[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 375 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 375

 To limit the total value of Chinese goods that may be procured by the 
 United States Government during a calendar year to not more than the 
 total value of United States goods procured by the Chinese Government 
   if any during the preceding calendar year, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 20, 2011

Mr. Kildee (for himself, Mr. Lipinski, Ms. Woolsey, Ms. Kaptur, and Mr. 
Gene Green of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to 
the Committees on Ways and Means and Transportation and Infrastructure, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To limit the total value of Chinese goods that may be procured by the 
 United States Government during a calendar year to not more than the 
 total value of United States goods procured by the Chinese Government 
   if any during the preceding calendar year, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Fix United States Government 
Contracting Deficit with China Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The purchase of government goods and services is an 
        important means through which the government fulfills its 
        constitutional duties to provide for the common defense and 
        promote the general welfare of the United States.
            (2) American taxpayers expect that government procurement 
        serves the interests of all Americans.
            (3) The United States and several of its trading partners 
        are signatories to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, 
        which holds that signatories agree to certain restraints with 
        regard to government procurement.
            (4) However, the People's Republic of China is not a 
        signatory to the Agreement on Government Procurement, and that, 
        accordingly, it is not a violation of that agreement for the 
        Congress to establish procurement policies as best suit the 
        American public interest with regard to Chinese goods.
            (5) China has structured its government procurement law to 
        favor its domestic goods, as noted in article 10 of such law.
            (6) China has also recently announced a plan to favor so-
        called ``indigenous innovation'' under which the Chinese 
        Government would expressly favor locally developed products and 
        technologies.
            (7) American companies have had little or no success in 
        accessing Chinese Government procurement contracts, while 
        Chinese companies have had great success in selling goods for 
        United States Government projects.
    (b) Statement of Policy.--Accordingly, it shall be the policy of 
the United States to limit the total value of Chinese goods that may be 
procured by the United States Government during a calendar year to not 
more than the total value of United States goods procured by the 
Chinese Government if any during the preceding calendar year.

SEC. 3. CERTIFICATION; PROHIBITION AND LIMITATION ON UNITED STATES 
              PROCUREMENT OF CHINESE GOODS.

    (a) Certification.--Not later than March 1 of each year beginning 
in 2012, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to Congress a 
certification in writing that contains the following:
            (1) A determination of whether or not the Chinese 
        Government has prohibited the procurement of United States 
        goods by the Chinese Government during the preceding calendar 
        year.
            (2) If the Chinese Government has not prohibited the 
        procurement of United States goods by the Chinese Government 
        during the preceding calendar year, an identification of the 
        total value of United States goods procured by the Chinese 
        Government during the preceding calendar year, as determined by 
        the International Trade Administration under section 4.
    (b) Prohibition.--If the Secretary determines and certifies to 
Congress under subsection (a)(1) that the Chinese Government has 
prohibited the procurement of United States goods by the Chinese 
Government during the preceding calendar year, then--
            (1) the head of each executive agency may not award a 
        contract for the procurement of Chinese goods during the 
        succeeding calendar year; and
            (2) the Secretary of Transportation shall prohibit a State 
        or other entity from using funds made available from the 
        Highway Trust Fund or the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for the 
        award of a contract for the procurement of Chinese goods during 
        the succeeding calendar year.
    (c) Limitation.--
            (1) In general.--If the Secretary determines and certifies 
        to Congress under subsection (a)(1) that the Chinese Government 
        has not prohibited the procurement of United States goods by 
        the Chinese Government during the preceding calendar year, then 
        the total value of Chinese goods that may be procured by the 
        United States Government during the succeeding calendar year 
        may not exceed the total value of United States goods procured 
        by the Chinese Government during the preceding calendar year, 
        as identified under subsection (a)(2).
            (2) Rule of construction.--For purposes of determining the 
        total value of Chinese goods that may be procured by the United 
        States Government during a calendar year under paragraph (1), 
        the total value of Chinese goods procured by a State or other 
        entity using funds made available from the Highway Trust Fund 
        or the Airport and Airway Trust Fund during the preceding 
        calendar year shall be deemed to be Chinese goods procured by 
        the United States Government.

SEC. 4. ITA PROGRAM AND NOTIFICATION.

    (a) Program.--The International Trade Administration shall 
establish a program--
            (1) to identify the total value of United States goods 
        procured by the Chinese Government on an annual basis, as 
        required under section 3(a)(2), including an accounting of the 
        value of such procurement; and
            (2) to provide notification in accordance with subsection 
        (b).
    (b) Notification.--The International Trade Administration shall 
publish notice in the Federal Register on or as soon as practicable 
after the date on which the total value of Chinese goods procured by 
the United States Government equals 50 percent, 75 percent, and 100 
percent of the total value of United States goods procured by the 
Chinese Government during the preceding calendar year for purposes of 
complying with the limitation under section 3(c).

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Chinese good.--The term ``Chinese good'' means a good 
        that is the growth, product, or manufacture of the People's 
        Republic of China. A good shall be determined to be the 
        manufacture of the People's Republic of China for purposes of 
        this paragraph if the sum of--
                    (A) the cost or value of the materials produced in 
                China, plus
                    (B) the direct costs of processing operations 
                performed in China,
        is not less than 50 percent of the appraised value of such good 
        at the time it is entered.
            (2) Chinese government.--The term ``Chinese Government'' 
        means the central government of the People's Republic of China 
        and any other governmental entity, including--
                    (A) any agency or instrumentality of the Chinese 
                Government;
                    (B) any entity that is owned or controlled, 
                directly or indirectly, by the Chinese Government; and
                    (C) any Chinese provincial or local governmental 
                entity.
            (3) Executive agency.--The term ``executive agency'' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Office of 
        Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403).
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Commerce.
            (5) United states good.--The term ``United States good'' 
        means a good that is the growth, product, or manufacture of the 
        United States. A good shall be determined to be the manufacture 
        of the United States for purposes of this paragraph if the sum 
        of--
                    (A) the cost or value of the materials produced in 
                the United States, plus
                    (B) the direct costs of processing operations 
                performed in the United States,
        is not less than 50 percent of the appraised value of such good 
        at the time it is entered.
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