into any trade agreement 
under subsection (b) or (c) of section 1102 of the Omnibus Trade and 
Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 2902) after January 1, 1995, or 
other authority provided by statute to enter into trade agreements 
described in such subsections, may be exercised only if the trade 
agreement contains provisions that require each party to the agreement 
to--
            (1) adopt and enforce laws to afford to workers in that 
        country (including any designated zone in that country) worker 
        rights and standards described in paragraph (1) of section 2;
            (2) adopt and enforce laws to promote respect for 
        environmental quality and protection in that country (including 
        any designated zone in that country) described in paragraph (2) 
        of section 2;
            (3) treat as actionable unfair trade practices the 
        systematic or practical nullification of the protection 
        accorded worker rights and standards and environmental quality 
        (within the context of paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 2) as 
        a means for any country or its industries to gain competitive 
        advantage in international trade, commerce, or finance; and
            (4) comply with the procedures, binding rulings, and 
        enforcement actions of the dispute resolution mechanism 
        developed pursuant to paragraph (4) of section 2.
                                 <all>