[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 196 (Monday, December 11, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2333]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E2333]]


                  THE SHIPBUILDING TRADE AGREEMENT ACT

                                 ______


                          HON. PHILIP M. CRANE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 11, 1995

  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, today, I am pleased to introduce, together 
with my colleagues Mr. Gibbons and Ms. Dunn, the Shipbuilding Trade 
Agreement Act. This bill implements the Shipbuilding Agreement signed 
December 21, 1994, by key shipbuilding nations after 5 years of 
negotiation under the auspices of the Organization for Economic 
Cooperation and Development. I congratulate the administration for 
negotiating this historic agreement which applies to the construction 
and repair of self-propelled seagoing vessels of 100 gross tons and 
above and covers approximately 80 percent of the ships engaged in 
global shipping.
  The agreement is scheduled to enter into force 30 days after all 
signatories deposit instruments of ratification, acceptance, or 
approval. In the interim, the signatories are in the process of formal 
ratification. In the United States, legislation must be enacted by 
Congress to bring U.S. law into compliance with the agreement.
  I believe that it is important to implement this agreement as soon as 
possible because it should help achieve an international environment 
that gives the U.S. shipbuilding industry the best chance to compete in 
world markets that are not distorted through subsidization. The 
agreement will open up trade in shipbuilding by eliminating distortive 
government subsidies granted either directly to shipbuilders or 
indirectly through ship operators. In addition, the agreement contains 
an injurious pricing code to prevent dumping in the shipbuilding 
industry and includes a comprehensive discipline in Government 
financing for exports and domestic ship sales as well as a dispute 
settlement mechanism. I believe that the hearing held by the Trade 
Subcommittee in July highlighted the benefits that implementation of 
this agreement will bring.
  The bill uses the antidumping remedies of Title VII of the Tariff Act 
of 1930, as amended, as the model for the provisions applicable to 
shipbuilding, revised only where necessary to take into account 
differences between the agreement and the WTO and differences due to 
the unique nature of vessels. However, although we applied Title VII 
without change wherever possible, we will review the entire antidumping 
scheme as it applies to merchandise in general and shipbuilding in 
particular at some later time.
  The Trade Subcommittee will mark up this legislation on Wednesday, 
December 13. I hope that after that point, the full Committee on Ways 
and Means will take up the bill as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, 
the press of other business has prevented us from considering an 
implementing bill sooner. However, my commitment to this legislation is 
solid. I am confident that our trading partners do not doubt our 
resolve and understand that we will do our best to consider the 
legislation promptly so that we may implement the agreement as soon in 
1996 as possible.

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