[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2913 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2913

To amend the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to require the Secretary of 
  Agriculture to use the export enhancement program to encourage the 
commercial sale of United States wheat in world markets at competitive 
   prices whenever the importation of Canadian wheat into the United 
                    States reaches certain triggers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 25, 2000

  Mr. Conrad introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to require the Secretary of 
  Agriculture to use the export enhancement program to encourage the 
commercial sale of United States wheat in world markets at competitive 
   prices whenever the importation of Canadian wheat into the United 
                    States reaches certain triggers.

    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 ``Export Enhancement Program Trigger 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. USE OF EXPORT ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM IN RESPONSE TO IMPORTATION OF 
              CANADIAN WHEAT.

    Section 301 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5651) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Use of Program in Response to Importation of Canadian 
Wheat.--
            ``(1) Quarterly estimates.--The Secretary shall make 
        quarterly estimates of the annual quantity of durum and 
        nondurum Canadian wheat that will be imported into the United 
        States.
            ``(2) Triggers.--Consistent with the obligations undertaken 
        by the United States that are set forth in the Uruguay Round 
        Agreements, the Secretary shall use the program established 
        under this section to encourage the commercial sale of United 
        States wheat in world markets at competitive prices if the 
        Secretary estimates that--
                    ``(A) the annual quantity of Canadian durum wheat 
                that will be imported into the United States will 
                exceed 300,000 metric tons; or
                    ``(B) the annual quantity of all Canadian wheat 
                that will be imported into the United States will 
                exceed 1,500,000 metric tons.
            ``(3) Amount.--If the Secretary determines that the annual 
        quantity of Canadian wheat that will be imported into the 
        United States exceeds a level established under paragraph (2), 
        the Secretary shall use the program established under this 
        section to encourage the commercial sale of United States wheat 
        in world markets at competitive prices in a quantity that is 
        equal to at least twice the estimated level of imports of 
        Canadian wheat or durum wheat into the United States.''.

SEC. 3. RESPONSE TO UNFAIR EXPORT COMPETITION BY STATE TRADING 
              ENTERPRISES.

    Section 302 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5652) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b) Response to Unfair Export Competition by State Trading 
Enterprises.--
            ``(1) In general.--Consistent with the obligations 
        undertaken by the United States that are set forth in the 
        Uruguay Round Agreements, if the Secretary determines, on the 
        basis of information provided by an affected United States 
        person or other information, that an act, policy, or practice 
        of a state trading enterprise of a foreign country (as those 
        terms are defined in section 1107(a) of the Omnibus Trade and 
        Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 2906)) burdens or 
        restricts the export of 1 or more United States agricultural 
        commodities to 1 or more foreign countries by reducing the 
        export of the United States agricultural commodity to the 
        foreign countries or diverting foreign agricultural commodities 
        from the foreign countries into the United States, the 
        Secretary shall use the program established under section 301.
            ``(2) Amount.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        shall use an amount that is sufficient to ensure that prices 
        received by producers of United States agricultural commodities 
        are not reduced as a result of the act, policy, or practice of 
        the state trading enterprise.
            ``(3) Pricing practices.--The Secretary shall make the 
        determination described in paragraph (1) if the Secretary 
        determines, on the basis of information provided by an affected 
        United States person or other information, that the state 
        trading enterprise is engaged in, with respect to an 
        agricultural commodity--
                    ``(A) predatory pricing;
                    ``(B) discriminatory pricing;
                    ``(C) pricing below the cost of production; or
                    ``(D) other pricing practices that are not 
                consistent with sound commercial practices conducted in 
                the ordinary course of trade.''.
                                 <all>