[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2310-2312]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 12--PROVIDING THAT ANY AGREEMENT RELATING 
TO TRADE AND INVESTMENT THAT IS NEGOTIATED BY THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH WITH 
       ANOTHER COUNTRY MUST COMPLY WITH CERTAIN MINIMUM STANDARDS

  Mr. FEINGOLD submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Finance:

                            S. Con. Res. 12

       Whereas there is general consensus among the American 
     public and the global community that, with respect to 
     international trade and investment rules--
       (1) global environmental, labor, health, food security, and 
     other public interest standards must be strengthened to 
     prevent a global ``race to the bottom'';
       (2) domestic environmental, labor, health, food security, 
     and other public interest standards and policies must not be 
     undermined, including those based on the use of the 
     precautionary principle (the internationally recognized legal 
     principle that holds that, when there is scientific 
     uncertainty regarding the potential adverse effects of an 
     action, a product or technology, a government should act in a 
     way that minimizes the risk of harm to human health and the 
     environment);
       (3) provision and regulation of public services such as 
     education, health care, transportation, energy, water, and 
     other utilities are basic functions of democratic government 
     and must not be undermined;
       (4) raising standards in developing countries requires 
     additional assistance and respect for diversity of policies 
     and priorities;
       (5) countries must be allowed to design and implement 
     policies to sustain family farms and achieve food security;
       (6) healthy national economies are essential to a healthy 
     global economy, and the right of governments to pursue 
     policies to maintain and create jobs must be upheld;
       (7) the right of State and local and comparable regional 
     governments of all countries to create and enforce diverse 
     policies must be safeguarded from imposed downward 
     harmonization; and
       (8) rules for the global economy must be developed and 
     implemented democratically and with transparency and 
     accountability; and
       Whereas many international trade and investment agreements 
     in existence and currently being negotiated do not serve 
     these interests, and have caused substantial harm to the 
     health and well-being of communities in the United States and 
     within countries that are trading partners of the United 
     States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That any agreement relating to trade and 
     investment that is negotiated by the executive branch with 
     another country should comply with the following:
       (1) Regarding investor and investment policy.--No such 
     agreement that includes any provision relating to foreign 
     investment may permit a foreign investor to challenge or seek 
     compensation because of a measure of a government at the 
     national, State, or local level that protects the public 
     interest, including, but not limited to, public health, 
     safety, and welfare, the environment, and worker protections, 
     unless a foreign investor demonstrates that the measure was 
     enacted or applied primarily for the purpose of 
     discriminating against a foreign investor or foreign 
     investment.
       (2) Regarding services.--Any such agreement, to the extent 
     applicable, shall comply with the following:
       (A)(i) The agreement may not discipline a government 
     measure relating to--
       (I) a public service, including public services for which 
     the government is not the sole provider;
       (II) a service that requires extensive regulation;
       (III) an essential human service; and
       (IV) a service that has an essentially social component.
       (ii) A service described in clause (i) includes, but is not 
     limited to, a public benefit program, health care, health 
     insurance, public health, child care, education and training, 
     the distribution of a controlled substance or product 
     (including alcohol, tobacco, and firearms), research and 
     development on a natural or social science, a utility 
     (including an energy utility, water, waste disposal, and 
     sanitation), national security, maritime, air, surface, and 
     other transportation services, a postal service, energy 
     extraction and any related service, and a correctional 
     service.
       (B) The agreement shall permit a country that has made a 
     commitment in an area described in subparagraph (A) to revise 
     that commitment for the purposes of public interest 
     regulation without any financial or other trade-related 
     penalty.
       (C) The agreement shall ensure that any rule governing a 
     subsidy or government procurement fully protects the ability 
     of a government to support and purchase a service in a way 
     that promotes economic development, social justice and 
     equity, public health, environmental quality, human rights, 
     and the rights of workers.
       (D) The agreement shall not make a new commitment on the 
     temporary entry of workers because such policies should be 
     determined by the Congress, after consideration by the 
     congressional committees with jurisdiction over immigration 
     to avoid an array of inconsistent policies and any policy 
     that fails to--
       (i) include labor market tests that ensure that the 
     employment of temporary workers will not adversely affect 
     other similarly employed workers;
       (ii) involve labor unions in the labor certification 
     process implemented under the immigration program for 
     temporary workers under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act, including the filing by an 
     employer of an application under section 212(n)(1) of that 
     Act; and
       (iii) guarantee the same workplace protections for 
     temporary workers that are available to all workers.
       (E) The agreement shall guarantee that all governments that 
     are parties to the agreement can regulate foreign investors 
     in services and other service providers in order to protect 
     public health and safety, consumers, the environment, and 
     workers' rights, without requiring the governments to 
     establish their regulations to be the least burdensome option 
     for foreign service providers.

