[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 735 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 735

      To require that any trade agreement eligible for expedited 
 consideration by Congress include requirements with respect to paying 
adequate wages and maintaining sustainable production methods, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 12, 2015

  Mr. Merkley (for himself and Ms. Baldwin) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To require that any trade agreement eligible for expedited 
 consideration by Congress include requirements with respect to paying 
adequate wages and maintaining sustainable production methods, 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 ``Level Playing Field in Trade 
Agreements Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. INELIGIBILITY FOR EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION BY CONGRESS OF 
              CERTAIN TRADE AGREEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--No trade agreement with a country or implementing 
bill with respect to a trade agreement may receive expedited 
consideration by Congress under any provision of law, including any 
limitation on amendments or debate in either the Senate or the House of 
Representatives (other than under rule XXII of the Standing Rules of 
the Senate, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act) 
unless the agreement--
            (1) includes binding and enforceable requirements that all 
        producers of merchandise exported to the United States from 
        that country pay adequate wages and maintain sustainable 
        production methods; and
            (2) provides that, for purposes of merchandise from that 
        country, the application of antidumping duty laws under 
        subtitle B of title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
        1673 et seq.) shall be modified as provided under subsection 
        (b).
    (b) Adjustment of Normal Value To Include the Cost of Paying 
Adequate Wages and Maintaining Sustainable Production Methods.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), in 
        determining the price of covered merchandise under subsection 
        (a)(1)(B) of section 773 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
        1677b) for purposes of determining the normal value of the 
        covered merchandise under that section, the administering 
        authority shall increase the price by the difference, if any, 
        between--
                    (A) the actual cost of producing the covered 
                merchandise; and
                    (B) the estimated cost of producing the covered 
                merchandise if the producer paid its employees adequate 
                wages and maintained sustainable production methods.
            (2) Demonstration of injury.--An interested party described 
        in subparagraph (C), (D), (E), (F), or (G) of section 771(9) of 
        the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1677(9)) that files a 
        petition under section 732(b)(1) of that Act (19 U.S.C. 
        1673a(b)(1)) with respect to covered merchandise that relies on 
        calculations of normal value made under this subsection shall 
        be presumed to demonstrate that the party is materially injured 
        or threatened with material injury by reason of imports of the 
        covered merchandise unless--
                    (A) the country from which the covered merchandise 
                is exported is covered by a precertification issued 
                under paragraph (3)(A)(ii); or
                    (B) the estimated cost of producing the covered 
                merchandise under paragraph (1)(B) is equal to or 
                greater than the cost of producing the merchandise in 
                the country in which the interested party is located.
            (3) Precertification.--
                    (A) In general.--
                            (i) Exporter- or producer-specific 
                        precertification.--If an exporter or producer 
                        of covered merchandise demonstrates to the 
                        satisfaction of the administering authority 
                        that all such merchandise, including 
                        significant components or ingredients of the 
                        covered merchandise, was or will be produced 
                        under conditions under which all employees 
                        receive adequate wages or sustainable 
                        production methods are maintained, the 
                        administering authority shall issue to that 
                        exporter or producer, upon request, a 
                        precertification with respect to wages, 
                        production methods, or both, that covers all 
                        covered merchandise by that exporter or 
                        producer.
                            (ii) Country precertification.--The 
                        administering authority may issue a 
                        precertification for all covered merchandise 
                        imported from a country if the government of 
                        that country maintains and enforces laws 
                        requiring all producers of such merchandise in 
                        that country to pay its employees adequate 
                        wages and to maintain sustainable production 
                        methods.
                    (B) Safe harbor.--
                            (i) In general.--If the administering 
                        authority has issued a precertification under 
                        subparagraph (A), covered merchandise to which 
                        the precertification applies shall not be 
                        subject to an antidumping duty solely because a 
                        petition filed under section 732(b)(1) of the 
                        Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1673a(b)(1)) with 
                        respect to the covered merchandise alleges that 
                        the covered merchandise was not produced under 
                        conditions under which all employees receive 
                        adequate wages and sustainable production 
                        methods are maintained.
                            (ii) Challenging precertification.--An 
                        interested party described in subparagraph (C), 
                        (D), (E), (F), or (G) of section 771(9) of the 
                        Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1677(9)) that 
                        files a petition under section 732(b)(1) of 
                        that Act (19 U.S.C. 1673a(b)(1)) with respect 
                        to covered merchandise covered by a 
                        precertification issued under subparagraph (A) 
                        bears the burden of proving that the covered 
                        merchandise was not produced under conditions 
                        under which all employees receive adequate 
                        wages, sustainable production methods are 
                        maintained, or both, depending on the scope of 
                        the precertification.
                    (C) Use of third-party standards.--
                            (i) In general.--The administering 
                        authority, the Secretary of Labor, and the 
                        Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
                        Agency may jointly establish procedures 
                        pursuant to which obtaining certification from 
                        an organization described in clause (ii) may 
                        demonstrate the eligibility of an exporter or 
                        producer for a precertification under 
                        subparagraph (A)(i) or the eligibility of a 
                        country for a precertification under 
                        subparagraph (A)(ii).
                            (ii) Organization described.--An 
                        organization described in this clause is an 
                        independent third-party organization that sets 
                        standards with respect to adequate wages or 
                        sustainable production methods.
                    (D) Guidance on compliance.--Not later than one 
                year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
                administering authority shall publish in the Federal 
                Register guidance with respect to how persons producing 
                covered merchandise for exportation to the United 
                States or seeking to import covered merchandise into 
                the United States may obtain a precertification under 
                subparagraph (A).
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Adequate wages.--The term ``adequate wages''--
                    (A) means compensation for a regular work week that 
                is sufficient to meet the basic needs of the employee 
                and any dependents of the employee, including providing 
                reasonable discretionary income; and
                    (B) includes, at a minimum--
                            (i) the payment of the higher of the 
                        minimum wage or the appropriate prevailing 
                        wage;
                            (ii) compliance with all legal requirements 
                        relating to wages (including freedom of 
                        association relating to the bargaining relating 
                        to wages and related matters); and
                            (iii) the provision of such benefits as are 
                        required by law or contract.
            (2) Administering authority.--The term ``administering 
        authority'' has the meaning given that term in section 771(1) 
        of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1677(1)).
            (3) Covered merchandise.--The term ``covered merchandise'' 
        means merchandise imported into the United States from a 
        country described in subsection (a).
            (4) Sustainable production methods.--The term ``sustainable 
        production methods''--
                    (A) means the application of technologies and 
                methods that are necessary to provide for workplace 
                safety, toxic waste control, control of discharge of 
                pollutants to air, water, and land, and the reasonable 
                conservation of energy and natural resources, taking 
                into account local standards and conditions; and
                    (B) includes, at a minimum, the use of technologies 
                and methods that would be required for similar 
                production facilities in the United States.
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