[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4288 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4288

   To establish the negotiating objectives of the United States with 
respect to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, to establish criteria for 
   the accession of state trading regimes to the WTO, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 21, 1998

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish the negotiating objectives of the United States with 
respect to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, to establish criteria for 
   the accession of state trading regimes to the WTO, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Agriculture Export Enhancement Act 
of 1998''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Agreement on agriculture.--The term ``Agreement on 
        Agriculture'' means the Agreement described in section 
        101(d)(2) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
            (2) Agreement on the application of sanitary; and 
        phytosanitary measures.--The term ``Agreement on the 
        Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures'' means the 
        Agreement described in section 101(d)(3) of the Uruguay Round 
        Agreements Act.
            (3) Uruguay round agreements.--The term ``Uruguay Round 
        Agreements'' has the meaning given such term in section 2(7) of 
        the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3501(7).
            (4) World trade organization.--The term ``World Trade 
        Organization'' means the organization established pursuant to 
        the WTO Agreement.
            (5) WTO agreement.--The term ``WTO Agreement'' means the 
        Agreement Establishing The World Trade Organization entered 
        into on April 15, 1994.
            (6) WTO and wto member.--The terms ``WTO'' and ``WTO 
        member'' have the meanings given those terms in section 2 of 
        the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3501).

SEC. 3. PRINCIPAL AGRICULTURAL TRADE NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES.

    The principle agricultural trade negotiating objectives of the 
United States with respect to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture shall 
include the following:
            (1) Elimination of tariffs on agricultural products.--The 
        United States shall negotiate a specific date after which 
        tariffs imposed on agricultural products shall be eliminated by 
        WTO members and the United States shall negotiate the immediate 
        elimination or substantial reduction of the tariffs imposed on 
        the following products by certain WTO members:
                    (A) Tariffs imposed on meat products by Japan.
                    (B) Tariffs imposed on meat products by South 
                Korea.
                    (C) Tariffs imposed on grains, livestock, and meat 
                products by the Philippines.
                    (D) Tariffs imposed on wheat by South Africa.
                    (E) Tariffs imposed on milling wheat, corn, and 
                sorghum by Turkey.
            (2) Elimination of export and other trade-distorting 
        subsidies.--The United States shall negotiate a specific date 
        after which all export and other trade-distorting subsidies 
        shall be eliminated by WTO members and the United States shall 
        negotiate the elimination of the following subsidies provided 
        by the certain WTO members:
                    (A) Export subsidies on wheat, wheat flour, beef, 
                and poultry provided by the European Union.
                    (B) Domestic subsidies on pork and feed grains 
                provided by the European Union.
            (3) Elimination of the unfair or trade-distorting 
        activities of state trading enterprises.--
                    (A) In general.--The United States shall negotiate 
                the elimination of the exclusive right of state trading 
                enterprises to import agricultural products in the case 
                of members of the WTO and shall negotiate the 
                elimination of the ability of state trading enterprises 
                to use their exclusive authority over the export of 
                agricultural products to distort trade and 
                international prices.
                    (B) Specific reforms.--The United States shall 
                negotiate the following specific reforms with respect 
                to the activities of state trading enterprises:
                            (i) Ensure that Australia adheres to its 
                        commitment to end the export monopoly of the 
                        Australia Wheat Board no later than January 1, 
                        1999.
                            (ii) Ensure that Canada eliminates the 
                        discretionary pricing practices of the Canadian 
                        Wheat Board.
            (4) Elimination of unjustified sanitary and phytosanitary 
        restrictions on imports of united states agricultural 
        products.--The United States shall negotiate the elimination of 
        the following sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions on 
        imports of United States agricultural products to the extent 
        that the restrictions are inconsistent with the WTO Agreement 
        on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures:
                    (A) Australia's quarantine and health restrictions 
                on imports of livestock and poultry.
                    (B) Australia's prohibition on poultry imports in 
                the absence of WTO-required risk assessments.
                    (C) Australia's ban on cooked pork.
                    (D) Australia's requirement that most feed grains 
                be steam-treated or processed in an alternative 
                satisfactory manner at the port of entry.
                    (E) Chile's refusal to permit United States beef in 
                consumer cuts to enter the market without being graded 
                to Chilean standards.
                    (F) Egypt's refusal to adhere to the standard 
                international practice of allowing producers to 
                determine the shelf life of their product.
                    (G) The European Union's failure to require 
                labeling only for health or safety reasons.
                    (H) The failure of the European Union's Specified 
                Risk Material regulations to recognize regional disease 
                differences in animal disease status and to account for 
                available scientific information and advice relating to 
                the control of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and 
                other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in 
                products of animal origin.
                    (I) The failure of the European Union to implement 
                the requirements of the WTO with respect to the 
                European Union's ban on growth promoting hormones in 
                meat production.
                    (J) The European Union's lengthy and unpredictable 
                approval process for agricultural products that contain 
                genetically modified organisms.
                    (K) Greece's ban on the import of United States 
                wheat.
                    (L) India's sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions 
                on imports of United States wheat.
                    (M) Israel's ban on imports of non-kosher meat and 
                meat products.
                    (N) South Korea's excessive labeling requirements.
                    (O) South Korea's failure to base its standards and 
                testing procedures on scientific risk assessment.
                    (P) Poland's zero tolerance policy on weed seeds.
                    (Q) Turkey's ban on cattle and beef imports.

SEC. 4. ACCESSION OF COUNTRIES WITH STATE TRADING ENTERPRISES TO 
              GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE AND WORLD TRADE 
              ORGANIZATION.

    Section 1106 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 
(19 U.S.C. 2905) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``major foreign country'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``foreign country'';
            (2) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph (1) to read as 
        follows:
            ``(1) whether state trading enterprises produce or procure 
        a significant share of--
                    ``(A) the goods exported from such foreign country;
                    ``(B) the goods imported into such foreign country; 
                or
                    ``(C) the goods produced domestically in such 
                foreign country; and''; and
            (3) in subsection (b)(2)(A)--
                    (A) by amending clause (i) to read as follows:
                            ``(i) will make purchases and sales in 
                        international trade based solely on commercial 
                        considerations (including price, quality, 
                        availability, marketability, and 
                        transportation), and''; and
                    (B) in clause (ii), by striking ``, in accordance 
                with customary practice,''.

SEC. 5. ACCESSION OF CHINA TO THE WTO.

    The United States shall not agree to the accession of the People's 
Republic of China to the WTO until the President certifies to Congress 
the following:
            (1) The People's Republic of China evenly applies 
        phytosanitary and veterinary import quarantine standards that 
        are based upon modern laboratory techniques.
            (2) The People's Republic of China agrees to eliminate the 
        restrictive import licensing requirements it imposes on pork 
        products.
            (3) The People's Republic of China agrees to permit the 
        unrestricted importation of meat products.

SEC. 6. THE ACCESSION OF RUSSIA TO THE WTO.

    The United States shall not agree to the accession of Russia to the 
WTO until the President certifies to Congress the following:
            (1) Russia agrees to change the Russian Veterinary 
        Department requirements in a manner that brings the 
        requirements into conformity with the WTO's Agreement on the 
        Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. In 
        particular the requirements must be more transparent and based 
        on sound science.
            (2) Russia agrees to change other sanitary and 
        phytosanitary requirements that violate the WTO Agreement on 
        the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, 
        especially the requirements governing the import of planting 
        seeds and meat products.
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