[[Page 2311]]

       (3) Regarding policies to support american workers and 
     small, minority, and women-owned businesses.--Any such 
     agreement shall preserve the right of Federal, State, and 
     local governments to maintain or establish policies to 
     support American workers and small, minority, or women-owned 
     businesses, including, but not limited to, policies with 
     respect to government procurement, loans, and subsidies.
       (4) Regarding environmental, labor, and other public 
     interest standards.--Any such agreement--
       (A) may not supersede the rights and obligations of parties 
     under multilateral environmental, labor, and human rights 
     agreements; and
       (B) shall, to the extent applicable, include commitments, 
     subject to binding enforcement on the same terms as 
     commercial provisions--
       (i) to adhere to specified workers' rights and 
     environmental standards;
       (ii) not to diminish or fail to enforce existing domestic 
     labor and environmental provisions; and
       (iii) to abide by the core labor standards of the 
     International Labor Organization (ILO).
       (5) Regarding united states trade laws.--No such agreement 
     may--
       (A) contain a provision which modifies or amends, or 
     requires a modification of or an amendment to, any law of the 
     United States that provides to United States businesses or 
     workers safeguards from unfair foreign trade practices, 
     including any law providing for--
       (i) the imposition of countervailing or antidumping duties;
       (ii) protection from unfair methods of competition or 
     unfair acts in the importation of articles;
       (iii) relief from injury caused by import competition;
       (iv) relief from unfair trade practices; or
       (v) the imposition of import restrictions to protect the 
     national security; or
       (B) weaken the existing terms of the Agreement on 
     Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on 
     Tariffs and Trade 1994, or the Agreement on Subsidies and 
     Countervailing Measures, of the World Trade Organization, 
     including through the domestic implementation of rulings of 
     dispute settlement bodies.
       (6) Regarding food safety.--No such agreement may--
       (A) restrict the ability of the United States to ensure 
     that food products entering the United States are rigorously 
     inspected to establish that they meet all food safety 
     standards in the United States, including inspection 
     standards;
       (B) force acceptance of different food safety standards as 
     ``equivalent'', or require international harmonization of 
     food safety standards, which undermine the level of human 
     health protection provided under domestic law; or
       (C) restrict the ability of governments to enact policies 
     to guarantee the right of consumers to know where and how 
     their food is produced.
       (7) Regarding agriculture and food security.--No such 
     agreement may, with respect to food and other agricultural 
     commodities--
       (A) contain provisions that prevent countries from--
       (i) establishing domestic and global reserves,
       (ii) managing supply,
       (iii) enforcing antidumping disciplines,
       (iv) ensuring fair market prices, or
       (v) vigorously enforcing antitrust laws, in order to 
     guarantee competitive markets for family farmers; or
       (B) prevent countries from developing the necessary 
     sanitary and phytosanitary standards to prevent the 
     introduction of pathogens or other potentially invasive 
     species which may adversely affect agriculture, human health, 
     or the environment.
       (8) Regarding transparency.--(A) The process of negotiating 
     any such agreement must be open and transparent, including 
     through--
       (i) prompt and regular disclosure of full negotiating 
     texts; and
       (ii) prompt and regular disclosure of negotiating positions 
     of the United States.
       (B) In negotiating any such agreement, any request or offer 
     relating to investment, procurement, or trade in services 
     must be made public within 10 days after its submission if 
     such request or offer--
       (i) proposes specific Federal, State, and local laws and 
     regulations in the United States to be changed, eliminated, 
     or scheduled under such an agreement, including, but not 
     limited to, subsidies, tax rules, procurement rules, 
     professional standards, and rules on temporary entry of 
     persons;
       (ii) proposes for coverage under such an agreement--
       (I) specific essential public services, including, but not 
     limited to, public benefits programs, health care, education, 
     national security, sanitation, water, energy, and other 
     utilities; or
       (II) private service sectors that require extensive 
     regulation or have an inherently social component, including, 
     but not limited to, maritime, air transport, trucking, and 
