[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3684 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3684

    To enhance reciprocal market access for United States domestic 
   producers in the negotiating process of bilateral, regional, and 
                     multilateral trade agreements.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 27, 2007

 Mr. McIntyre (for himself, Mr. Hayes, Ms. Slaughter, and Mr. Kuhl of 
  New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To enhance reciprocal market access for United States domestic 
   producers in the negotiating process of bilateral, regional, and 
                     multilateral trade agreements.

    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 ``Reciprocal Market Access Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) A principal negotiating objective of the United States 
        regarding trade barriers and other trade distortions must be to 
        expand competitive market opportunities for United States 
        exports and to obtain fairer and more open conditions of trade 
        by reducing or eliminating tariff and nontariff barriers and 
        policies and practices of foreign governments directly related 
        to trade that hinders market opportunities for United States 
        exports or otherwise distorts United States trade.
            (2) One of the fundamental tenets of the World Trade 
        Organization (WTO) is reciprocal market access and, in fact, 
        this principle is underscored in the Marrakesh Agreement 
        Establishing the World Trade Organization which called for 
        ``entering into reciprocal and mutually advantageous 
        arrangements directed to the substantial reduction of tariffs 
        and other barriers to trade and to the elimination of 
        discriminatory treatment in international trade relations''.
            (3) If negotiations between the United States and a foreign 
        country do not provide meaningful market access for products of 
        United States domestic producers who have sought market access 
        assistance from the United States Government, then the United 
        States must not reduce or eliminate tariffs for products of the 
        foreign country, having the same physical characteristics and 
        uses pursuant to any trade agreement entered into between the 
        United States and the foreign country.
            (4) With each subsequent round of bilateral, regional, and 
        multilateral trade negotiations, tariffs have been 
        significantly reduced or eliminated for many manufactured 
        goods, leaving nontariff barriers as the most pervasive, 
        significant, and challenging barriers to United States exports 
        and market opportunities.
            (5) The United States market is widely recognized as one of 
        the most open markets in the world: average United States 
        tariff rates are very low and the United States has limited, if 
        any, nontariff barriers.
            (6) Consequently, the leverage the United States has to 
        obtain removal of nontariff barriers of foreign countries is 
        often tariffs on imports from foreign countries into the United 
        States.
            (7) Under the current negotiating process, negotiations to 
        reduce or eliminate tariff barriers and nontariff barriers are 
        separate and self-contained, meaning that tradeoffs are tariff-
        for-tariff and nontariff-for-nontariff. As a result, a tariff 
        can be reduced or eliminated without securing elimination of 
        the real barrier or barriers that deny United States industry 
        access to a foreign market.
            (8) The United States should not engage in trade 
        negotiations in such a compartmentalized manner thereby 
        effectively and unilaterally disarming itself by leveraging its 
        limited tariff barriers without securing elimination of 
        nontariff barriers of foreign countries and ensuring that new 
        barriers are not created or discovered.
            (9) The United States should seek to ensure market access 
        results are obtained before reducing or eliminating domestic 
        tariffs. Specifically, the United States Trade Representative 
        should seek to ensure market access for products of United 
        States domestic producers who have sought market access 
        assistance from the United States Government and have provided 
        a reasonable indication of the denial of meaningful market 
        access.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to ensure that United 
States trade negotiations achieve real and meaningful results for 
United States industry by ensuring that trade agreements result in 
meaningful market access for the exports of United States domestic 
producers and not just the elimination of tariffs on imports into the 
United States.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE RATES OF DUTY 
              PURSUANT TO CERTAIN TRADE AGREEMENTS.

    (a) Limitation.--Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, 
the President may not agree to a modification of any existing duty that 
would reduce or eliminate the bound or applied rate of such duty on any 
product in order to carry out any trade agreement entered into between 
the United States and a foreign country on or after the date of the 
enactment of this Act until the President transmits to Congress a 
certification described in subsection (b).
    (b) Certification.--A certification referred to in subsection (a) 
is a certification of the President that--
            (1) the United States has obtained the reduction or 
        elimination of tariff and nontariff barriers and policies and 
        practices of the government of the foreign country described in 
        subsection (a) with respect to United States exports of any 
        product identified by United States domestic producers that has 
        the same physical characteristics and uses as the product for 
        which a modification of any existing duty is sought by the 
        President to carry out the trade agreement described in 
        subsection (a); and
            (2) a violation of any provision of the trade agreement 
        described in subsection (a) relating to the matters described 
        in paragraph (1) is immediately enforceable in accordance with 
        the provisions of section 4.

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS.

    (a) Withdrawal of Tariff Concessions.--If the United States Trade 
Representative determines pursuant to subsection (c) that any tariff or 
nontariff barrier or policy or practice of the government of a foreign 
country described in section 3(a) has not been reduced or eliminated, 
or that a tariff or nontariff barrier or policy or practice of such 
government has been imposed or discovered, with respect to United 
States exports of any product identified by United States domestic 
producers that has the same physical characteristics and uses as the 
product for which a modification of any existing duty has been sought 
by the President to carry out the trade agreement described in section 
3(a), then, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
modification of the existing duty shall be withdrawn until such time as 
the United States Trade Representative submits to Congress a 
certification that the United States has obtained the reduction or 
elimination of the tariff or nontariff barrier or policy or practice of 
such government.
    (b) Investigation.--
            (1) In general.--An investigation shall be initiated by the 
        United States Trade Representative whenever an interested party 
        files a petition with the United States Trade Representative 
        which alleges the elements necessary for the withdrawal of the 
        modification of an existing duty under subsection (a), and 
        which is accompanied by information reasonably available to the 
        petitioner supporting such allegations.
            (2) Interested party defined.--For purposes of paragraph 
        (1), the term ``interested party'' means--
                    (A) a manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler in the 
                United States of a domestic product with the same 
                physical characteristics and uses as the product for 
                which a modification of any existing duty has been 
                sought;
                    (B) a certified union or recognized union or group 
                of workers engaged in the manufacture, production, or 
                wholesale in the United States of a domestic product 
                that has the same physical characteristics and uses as 
                the product for which a modification of any existing 
                duty has been sought;
                    (C) a trade or business association a majority of 
                whose members manufacture, produce, or wholesale in the 
                United States a domestic product that has the same 
                physical characteristics and uses as the product for 
                which a modification of any existing duty has been 
                sought; and
                    (D) a member of the Committee on Ways and Means of 
                the House of Representatives or a member of the 
                Committee on Finance of the Senate.
    (c) Determination by USTR.--Not later than 45 days after the date 
on which a petition is filed under subsection (b), the United States 
Trade Representative shall--
            (1) determine whether the petition alleges the elements 
        necessary for the withdrawal of the modification of an existing 
        duty under subsection (a); and
            (2) notify the petitioner of the determination under 
        paragraph (1) and the reasons for the determination.
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