[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5899-S5900]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6369. Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. Coons) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for
himself and Mr. Inhofe) and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R.
7900, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military
activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At end of title XII, add the following:
Subtitle G--Countering Economic Coercion Act of 2022
SEC. 1281. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Countering Economic
Coercion Act of 2022''.
SEC. 1282. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
The following is the sense of Congress:
(1) Foreign adversaries are increasingly using economic
coercion to pressure, punish, and influence United States
allies and partners.
(2) Economic coercion causes economic harm to United States
allies and partners and creates malign influence on the
sovereign political actions of such allies and partners.
(3) Economic coercion of United States allies and partners
has negative effects on the national security of the United
States.
(4) Economic coercion is often characterized by--
(A) arbitrary and discriminatory actions that seek to
interfere with sovereign actions, violate international trade
rules, and run counter to the rules-based international
order;
(B) capricious and non-transparent actions taken without
due process afforded;
(C) intimidation or threats of punitive actions; and
(D) informal actions that take place without explicit
government action.
(5) Recent acts of economic coercion have included
instances in which foreign adversaries have--
(A) acted in a capricious and non-transparent manner to
prevent or dissuade consumers from purchasing imports from a
foreign trading partner;
(B) enacted discriminatory administrative fees or technical
barriers to trade in goods and services in response to
sovereign political actions taken by a foreign trading
partner;
(C) arbitrarily restricted market access or otherwise
limited the import of goods or services from a foreign
trading partner;
(D) arbitrarily restricted investment in or export of goods
or services to a foreign trading partner; and
(E) acted in a non-transparent manner to manipulate a
private entity with the intent of causing economic harm to or
influencing sovereign political actions of a foreign trading
partner.
(6) Existing mechanisms for trade dispute resolution and
international arbitration are inadequate for responding to
economic coercion in a timely and effective manner as foreign
adversaries exploit plausible deniability and lengthy
processes to evade accountability.
(7) The United States should provide material support to
foreign trading partners affected by economic coercion.
(8) Supporting foreign trading partners affected by
economic coercion can lead to opportunities for United States
businesses, investors, and workers to reach new markets and
customers.
(9) Responding to economic coercion will be most effective
when the United States provides relief to affected foreign
trading partners in coordination with allies and like-minded
countries.
(10) Such coordination will further demonstrate broad
resolve against economic coercion.
SEC. 1283. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees''--
(A) means--
(i) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(ii) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(B) includes--
(i) with respect to the exercise of any authority under
section 1285(a)(1) or 1285(b)--
(I) the Committee on Finance of the Senate; and
(II) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives; and
(ii) with respect to the exercise of any authority under
paragraphs (6) or (8) of section 1285(a)--
(I) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of
the Senate; and
(II) the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Economic coercion.--The term ``economic coercion''
means actions, practices, or threats undertaken by a foreign
adversary to restrain, obstruct, or manipulate trade, foreign
aid, investment, or commerce in an arbitrary, capricious, or
non-transparent manner with the intention to cause economic
harm to achieve strategic political objectives or influence
sovereign political actions.
(3) Export; export administration regulations; in-country
transfer; reexport.--The terms ``export'', ``Export
Administration Regulations'', ``in-country transfer'', and
``reexport'' have the meanings given those terms in section
1742 of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C.
4801).
(4) Foreign adversary.--The term ``foreign adversary'' has
the meaning given that term in section 8(c)(2) of the Secure
and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C.
1607(c)(2))).
(5) Foreign trading partner.--The term ``foreign trading
partner'' means a jurisdiction that is a trading partner of
the United States.
SEC. 1284. DETERMINATION OF ECONOMIC COERCION.
(a) In General.--If the President determines that a foreign
trading partner is subject to economic coercion by a foreign
adversary, the President may exercise, in a manner
proportionate to the economic coercion, any authority
described--
(1) in section 1285(a) to support or assist the foreign
trading partner; or
(2) in section 1285(b) to penalize the foreign adversary.
(b) Information; Hearings.--To inform any determination or
exercise of authority under subsection (a), the President
shall--
(1) consult with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
Commerce, the Secretary of the Treasury, the United States
Trade Representative, and the heads of other Federal
agencies, as the President considers appropriate;
[[Page S5900]]
(2) seek information and advice from and consult with other
relevant officers of the United States; and
(3) afford other interested parties an opportunity to
present relevant information and advice.
(c) Consultation With Congress.--The President shall
consult with the appropriate congressional committees--
(1) before exercising any authority under subsection (a);
and
(2) not less frequently than once every 180 days for the
duration of the exercise of such authority.
