Reciprocal Market Access Act of 2007 - Prohibits the President from agreeing to the reduction or elimination of the existing rate of duty on any product in order to carry out any trade agreement entered into between the United States and a foreign country until the President certifies to Congress that: (1) the United States has obtained the reduction or elimination of tariff and nontariff barriers and policies and practices of such foreign country with respect to U.S. exports of any product that has the same physical characteristics and uses as the product for which the President seeks to modify its rate of duty; and (2) any violation of the trade agreement is immediately enforceable by withdrawal of the modification of the existing duty on such foreign product until the United States Trade Representative (USTR) certifies to Congress that the United States has obtained the reduction or elimination of the tariff or nontariff barrier or policy or practice of such foreign government.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3684 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3684
To enhance reciprocal market access for United States domestic
producers in the negotiating process of bilateral, regional, and
multilateral trade agreements.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 27, 2007
Mr. McIntyre (for himself, Mr. Hayes, Ms. Slaughter, and Mr. Kuhl of
New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance reciprocal market access for United States domestic
producers in the negotiating process of bilateral, regional, and
multilateral trade agreements.
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 ``Reciprocal Market Access Act of
2007''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) A principal negotiating objective of the United States
regarding trade barriers and other trade distortions must be to
expand competitive market opportunities for United States
exports and to obtain fairer and more open conditions of trade
by reducing or eliminating tariff and nontariff barriers and
policies and practices of foreign governments directly related
to trade that hinders market opportunities for United States
exports or otherwise distorts United States trade.
(2) One of the fundamental tenets of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) is reciprocal market access and, in fact,
this principle is underscored in the Marrakesh Agreement
Establishing the World Trade Organization which called for
``entering into reciprocal and mutually advantageous
arrangements directed to the substantial reduction of tariffs
and other barriers to trade and to the elimination of
discriminatory treatment in international trade relations''.
(3) If negotiations between the United States and a foreign
country do not provide meaningful market access for products of
United States domestic producers who have sought market access
assistance from the United States Government, then the United
States must not reduce or eliminate tariffs for products of the
foreign country, having the same physical characteristics and
uses pursuant to any trade agreement entered into between the
United States and the foreign country.
(4) With each subsequent round of bilateral, regional, and
multilateral trade negotiations, tariffs have been
significantly reduced or eliminated for many manufactured
goods, leaving nontariff barriers as the most pervasive,
significant, and challenging barriers to United States exports
and market opportunities.
(5) The United States market is widely recognized as one of
the most open markets in the world: average United States
tariff rates are very low and the United States has limited, if
any, nontariff barriers.
(6) Consequently, the leverage the United States has to
obtain removal of nontariff barriers of foreign countries is
often tariffs on imports from foreign countries into the United
States.
(7) Under the current negotiating process, negotiations to
reduce or eliminate tariff barriers and nontariff barriers are
separate and self-contained, meaning that tradeoffs are tariff-
for-tariff and nontariff-for-nontariff. As a result, a tariff
can be reduced or eliminated without securing elimination of
the real barrier or barriers that deny United States industry
access to a foreign market.
(8) The United States should not engage in trade
negotiations in such a compartmentalized manner thereby
effectively and unilaterally disarming itself by leveraging its
limited tariff barriers without securing elimination of
nontariff barriers of foreign countries and ensuring that new
barriers are not created or discovered.
(9) The United States should seek to ensure market access
results are obtained before reducing or eliminating domestic
tariffs. Specifically, the United States Trade Representative
should seek to ensure market access for products of United
States domestic producers who have sought market access
assistance from the United States Government and have provided
a reasonable indication of the denial of meaningful market
access.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to ensure that United
States trade negotiations achieve real and meaningful results for
United States industry by ensuring that trade agreements result in
meaningful market access for the exports of United States domestic
producers and not just the elimination of tariffs on imports into the
United States.
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE RATES OF DUTY
PURSUANT TO CERTAIN TRADE AGREEMENTS.
(a) Limitation.--Notwithstanding any other provision of the law,
the President may not agree to a modification of any existing duty that
would reduce or eliminate the bound or applied rate of such duty on any
product in order to carry out any trade agreement entered into between
the United States and a foreign country on or after the date of the
enactment of this Act until the President transmits to Congress a
certification described in subsection (b).
(b) Certification.--A certification referred to in subsection (a)
is a certification of the President that--
(1) the United States has obtained the reduction or
elimination of tariff and nontariff barriers and policies and
practices of the government of the foreign country described in
subsection (a) with respect to United States exports of any
product identified by United States domestic producers that has
the same physical characteristics and uses as the product for
which a modification of any existing duty is sought by the
President to carry out the trade agreement described in
subsection (a); and
(2) a violation of any provision of the trade agreement
described in subsection (a) relating to the matters described
in paragraph (1) is immediately enforceable in accordance with
the provisions of section 4.
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS.
(a) Withdrawal of Tariff Concessions.--If the United States Trade
Representative determines pursuant to subsection (c) that any tariff or
nontariff barrier or policy or practice of the government of a foreign
country described in section 3(a) has not been reduced or eliminated,
or that a tariff or nontariff barrier or policy or practice of such
government has been imposed or discovered, with respect to United
States exports of any product identified by United States domestic
producers that has the same physical characteristics and uses as the
product for which a modification of any existing duty has been sought
by the President to carry out the trade agreement described in section
3(a), then, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
modification of the existing duty shall be withdrawn until such time as
the United States Trade Representative submits to Congress a
certification that the United States has obtained the reduction or
elimination of the tariff or nontariff barrier or policy or practice of
such government.
(b) Investigation.--
(1) In general.--An investigation shall be initiated by the
United States Trade Representative whenever an interested party
files a petition with the United States Trade Representative
which alleges the elements necessary for the withdrawal of the
modification of an existing duty under subsection (a), and
which is accompanied by information reasonably available to the
petitioner supporting such allegations.
(2) Interested party defined.--For purposes of paragraph
(1), the term ``interested party'' means--
(A) a manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler in the
United States of a domestic product with the same
physical characteristics and uses as the product for
which a modification of any existing duty has been
sought;
(B) a certified union or recognized union or group
of workers engaged in the manufacture, production, or
wholesale in the United States of a domestic product
that has the same physical characteristics and uses as
the product for which a modification of any existing
duty has been sought;
(C) a trade or business association a majority of
whose members manufacture, produce, or wholesale in the
United States a domestic product that has the same
physical characteristics and uses as the product for
which a modification of any existing duty has been
sought; and
(D) a member of the Committee on Ways and Means of
the House of Representatives or a member of the
Committee on Finance of the Senate.
(c) Determination by USTR.--Not later than 45 days after the date
on which a petition is filed under subsection (b), the United States
Trade Representative shall--
(1) determine whether the petition alleges the elements
necessary for the withdrawal of the modification of an existing
duty under subsection (a); and
(2) notify the petitioner of the determination under
paragraph (1) and the reasons for the determination.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
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