[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1008 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1008

 To modify the standards for responding to import surges under section 
   201 of the Trade Act of 1974, to establish mechanisms for import 
 monitoring and the prevention of circumvention of United States trade 
 laws, and to strengthen the enforcement of United States trade remedy 
                                 laws.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 11, 1999

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To modify the standards for responding to import surges under section 
   201 of the Trade Act of 1974, to establish mechanisms for import 
 monitoring and the prevention of circumvention of United States trade 
 laws, and to strengthen the enforcement of United States trade remedy 
                                 laws.

    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 ``Import Surge Relief Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 1 OF TITLE II OF THE TRADE ACT OF 1974.

    (a) Test for Positive Adjustments to Import Competition.--Section 
201(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2251(a)) is amended by 
striking ``be a substantial cause of serious injury, or the threat 
thereof,'' and inserting ``cause or threaten to cause serious injury''.
    (b) Investigations and Determinations.--Section 202 of the Trade 
Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2252) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking ``be a substantial 
        cause of serious injury, or the threat thereof,'' and inserting 
        ``cause or threaten to cause serious injury'';
            (2) by amending subsection (b)(1)(B) to read as follows:
            ``(B) For purposes of this section, the term `cause' refers 
        to a cause that contributes significantly to serious injury, or 
        the threat thereof, to the domestic industry but need not be 
        equal to or greater than any other cause.'';
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by amending paragraph (1)(A) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(A) with respect to serious injury--
                            ``(i) change in the level of sales, 
                        production, productivity, capacity utilization, 
                        profits and losses, and employment,
                            ``(ii) the significant idling of productive 
                        facilities in the domestic industry,
                            ``(iii) the inability of a significant 
                        number of firms to carry out domestic 
                        production operations at a reasonable level of 
                        profit, and
                            ``(iv) significant unemployment or 
                        underemployment within the domestic 
                        industry;'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1)(B)--
                            (i) in clause (iii), by striking ``; and'' 
                        and inserting ``, and''; and
                            (ii) by inserting after clause (iii) the 
                        following:
                            ``(iv) foreign production capacity, foreign 
                        inventories, the level of demand in third 
                        country markets, and the availability of other 
                        export markets to absorb any additional 
                        exports; and'';
                    (C) by amending paragraph (1)(C) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(C) with respect to cause--
                            ``(i) the rate, amount, and timing of the 
                        increase in imports of the product concerned in 
                        absolute and relative terms, including whether 
                        there has been a substantial increase in 
                        imports over a short period of time, and
                            ``(ii) the share of the domestic market 
                        taken by increased imports.'';
                    (D) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (6) as 
                paragraphs (6) through (9), respectively;
                    (E) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(2) In making determinations under paragraph (1) (A) and 
        (B), if domestic producers internally transfer significant 
        production of the article like or directly competitive with the 
        imported article for the production of a downstream article and 
        sell significant production of the article like or directly 
        competitive with the imported article in the merchant market, 
        and the Commission finds that--
                    ``(A) the article like or directly competitive with 
                the imported article produced that is internally 
                transferred for processing into that downstream article 
                does not enter the merchant market for the article like 
                or directly competitive with the imported article,
                    ``(B) the article like or directly competitive with 
                the imported article is the predominant material input 
                in the production of that downstream article, and
                    ``(C) the production of the article like or 
                directly competitive with the imported article sold in 
                the merchant market is not generally used in the 
                production of the downstream article,
        then the Commission, in determining market share and the 
        factors affecting financial performance set forth in paragraph 
        (1) (A) and (B), shall focus primarily on the merchant market 
        for the article like or directly competitive with the imported 
        article.
            ``(3) For purposes of paragraph (2), the terms `internally 
        transfer', `downstream article', and `merchant market' have the 
        same meanings as those terms have when used in section 
        771(7)(C)(iv) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
        1677(7)(C)(iv)).
            ``(4) In making determinations under subsection (b), the 
        Commission shall--
                    ``(A) consider the condition of the domestic 
                industry over the course of the relevant business 
                cycle, but may not aggregate the causes of declining 
                demand associated with a recession or economic downturn 
                in the United States economy into a single cause of 
                serious injury or threat of injury; and
                    ``(B) examine factors other than imports which may 
                cause or threaten to cause serious injury to the 
                domestic industry.
         The Commission shall include the results of its examination 
        under subparagraph (B) in the report submitted by the 
        Commission to the President under subsection (e).
            ``(5) In making determinations under subsection (b), the 
        Commission shall consider whether any change in the volume of 
        imports that has occurred since a petition under subsection (a) 
        was filed or a request under subsection (b) was made is related 