     other transportation services, postal services, utilities 
     such as water, energy, and sanitation, corrections, education 
     and childcare, and health care; or
       (iii) proposes a discipline or process of general 
     application which may interfere with the ability of the 
     United States or State, local, or tribal governments to 
     adopt, implement, or enforce laws and regulations identified 
     in clause (i) or provide or regulate services identified in 
     clause (ii).
       (C) The broad array of constituencies representing the 
     majority of the people of the United States, including labor 
     unions, environmental organizations, consumer groups, family 
     farm groups, public health advocates, faith-based 
     organizations, and civil rights groups, must have at least 
     the same representation on trade advisory committees and 
     access to trade negotiators and negotiating fora as those 
     constituencies representing commercial interests.
       (D) Any dispute resolution mechanism established in any 
     such agreement must be open and transparent, including 
     through disclosure to the public of documents and access to 
     hearings, and must permit participation by nonparties through 
     the filing of amicus briefs, as well as provide for standing 
     for State and local governments as intervenors.
       (9) Regarding governmental authority.--No such agreement 
     may contain provisions that bind national, State, local, or 
     comparable regional governments to limiting regulatory, 
     taxation, spending, or procurement authority without an 
     opportunity for public review and comment described in 
     paragraph (8), and without the explicit, informed consent of 
     the national, State, local, or comparable regional 
     legislative body concerned, through such means as is decided 
     by such legislative body.
       (10) Regarding access to medicines and seeds.--(A) No such 
     agreement may contain provisions that prevent countries from 
     taking measures to protect public health by ensuring access 
     to medicines.
       (B) No such agreement may constrain the rights of farmers 
     to save, use, exchange, or sell farm-saved seeds and other 
     publicly available seed varieties.
       (11) Regarding developing countries.--Any such agreement 
     must grant special and differential treatment for developing 
     countries with regard to the timeframe for implementation of 
     the agreement as well as other concerns.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I am resubmitting a measure to help 
begin to address one of the central problems our Nation faces, namely 
the loss of family-supporting jobs because of our flawed trade 
policies.
  Florence, WI is a town in the far northeastern corner of my home 
State. It is just a few miles from the border with the Upper Peninsula 
of Michigan.
  Like most Americans, the residents of Florence are probably too busy 
with their own lives to pay close attention to the trade policies of 
our Nation. But a few weeks ago, a hundred families in that small 
community got a sharp introduction to the realities of those policies. 
Pride Manufacturing, the world's largest maker of golf tees, announced 
that it would be closing down its plant in Florence, and moving that 
operation and the hundred or so jobs that go with it to China.
  That announcement probably wasn't noticed by many people outside of 
my home State--one company in one small community in the far 
northeastern corner of Wisconsin leaving for China doesn't raise many 
eyebrows in Washington or Wall Street. But it is a serious matter for 
the families whose livelihood is directly affected by the move. And it 
will certainly have an impact on the community in which they live. Some 
families may try to stay, but some may be forced to look elsewhere for 
jobs. The local school district is already trying to cope with 
declining enrollment and the challenges of a largely rural district. 
The prospect of losing additional families will only make matters 
worse. Local businesses that relied on the custom of those families 
will be hit. Car dealers, grocery stores, hardware stores, clothing 
stores, everyone will be potentially impacted.
  All because a local business is closing down as a result of the trade 
policies of this government.
  We have seen that story repeated across Wisconsin. Our manufacturing 
sector has been hit particularly hard. And I know Wisconsin is not 
alone in that experience.
  The record of the major trade agreements into which our Nation has 
entered over the past few years has been dismal. Thanks in great part 
to the flawed fast track rules that govern consideration of legislation 
implementing trade agreements, the United States has entered into a 
number of trade agreements that have contributed to the significant job 
loss we have seen in recent years, and have laid open to assault 
various laws and regulations established to protect workers,

