[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3061 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3061

   To require the President to negotiate an international agreement 
   governing the recall by manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor 
             vehicle equipment with safety-related defects


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 15, 2000

 Mr. Ashcroft introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the President to negotiate an international agreement 
   governing the recall by manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor 
             vehicle equipment with safety-related defects

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This bill may be cited as the ``International Consumer Safety 
Information Act''.

SEC. 2. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT FOR RECALLS OF AUTOS OR AUTO PARTS.

    (a) International Agreement.--The President shall attempt to 
achieve the goal of an international agreement governing the 
dissemination of information about recalls by manufacturers of motor 
vehicles and motor vehicle equipment with safety-related defects. The 
President shall take the necessary steps to begin negotiations within 
the appropriate international fora not later than 60 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of these negotiations shall be to 
establish an international agreement in which government officials 
agree to cooperate in furthering global transparency with respect to 
motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment recalls so as to promote 
consumer safety and to enhance consumer confidence.
    (c) Guidelines for Governments.--The President shall consider the 
following criteria in the negotiations referred to in (a):
            (1) Member states should designate a competent authority 
        within their own national government as the responsible 
        authority for disseminating, to the public and to other foreign 
        authorities, information about recalls of motor vehicles or 
        motor vehicle equipment.
            (2) Member states should cooperate at the international 
        level through their designated authorities through information 
        exchange, communication, and joint action.
            (3) Member states should make available, to the public and 
        to other governments through the collective publication of an 
        Internet site managed for the purpose of the international 
        agreement negotiated pursuant to this title, information on the 
        following, at a minimum:
                    (A) The name, title, and contact information for 
                the competent authority in each member state regarding 
                motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment recalls.
                    (B) The names of companies that have issued 
                recalls, the companies' contact information, and the 
                specific products that are being recalled.
                    (C) The countries in which the recalls are 
                effective, and the date of the recall.
            (4) Member states, in the interest of getting all relevant 
        information to their competent authorities and having those 
        authorities share it with other countries, should disseminate 
        widely the final guidelines negotiated to all relevant 
        government departments, agencies, and branches of government.
            (5) Developed Member states should seek to assist 
        developing states in implementing this agreement, and to aid 
        efforts by developing states to ensure compliance with the 
        agreement.
            (6) Member states should establish a framework to conduct 
        regular oversight and review to assess the operation and 
        effectiveness of the agreement and to create a forum in which 
        member states can share with other states the domestic laws and 
        regulations they have adopted to implement the agreement.
    (d) Guidelines for Enterprises Engaged in Trade.--The President 
shall seek to include in the international agreement guidelines on 
recalls for enterprises engaged in exporting motor vehicles or motor 
vehicle equipment or manufacturing motor vehicle equipment for 
inclusion in vehicles to be exported. The President shall consider the 
following criteria when conducting the negotiations:
            (1) Transparency and disclosure.--Enterprises that export 
        autos or auto parts into the global market or enterprises that 
        manufacture component parts for autos that are sold into the 
        global market should disclose all relevant information 
        regarding a recall it undertakes to the competent authority in 
        the country it initiates the recall and to the competent 
        authority in the country in which it is incorporated. The 
        information should be extensive enough to facilitate the 
        listing referred to in (C)(3).
            (2) Consumer interests.--Enterprises should be cognizant of 
        the fact that consumers transverse international borders and 
        often take their vehicles with them; therefore, the enterprises 
        should, to the greatest extent practical, make all consumers 
        aware of recalls of motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment, 
        particularly in countries that border or are in proximity to a 
        country in which the recall was initiated.
            (3) Cooperation with regulatory authorities.--Enterprises 
        should cooperate promptly with the national authorities in any 
        country that is requesting information about motor vehicle or 
        motor vehicle equipment recall in an effort to safeguard 
        consumer safety.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT COORDINATION OF INFORMATION ON FOREIGN 
              RECALLS OF MOTOR VEHICLES OR MOTOR VEHICLE EQUIPMENT.

    (a) Development of Expertise in Recalls of Motor Vehicles or Motor 
Vehicle Equipment.--The President should designate the Secretary of 
Transportation as the competent authority in the United States 
Government:
            (1) The Secretary of Transportation should advise the 
        President in negotiations referenced by section 2.
            (2) The Secretary of Transportation shall coordinate with 
        and draw on the expertise of the appropriate officials in the 
        Department of State, the Office of the United States Trade 
        Representative, and the National Highway Traffic Safety 
        Administration.
            (3) Until such time that the President concludes the 
        negotiations referenced in section 2 and until there is an 
        international Internet database that compiles the information 
        in section 2(C)(3), the Secretary of Transportation shall post 
        an official Internet site detailing the information to the 
        greatest extent possible, in section 2(C)(3) in addition to 
        information provided to the Secretary of Transportation by U.S. 
        embassies abroad about recalls of motor vehicles or motor 
        vehicle equipment in foreign countries.
    (b) Coordinated Federal Strategy.--The Department of State shall 
establish procedures by which United States embassies abroad will 
inform the Secretary of Transportation immediately when the Ambassador 
or commercial attache receives information about an impending or 
announced recall of motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment. 
Immediately thereafter, the Secretary of Transportation shall notify 
the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Commerce Committee.
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