        to the pendency of the investigation, and if so, the Commission 
        may reduce the weight accorded to the data for the period after 
        the petition under subsection (a) was filed or the request 
        under subsection (b) was made in making its determination of 
        serious injury, or the threat thereof.''; and
                    (F) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated--
                            (i) by striking ``and (B)'' and inserting 
                        ``, (B), and (C)''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``be a substantial cause 
                        of serious injury, or the threat thereof,'' and 
                        inserting ``cause or threaten to cause serious 
                        injury'';
            (4) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), by striking ``be, or 
                likely to be a substantial cause of serious injury, or 
                the threat thereof,'' and inserting ``cause, or be 
                likely to cause, or threaten to cause, or be likely to 
                threaten to cause, serious injury'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1)(C), in the matter following 
                clause (ii), by striking ``a substantial cause of 
                serious injury, or the threat thereof,'' and inserting 
                ``causing or threatening to cause serious injury'';
                    (C) by amending paragraph (2)(A) to read as 
                follows:
            ``(2)(A) When a petition filed under subsection (a) or a 
        request filed under subsection (b) alleges that critical 
        circumstances exist and requests that provisional relief be 
        provided under this subsection with respect to imports of the 
        article identified in the petition or request, the Commission 
        shall, not later than 45 days after the petition or request is 
        filed, determine, on the basis of available information, 
        whether--
                    ``(i) there is clear evidence that increased 
                imports (either actual or relative to domestic 
                production) of the article are causing or threatening 
                to cause serious injury to the domestic industry 
                producing an article like or directly competitive with 
                the imported article; and
                    ``(ii) delay in taking action under this chapter 
                would cause damage to that industry that would be 
                difficult to repair.
        In making the determination under clause (ii), the Commission 
        should consider, among other factors that it considers 
        relevant, the timing and volume of the imports, including 
        whether there has been a substantial increase in imports over a 
        short period of time, and any other circumstances indicating 
        that delay in taking action under this chapter would cause 
        damage to the industry that would be difficult to repair.''; 
        and
                    (D) in paragraph (2)(D), by striking ``30'' and 
                inserting ``20''.
    (c) Presidential Determinations.--
            (1) Action by president.--Section 203(a) of the Trade Act 
        of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2253(a)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``and provide 
                greater economic and social benefits than costs'' and 
                inserting ``and will not have an adverse impact on the 
                United States substantially out of proportion to the 
                benefits of such action'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(F), by striking the semicolon 
                at the end of clause (iii) and inserting a comma;
                    (C) in paragraph (2)(F), by inserting immediately 
                after clause (iii) the following:
                ``except that the President shall give substantially 
                greater weight to the factors set out in clause (i) 
                than to those set out in clauses (ii) and (iii);''; and
                    (D) by amending paragraph (2)(I) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(I) the potential for harm to the national 
                security of the United States; and''.
            (2) Implementation of action recommended by commission.--
                    (A) Joint resolution.--Section 203(c) of the Trade 
                Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2253(c)) is amended by striking 
                ``90'' and inserting ``60''.
                    (B) Computation of time.--Section 152(c)(1) of the 
                Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2192(c)(1)) is amended by 
                striking ``not counting any day which is excluded under 
                section 154(b),'' and inserting ``counting all calendar 
                days in the case of a resolution described in 
                subsection (a)(1)(A), and not counting any day which is 
                excluded under section 154(b) in the case of a 
                resolution described in subsection (a) (1)(B) or 
                (2),''.
    (d) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 203(e)(6)(B) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
        U.S.C. 2253(e)(6)(B)) is amended by striking ``substantially''.
            (2) Section 264(c) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
        2354(c)) is amended by striking ``a substantial cause of 
        serious injury or threat thereof'' and inserting ``causing or 
        threatening to cause serious injury''.
            (3) Section 154(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
        2194(b)) is amended by striking the matter that precedes 
        paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
    ``(b) The 90-day period referred to in section 407(c)(2) shall be 
computed by excluding--''.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 332 OF THE TARIFF ACT OF 1930.

    Section 332 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Request for Monitoring.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any entity, including a trade 
        association, firm, certified or recognized union, or group of 
        workers, which is representative of a domestic industry that 
        produces an article that is like or directly competitive with 
        an imported article, may file a request with the President 
        pursuant to paragraph (2) for the monitoring of imports of such 
        article under subsection (g).
            ``(2) Time for presidential action.--If the request filed 
        under paragraph (1) alleges that an article is being imported 
        into the United States in such increased quantities as to cause 
        serious injury, or threat thereof, to a domestic industry, the 
        President, within 45 days after receiving the request, shall 
        determine if monitoring is appropriate.
            ``(3) Monitoring by commission.--If the determination under 
        paragraph (2) is affirmative, the President shall request, 
        under subsection (g), that the Commission monitor and 
        investigate the imports concerned for a period not to exceed 2 
        years.''.

