[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1099 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1099

 To establish a mechanism for using the duties imposed on products of 
countries that fail to comply with WTO dispute resolution decisions to 
             provide relief to injured domestic producers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 20, 1999

  Mr. Baucus (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Kerrey, Mr. 
Johnson, and Mr. Daschle) introduced the following bill; which was read 
             twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a mechanism for using the duties imposed on products of 
countries that fail to comply with WTO dispute resolution decisions to 
             provide relief to injured domestic producers.

    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 Injury Compensation Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) United States goods and services compete in global 
        markets and it is necessary for trade agreements to promote 
        such competition.
            (2) The current dispute resolution mechanism of the World 
        Trade Organization is designed to resolve disputes in a manner 
        that brings stability and predictability to world trade.
            (3) When foreign countries refuse to comply with a panel or 
        Appellate Body report of the World Trade Organization and 
        violate any of the Uruguay Round Agreements, it has a 
        deleterious effect on the United States economy.
            (4) A WTO member can retaliate against a country that 
        refuses to implement a panel or Appellate Body report by 
        imposing additional duties of up to 100 percent on goods 
        imported from the noncomplying country.
            (5) In cases where additional duties are imposed on 
        imported goods, the duties should be used to provide relief to 
        the industry that is injured by the noncompliance.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Agricultural commodity.--The term ``agricultural 
        commodity'' has the meaning given the term by section 102 (1) 
        of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602(1)).
            (2) Injured agricultural commodity producer.--The term 
        ``injured agricultural commodity producer'' means a domestic 
        producer of an agricultural commodity with respect to which a 
        dispute resolution proceeding has been brought before the World 
        Trade Organization, if the dispute resolution is resolved in 
        favor of the agricultural commodity producer, and the foreign 
        country against which the proceeding has been brought has 
        failed to comply with the report of the panel or Appellate Body 
        of the WTO.
            (3) Injured producer.--The term ``injured producer'' means 
        a domestic producer of a product (other than an agricultural 
        product) with respect to which a dispute resolution proceeding 
        has been brought before the World Trade Organization, if the 
        dispute resolution is resolved in favor of the producer, and 
        the foreign country against which the proceeding has been 
        brought has failed to comply with the report of the panel or 
        Appellate Body of the WTO.
            (4) Retaliation list.--The term ``retaliation list'' means 
        the list of products of a foreign country that has failed to 
        comply with the report of the panel or Appellate Body of the 
        WTO and with respect to which the United States Trade 
        Representative is imposing duties above the level that would 
        otherwise be imposed under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
        the United States.
            (5) 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)).
            (6) World trade organization.--The term ``World Trade 
        Organization'' means the organization established pursuant to 
        the WTO Agreement.
            (7) WTO agreement.--The term ``WTO Agreement'' means the 
        Agreement Establishing The World Trade Organization entered 
        into on April 15, 1994.
            (8) 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. 4. TRADE INJURY COMPENSATION TRUST FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the 
United States a fund to be known as the ``Trade Injury Compensation 
Trust Fund'' (referred to in this Act as the ``Fund'') consisting of 
such amounts as may be appropriated to the Fund under subsection (b) 
and any amounts credited to the Fund under subsection (c)(2).
    (b) Transfer of Amounts Equivalent to Certain Duties.--
            (1) In general.--There are hereby appropriated and 
        transferred to the Fund an amount equal to the amount received 
        in the Treasury as a result of the imposition of additional 
        duties imposed on the products on a retaliation list.
            (2) Transfers based on estimates.--The amounts required to 
        be transferred under paragraph (1) shall be transferred at 
        least quarterly from the general fund of the Treasury to the 
        Fund on the basis of estimates made by the Secretary of the 
        Treasury. Proper adjustment shall be made in amounts 
        subsequently transferred to the extent prior estimates were in 
        excess of or less than the amounts required to be transferred.
    (c) Investment of Trust Fund.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest 
        such portion of the Fund as is not, in the Secretary's 
        judgment, required to meet current withdrawals. Such 
        investments may be made only in interest-bearing obligations of 
        the United States or in obligations guaranteed as to both 
        principal and interest by the United States.
            (2) Credits to fund.--The interest on, and the proceeds 
        from the sale or redemption of, any obligations held in the 
        Fund shall be credited to and form a part of the Fund.
    (d) Distributions From Fund.--Amounts in the Fund shall be 
available as provided in appropriations Acts, for making distributions 
in accordance with subsections (e) and (f).
    (e) Criteria for Determining Injured Producers and Amount To Be 
Paid.--Not later than 30 days after the implementation of a retaliation 
list, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the 
Secretaries of Agriculture and Commerce, shall promulgate such 
regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this 
Act. The regulations shall include the following:
            (1) Procedures for identifying injured producers and 
        injured producers of agricultural commodities.
            (2) Standards for determining the eligibility of injured 
        producers and injured producers of agricultural commodities to 
        participate in the distribution of any money from the Fund.
            (3) Procedures for determining the amount of the 
        distribution each injured producer and injured producers of 
        agricultural commodities should be paid.
            (4) Procedures for establishing separate accounts for 
        duties collected with respect to each retaliation list and for 
        making distributions to the group of injured producers and 
        injured producers of agricultural commodities with respect to 
        each such retaliation list.
    (f) Distribution to Injured Producers.--
            (1) Distribution to agricultural producers.--The Secretary 
        of the Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture 
        such sums as may be transferred or credited to the Fund as the 
        result of items on a retaliation list because of injury to 
        producers of agricultural commodities. The Secretary of 
        Agriculture shall distribute to each injured producer of an 
        agricultural commodity that the Secretary determines is 
        eligible a portion of the amount so transferred. The 
        distribution shall be made in accordance with the subsection 
        (e) and shall be used by the producers for the promotion and 
        development of products of the injured producers.
            (2) Distribution to other injured producers.--The Secretary 
        of the Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary of Commerce 
        such sums as may be transferred or credited to the Fund as the 
        result of items on a retaliation list because of injury to 
        producers (other than producers of agricultural commodities). 
        The Secretary of Commerce shall distribute to each injured 
        producer (other than a producer described in paragraph (1)) 
        that the Secretary determines is eligible a portion of the 
        amount so transferred. The distribution shall be made in 
        accordance with subsection (e) and in accordance with the 
        procedures applicable to the provision of assistance under 
        chapter 3 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2341 
        et seq.).
    (g) Report to Congress.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall, after 
consultation with the Secretaries of Agriculture and Commerce, submit a 
report to the Congress each year on--
            (1) the financial condition and the results of the 
        operations of the Fund during the preceding fiscal year; and
            (2) the expected condition and operations of the Fund 
        during the fiscal year following the fiscal year that is the 
        subject of the report.

SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON REDUCING SERVICES OR FUNDS.

    No payment made to an injured producer or an injured agricultural 
commodity producer under this Act shall result in the reduction or 
denial of any service or assistance with respect to which the injured 
producer or injured agricultural commodity producer would otherwise be 
entitled.
                                 <all>