II 112th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3327 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 21, 2012 Mr. Brown of Ohio (for himself, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Schumer, and Ms. Stabenow) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To require the United States Trade Representative to take action to obtain the full compliance of the Russian Federation with its commitments under the protocol on the accession of the Russian Federation to the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Russian World Trade Organization Commitments Verification Act of 2012.

2.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

World Trade Organization; WTO

The terms World Trade Organization and WTO mean the organization established pursuant to the WTO Agreement. (2)

WTO Agreement

The term WTO Agreement means the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization entered into on April 15, 1994.

3.

Reports on commitments under the protocol on the accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO Agreement

(a)

Initial report

Not later than 90 days after the date on which an Act of Congress authorizing the extension of permanent normal trade relations treatment to products of the Russian Federation takes effect, the United States Trade Representative shall submit to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and publish in the Federal Register a report that— (1)describes the commitments of the Russian Federation under the protocol on the accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO Agreement; and (2)sets forth the date by which that protocol requires each such commitment to be implemented. (b)

Annual reports

(1)

In general

Not later than December 31 of each calendar year that begins after the date on which an Act of Congress referred to in subsection (a) takes effect, the United States Trade Representative shall submit to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and publish in the Federal Register a report covering the period described in paragraph (2) that— (A)describes the actions taken by the Russian Federation to comply with each commitment of the Russian Federation under the protocol on the accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO Agreement that the Trade Representative determines has a significant effect on United States commerce; (B)identifies any commitment described in subparagraph (A) that the Trade Representative determines the Russian Federation is not implementing or is not making progress toward implementing in a timely or effective manner; (C)(i)describes any actions taken by the Trade Representative under section 4(a) to obtain the full compliance of the Russian Federation with each commitment identified under subparagraph (B); or (ii)if the Trade Representative has determined under section 4(b) that it is not in the national interests of the United States to obtain the full compliance of the Russian Federation with any such commitment, describes the reasons for that determination; and (D)describes any actions the Trade Representative has taken pursuant to a request made by the Committee on Finance of the Senate or the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives under section 4(c). (2)

Period described

The period described in this paragraph is— (A)in the case of the first report submitted under paragraph (1), the period beginning on the date on which the report required by subsection (a) was submitted and ending on the date on which the report required by paragraph (1) is submitted; and (B)in the case of any subsequent report submitted under paragraph (1), the one-year period preceding the submission of the report.

4.

Action by the United States Trade Representative

(a)

In general

Except as provided in subsection (b), the United States Trade Representative shall, in consultation with appropriate Federal agencies, take appropriate action to obtain the full compliance of the Russian Federation with each commitment identified under section 3(b)(1)(B). (b)

Determination not To take action

The United States Trade Representative may determine not to take action under subsection (a) to obtain the full compliance of the Russian Federation with a commitment identified under section 3(b)(1)(B) if the Trade Representative— (1)determines that it is not in the national interests of the United States to obtain the full compliance of the Russian Federation with that commitment; and (2)submits to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives a report that describes in detail the reasons for that determination. (c)

Requests from Congress

(1)

In general

The Committee on Finance of the Senate or the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives may request the United States Trade Representative to take action to obtain the full compliance of the Russian Federation with— (A)a commitment identified by the Trade Representative under section 3(b)(1)(B) and with respect to which the Trade Representative has made a determination under subsection (b) not to take action if the Committee determines that it is in the national interests of the United States to obtain the full compliance of the Russian Federation with that commitment; or (B)a commitment of the Russian Federation under the protocol on the accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO Agreement not identified by the Trade Representative under section 3(b)(1)(B) if the Committee determines that the Russian Federation is not implementing the commitment or is not making progress toward implementing the commitment in a timely or effective manner. (2)

Report required

Not later than 15 days after receiving a request under paragraph (1) from the Committee on Finance of the Senate or the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives to take appropriate action to obtain the full compliance of the Russian Federation with a commitment described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of that paragraph, the Trade Representative shall submit to those committees and publish in the Federal Register a report that— (A)describes the action the Trade Representative has taken or will take to obtain the full compliance of the Russian Federation with that commitment; or (B)if the Trade Representative determines not to take action to obtain the full compliance of the Russian Federation with that commitment— (i)describes in detail the reasons for that determination; and (ii)identifies the economic interests in the United States that would be adversely affected if the Trade Representative took action to obtain the full compliance of the Russian Federation with that commitment.

5.

Public participation

The United States Trade Representative shall seek public participation in developing the reports required by section 3 and determining under section 4(a) what action, if any, it is appropriate to take with respect to a commitment identified under section 3(b)(1)(B), by, before submitting such a report or making a determination to take such action— (1)publishing a notice in the Federal Register with respect to the content of the report or the action the Trade Representative is considering taking, as the case may be; and (2)holding a public hearing with respect to the report or the action, as the case may be.