SEC. 4. EARLY RELEASE OF IMPORT DATA.

    In order to facilitate the early identification of potentially 
disruptive import surges, the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget may grant an exception to the publication dates established for 
the release of data on United States international trade in goods and 
services in order to permit public access to preliminary international 
trade import data, if the Director notifies Congress of the early 
release of the data.

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF IMPORT MONITORING PROGRAM.

    Section 301 of the Customs Procedural Reform and Simplification Act 
of 1978 (19 U.S.C. 2075) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Steel and Agricultural Products Import Monitoring and 
Enforcement Support Program.--There is established a Steel and 
Agricultural Import Monitoring and Enforcement Program--
            ``(1) to promote and defend policy with respect to United 
        States import safeguards and countervailing or antidumping duty 
        actions if challenged in the World Trade Organization; and
            ``(2) to identify foreign trade-distorting measures and 
        develop policies and responsive actions to address them.''.

SEC. 6. HTS SUFFIX FOR MERCHANDISE SUBJECT TO ANTIDUMPING OR 
              COUNTERVAILING DUTY ORDER.

    Section 484(f) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1484(f)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting ``(1) The 
        Secretary''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and 
the International Trade Commission shall establish a suffix to the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States for merchandise that is 
subject to countervailing duty orders or antidumping duty orders under 
title VII of this Act, or subject to actions by the President under 
chapter 1 of title II, or section 406, of the Trade Act of 1974.''.

SEC. 7. PRODUCT MONITORING.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Commerce shall monitor imports on 
a monthly basis for import surges and potential unfair trade through 
the year 2000. Products to be monitored shall be determined by the 
Secretary of Commerce based on the import surge data compiled by the 
Secretary, but shall include, at a minimum, steel products, 
agricultural products, and other import-sensitive products identified 
by United States industries or entities representative of a United 
States industry that meet the necessary criteria established by the 
Secretary. In determining whether to monitor imports of a specific 
product, the Secretary shall consider the percentage increase in 
imports, the volume or value of imports, as appropriate, the level of 
import penetration, and any other factors the Secretary considers 
necessary.
    (b) Reporting Requirements.--Within 30 days after the release of 
the official December import statistics for calendar year 1999 and for 
calendar year 2000, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit a report to 
Congress summarizing the monitoring activities under this section for 
that calendar year and identifying products to be monitored in the next 
calendar year. In addition, in the report to Congress covering calendar 
year 1999, the Secretary of Commerce shall determine whether trade 
conditions during the calendar year 1999 merit extending the import 
monitoring program beyond the program's scheduled expiration at the end 
of calendar year 2000.

SEC. 8. ITC INVESTIGATION OF ANTICOMPETITIVE PRACTICES IN INTERNATIONAL 
              STEEL AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS TRADE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the United States International Trade Commission shall 
commence an investigation under section 332 of the Tariff Act of 1930--
            (1) to collect information on anticompetitive practices in 
        the international trade of steel and agricultural products;
            (2) to assess the adverse effects of such practices on 
        United States producers, workers, and consumers;
            (3) to collect information on import licensing arrangements 
        of other members of the World Trade Organization; and
            (4) to report to the Committees on Ways and Means and 
        Agriculture of the House of Representatives, the Committees on 
        Finance and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, 
        and the United States Trade Representative on its findings 
        within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Inclusion in National Trade Estimate Report.--The United States 
Trade Representative shall include the findings of the International 
Trade Commission under subsection (a) in a special section of the 
report submitted under section 181(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 after 
the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. In 
that section, the Trade Representative shall identify and explain any 
anticompetitive practices in the international trade of steel and 
agricultural products, evaluate the compatibility of import licensing 
programs with obligations under the World Trade Organization, and 
propose steps to be taken to address anticompetitive practices and 
practices inconsistent with the World Trade Organization.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section, the term ``anticompetitive 
practices in the international trade of steel and agricultural 
products'' means--
            (1) monopolies or cartels, whether or not sanctioned by 
        government authorities, which restrict the output, delivery, or 
        pricing of steel products or agricultural products;
            (2) agreements between steel producers (or agricultural 
        products producers), whether or not sanctioned by government 
        authorities, to restrict the flow of steel products (or 
        agricultural products) or limit price competition in the 
        international trade of steel or agricultural products; and
            (3) coercion or threats by manufacturers to distributors or 
        consumers which have the effect of restricting imports of steel 
        or agricultural products.
                                 <all>