[[Page 2312]]

the environment, and our health and safety.
  Indeed, those agreements undermine the very democratic institutions 
through which we govern ourselves.
  The loss of jobs, especially manufacturing jobs, to other countries 
has been devastating to Wisconsin, and to the entire country. When I 
opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Uruguay round of 
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Permanent Normal Trade 
Relations for China, and other flawed trade measures, I did so in great 
part because I believed they would lead to a significant loss of jobs. 
But even as an opponent of those agreements, I don't think I could have 
imagined just how bad things would get in so short a time.
  The trade policy of this country over the past several years has been 
appalling. The trade agreements into which we have entered have 
contributed to the loss of key employers, ravaging entire communities. 
But despite that clear evidence, we continue to see trade agreements 
being reached that will only aggravate this problem.
  This has to stop. We cannot afford to pursue trade policies that gut 
our manufacturing sector and send good jobs overseas. We cannot afford 
to undermine the protections we have established for workers, the 
environment, and our public health and safety. And we cannot afford to 
squander our democratic heritage by entering into trade agreements that 
supersede our right to govern ourselves through open, democratic 
institutions.
  The legislation I am pleased to reintroduce today addresses this 
problem, at least in part. It establishes some minimum standards for 
the trade agreements into which our nation enters. I introduced an 
identical resolution in the last Congress as a companion to a 
resolution introduced in the other body by my colleague from Ohio, Mr. 
Sherrod Brown).
  This measure sets forth principles for future trade agreements. It is 
a break with the so called NAFTA model, and instead advocates the kinds 
of sound trade policies that will spur economic growth and sustainable 
development.
  The principles set forth in this resolution are not complex. They are 
straightforward and achievable. The resolution calls for enforceable 
worker protections, including the core International Labor Organization 
standards.
  It preserves the ability of the United States to enact and enforce 
its own trade laws.
  It protects foreign investors, but states that foreign investors 
should not be provided with greater rights than those provided under 
U.S. law, and it protects public interest laws from challenge by 
foreign investors in secret tribunals.
  It ensures that food entering into our country meets domestic food 
safety standards.
  It preserves the ability of Federal, State, and local governments to 
maintain essential public services and to relate private sector 
services in the public interest.
  It requires that trade agreements contain environmental provisions 
subject to the same enforcement as commercial provisions.
  It preserves the right of Federal, State, and local governments to 
use procurement as a policy tool, including through Buy American laws, 
environmental laws such as recycled content, and purchasing preferences 
for small, minority, or women-owned businesses.
  It requires that trade negotiations and the implementation of trade 
agreements be conducted openly.
  These are sensible policies. They are entirely consistent with the 
goal of increased international commerce, and in fact they advance that 
goal.
  The outgrowth of the major trade agreements I referenced earlier has 
been a race to the bottom in labor standards, environmental health and 
safety standards, in nearly every aspect of our economy. A race to the 
bottom is a race in which even the winners lose.
  For any who doubt this, I invite you to ask the families in Florence, 
WI who will watch their jobs move to China.
  We can't let this continue to happen. We need to turn our trade 
policies around. We need to pursue trade agreements that will promote 
sustainable economic growth for our Nation and for our trading 
partners. The resolution I submit today will begin to put us on that 
path, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

                          ____________________