(d) Notice.--Not later than 30 days after the date that the
President determines that a foreign trading partner is
subject to economic coercion or exercises any authority under
subsection (a), the President shall publish in the Federal
Register--
(1) a notice of the determination or exercise of authority;
and
(2) a description of the circumstances that led to such
determination or exercise of authority.
(e) Revocation of Determination.--
(1) In general.--Any determination made by the President
under subsection (a) shall be revoked on the earliest of--
(A) the date that is 2 years after the date of such
determination;
(B) the date of the enactment of a joint resolution
revoking the determination; or
(C) the date on which the President issues a proclamation
revoking the determination.
(2) Termination of authorities.--Any authority described in
section 1285(a) exercised pursuant to a determination that
has been revoked under paragraph (1) shall cease to be
exercised on the date of such revocation, except that such
revocation shall not affect--
(A) any action taken or proceeding pending not finally
concluded or determined on such date; or
(B) any rights or duties that matured or penalties that
were incurred prior to such date.
SEC. 1285. AUTHORITIES TO ASSIST FOREIGN TRADING PARTNERS
AFFECTED BY ECONOMIC COERCION.
(a) Authorities With Respect to Foreign Trading Partners.--
The authorities described in this subsection are the
following:
(1) Subject to section 1286, with respect to goods imported
into the United States from a foreign trading partner subject
to economic coercion by a foreign adversary--
(A) the reduction or elimination of duties; or
(B) the modification of tariff-rate quotas.
(2) Requesting appropriations for foreign aid to the
foreign trading partner.
(3) Expedited decisions with respect to the issuance of
licenses for the export or reexport to, or in-country
transfer in, the foreign trading partner of items subject to
controls under the Export Administration Regulations,
consistent with the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50
U.S.C. 4801 et seq.).
(4) Expedited regulatory processes related to the
importation of goods and services into the United States from
the foreign trading partner.
(5) Requesting the necessary authority and appropriations
for sovereign loan guarantees to the foreign trading partner.
(6) The waiver of policy requirements (other than policy
requirements mandated by an Act of Congress) as necessary to
facilitate the provision of financing to support exports to
the foreign trading partner.
(7) Requesting appropriations for loan loss reserves to
facilitate the provision of financing to support United
States exports to the foreign trading partner.
(8) The exemption of financing provided to support United
States exports to the foreign trading partner from section
8(g)(1) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C.
635g(g)(1)).
(b) Authorities With Respect to Foreign Adversaries.--With
respect to goods imported into the United States from a
foreign adversary engaged in economic coercion of a foreign
trading partner, the authorities described in this subsection
are the following:
(1) The increase in duties.
(2) The modification of tariff-rate quotas.
(c) Coordination With Allies.--To broaden economic support
for a foreign trading partner, the President shall endeavor
to coordinate the exercise of the authorities described in
subsection (a) with other foreign trading partners.
SEC. 1286. CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO TARIFF AUTHORITY.
(a) Limitations on Tariff Authority.--The authority
described in section 1285(a)(1)--
(1) does not include the authority to reduce or eliminate
antidumping or countervailing duties imposed under title VII
of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.);
(2) may only apply to an article if--
(A) such article is--
(i) designated by the President as an eligible article for
purposes of the Generalized System of Preferences under
section 503 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2463); and
(ii) imported directly from the foreign trading partner
into the customs territory of the United States; and
(B) the sum of the cost or value of the materials produced
in the foreign trading partner and the direct costs of
processing operations performed in such foreign trading
partner is not less than 35 percent of the appraised value of
such article at the time it is entered;
(3) may not apply to any article that is the product of the
foreign trading partner by virtue of having merely
undergone--
(A) simple combining or packaging operations; or
(B) mere dilution with water or another substance that does
not materially alter the characteristics of the article; and
(4) may not be applied in a manner that would provide
indirect economic benefit to a foreign adversary.
(b) Consultation With Congress.--
(1) In general.--Before exercising any authority described
in section 1285(a)(1) or 1285(b), the President shall submit
to Congress a notice of intent to exercise such authority
that includes a description of--
(A) the circumstances that merit the exercise of such
authority;
(B) the expected effects of the exercise of such authority
on the economy of the United States and businesses, workers,
farmers, and ranchers in the United States;
(C) the expected effects of the exercise of such authority
on the foreign trading partner; and
(D) the expected effects of the exercise of such authority
on the foreign adversary.
(2) Congressional review.--During the period of 45 calendar
days beginning on the date on which the President submits a
notice of intent under paragraph (1), the appropriate
congressional committees should hold hearings and briefings
and otherwise obtain information in order to fully review the
proposed exercise of authority.
(3) Joint resolution required.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, during the period for congressional review
described in paragraph (2), the President may not take the
proposed exercise of authority unless a joint resolution of
approval with respect to that exercise of authority is
enacted.
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