II 112th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2171 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 7, 2012 Mr. Pryor (for himself and Mr. Blunt) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To enhance the promotion of exports of United States goods and services, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Export Promotion Act of 2012.

2.

Improved coordination of export promotion activities of Federal agencies by the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee

(a)

Duties of TPCC

Section 2312(b) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(b)) is amended— (1)in paragraph (5)— (A)by inserting , including a recommendation for the unified Federal trade promotion budget required by subsection (c)(4) after assessment; and (B)by striking ; and and inserting a semicolon; (2)by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and (3)by inserting after paragraph (5) the following: (6)in conducting assessments under paragraph (5), review the proposed budget for a fiscal year of each agency with responsibility for export promotion or export financing activities before the agency submits that budget to the Office of Management and Budget and the President for inclusion in the budget of the President for that fiscal year submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code; and . (b)

Strategic plan

Section 2312(c) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(c)) is amended— (1)by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (6) as paragraphs (4), (6), (7), and (8), respectively; (2)in paragraph (2), by inserting after coordination of such activities the following: , based on consultations with, and recommendations from, a representative number of United States exporters and other types of export-related businesses; (3)by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: (3)identify countries with which the United States could negotiate trade agreements to increase United States exports; ; (4)by inserting after paragraph (4), as redesignated, the following: (5)identify areas in which the TPCC can maximize existing partnerships with agencies by granting the TPCC the ability to partner with a partner of an agency that is a member of the TPCC without requiring an additional memorandum of understanding between the TPCC and that partner; ; (5)in paragraph (7), as redesignated, by striking ; and and inserting a semicolon; and (6)by adding at the end the following: (9)review and propose means to improve educational outreach to small- and medium-sized businesses with respect to the resources available through the TPCC and agencies that are members of the TPCC, including by consulting with, and considering recommendations from, United States exporters and the Small Business Administration with respect to improving outreach by the TPCC; and (10)clearly describe the role of each agency that is a member of the TPCC and the responsibility of each such agency for export promotion and export financing. . (c)

Reports

Section 2312(f) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(f)) is amended to read as follows: (f)

Reporting requirements

(1)

TPCC report

Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of the Export Promotion Act of 2012, and March 30 of each year thereafter, the chairperson of the TPCC shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that— (A)describes the strategic plan developed by the TPCC pursuant to subsection (c), the implementation of the plan, and any revisions to the plan; (B)assesses the performance of each agency that is a member of the TPCC with respect to Federal export promotion and export financing activities, including efforts to increase efficiency, decrease duplication, increase interagency coordination, and meet the goals of each such agency; (C)reviews the proposed annual budgets for each such agency and provides recommendations with respect to those budgets based on the strategic plan developed pursuant to subsection (c) and any anticipated revisions to the plan; and (D)describes the implementation of sections 303 and 304 of the FREEDOM Support Act (22 U.S.C. 5823 and 5824) concerning funding for export promotion activities and the interagency working groups on energy of the TPCC. (2)

Government Accountability Office report

(A)

In general

Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of the Export Promotion Act of 2012, and every 2 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that assesses the effectiveness of the TPCC. (B)

Elements

The report required by subparagraph (A) shall include an assessment of the following: (i)The operational efficiency and effectiveness of the TPCC. (ii)The efforts of the TPCC to coordinate Federal export promotion and export financing activities, including efforts to coordinate the budgets of the agencies that are members of the TPCC. (iii)Duplication of administrative functions, client management functions, and resources among those agencies and measures to decrease such duplication, including by reducing the office space or other resources available to those agencies. (iv)Improvements in efficiency and decreases in duplication of efforts among those agencies realized by the TPCC. (v)Other relevant information on the overall effectiveness of the TPCC. (C)

Consideration of changing strategy

In preparing the report required by subparagraph (A), the Comptroller General shall take into account that the strategic plan of the TPCC is subject to change. (3)

Appropriate congressional committees defined

In this subsection, the term appropriate congressional committees means— (A)the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and (B)the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Small Business, and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives. . (d)

Export.gov; regulations

Section 2312 of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727) is amended by adding at the end the following: (g)

Information available on Export.gov

The TPCC shall coordinate with the agencies that are members of the TPCC to publish information relevant to export promotion and export financing on Export.gov (or a successor website), including— (1)the information described in subsection (c)(10); and (2)detailed information on ongoing and anticipated trade missions, trade fairs, and related Federal and State export promotion and export financing activities. (h)

Executive order and regulations

Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of the Export Promotion Act of 2012, the President shall issue an executive order and such regulations as are necessary to provide the chairperson of the TPCC with the authority to ensure that the TPCC carries out each of its duties under subsection (b) and develops and implements the strategic plan under subsection (c). .

3.

Effective deployment of resources of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service

Section 2301(c)(4) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(c)(4)) is amended— (1)by redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (F) as subparagraphs (C) through (G), respectively; (2)by striking (4) Foreign offices.—(A) The Secretary may and inserting the following: (4)

Foreign offices

(A)(i)The Secretary shall conduct a global assessment of overseas markets to identify the markets with the greatest potential for increasing United States exports and redeploy Commercial Service personnel and other resources on the basis of the global assessment. (ii)The assessment conducted under clause (i) shall take into consideration recommendations from a representative number of United States exporters. (iii)Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Export Promotion Act of 2012, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the first global assessment conducted under clause (i) and a plan for the redeployment of Commercial Service personnel and other resources on the basis of the global assessment. (iv)The Secretary shall conduct a global assessment and redeployment described in clause (i) not less frequently than once in every 5-year period. (B)The Secretary may ; and (3)in subparagraph (F), as redesignated, by striking is authorized, upon the request of the Secretary, to provide and inserting shall, upon the request of the Secretary, provide.

4.

Strengthened commercial diplomacy to increase United States exports

(a)

Development of plan

Section 207(c) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3927(c)) is amended— (1)by inserting (1) after (c); and (2)by adding at the end the following: (2)(A)Each chief of mission to a foreign country shall develop a plan for effective diplomacy to remove or reduce obstacles to exports of United States goods and services, in consultation with— (i)the ambassador of the United States to the country; (ii)the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the Commercial Service (established by section 2301(a)(2) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(a)(2))); (iii)the heads of other Federal agencies with export promotion programs, acting through the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (established by section 2312 of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727)); and (iv)the trade advisory committees authorized by paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 135(c) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155(c)), if those committees request consultation. (B)The chief of mission shall submit the plan required by subparagraph (A) to the Secretary for review by the Secretary before implementing the plan. . (b)

Assessments and promotions

Section 603(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4003(a)) is amended, in the second sentence, by inserting after disciplinary actions, the following: assessments (with respect to members of the Service with responsibilities relating to economic affairs) of the effectiveness of efforts to promote the exportation of United States goods and services in accordance with the plan developed pursuant to section 207(c)(2),. (c)

Inspector general

Section 209(b) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3929(b)) is amended— (1)in paragraph (4), by striking ; and and inserting a semicolon; (2)by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and (3)by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new paragraph: (5)the effectiveness of diplomacy relating to the promotion of exports of United States goods and services; and .