Agricultural Trade Facilitation Act - States that the overall trade negotiating objective of the United States with respect to the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures to agricultural products for trade agreements between the United States and foreign countries is to secure more open and reciprocal market access by strengthening the rules governing such measures' application to agricultural products.
States that the principal trade negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures to agricultural products are to: (1) strengthen the requirement that the application of such measures is based on scientific evidence, (2) encourage parties to an agreement to participate actively in the development of international standards relating to such measures' application, (3) improve regulatory coherence and increase the use of systems-based approaches, (4) require greater transparency in such measures' development and implementation, (5) require parties to an agreement to carry out risk analysis in a timely manner consistent with international guidelines, (6) improve rules governing the testing of imported products, (7) promote harmonization of export certification requirements, and (8) ensure that new sanitary and phytosanitary trade obligations are fully enforceable through an effective dispute settlement process.
Makes this Act inapplicable to negotiations for: (1) The United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, (2) The United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, (3) The United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement, and (4) The Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organization.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2707 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2707
To establish trade negotiating objectives of the United States with
respect to the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures to
agricultural products to facilitate trade in agriculture, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 29, 2011
Mr. Nunes introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish trade negotiating objectives of the United States with
respect to the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures to
agricultural products to facilitate trade in agriculture, 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 ``Agricultural Trade Facilitation
Act''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Pursuant to article I, section 8, clause 3 of the
Constitution of the United States, Congress has the authority
to establish negotiating objectives for the United States for
agreements related to agricultural trade.
(2) From 2008 to 2010, the value of United States
agricultural exports averaged nearly $107 billion annually.
Compared to 1998 to 2000, when the total value of agricultural
exports averaged $51,000,000,000 annually, United States
agricultural exports have more than doubled in past ten years.
(3) The Department of Agriculture's Economic Research
Service reports that each $1,000,000,000 in United States
agricultural exports supports approximately 8,400 jobs. The
Economic Research Service further reports that United States
agricultural exports supported nearly 830,000 full-time
American jobs both on and off-farm in 2009.
(4) Even as the importance of agricultural exports to the
United States economy grows, there are continued reports that
non science-based sanitary and phytosanitary measures are
restricting trade, acting as non-tariff barriers to trade. The
elimination and reduction of unwarranted sanitary and
phytosanitary barriers to trade will increase United States
agricultural exports and jobs.
(5) Sanitary and phytosanitary measures are those designed
``to protect human, animal or plant life or health from risks''
arising from additives, contaminants, pests, toxins, diseases,
or disease-carrying and causing organisms in foods, beverages,
feedstuffs, animals, or plants. Sanitary and phytosanitary
measures can take such forms as specific product or processing
standards, requirements for products to be produced in disease-
free areas, quarantine regulations, certification or inspection
procedures, sampling and testing requirements, health-related
labeling measures, maximum permissible pesticide residue
levels, and prohibitions on certain food additives.
(6) There are currently 37 active disputes involving
sanitary and phytosanitary measures being argued within the
World Trade Organization (WTO) between Member countries. These
cases have been invoked under the WTO Agreement on the
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
(7) While the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures, to which all WTO Member countries are
parties, explicitly recognizes the rights of each country to
take their own measures, they must be science-based and applied
only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant
health, and cannot be arbitrary or used to unjustifiably
discriminate domestically or between trading partners. Member
countries are also encouraged to observe established and
recognized international standards. Improper use of measures
can create substantial, if not complete, barriers to United
States exports when they are disguised barriers to trade, are
not supported by science, or are otherwise unwarranted.
(8) In 2010, a United States interagency group led by the
Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service,
reviewed more than 1,000 notifications from 50 countries as
required under the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures. The United States Government commented
on 173 proposed or in-force sanitary and phytosanitary
measures. Nearly one-half of the comments were measures
regarding processed products, one-third addressed requirements
for live animals and fish (and their products, including dairy
products); and almost one-quarter were for measures that
introduced new standards or entry requirements for plants, bulk
commodities (including those made with biotechnology), and
horticultural products.
(9) Each year, the United States Trade Representative
reports that non science-based sanitary and phytosanitary trade
barriers continue to threaten, constrain, or block United
States agricultural exports.
(10) A Department of Agriculture study of the impact of
foreign technical trade barriers on United States agricultural
exports reported the presence of ``questionable technical
barriers'' in more than 60 countries affecting trade in more
than 300 agricultural products, valued at an estimated $5
billion of United States agricultural, forestry, and fishery
exports using 1996 data, accounting for about 7 percent of
total agricultural exports during that year. Although more
recent formal estimates of United States agricultural trade
effects are not available, the United States Trade
Representative continues to assert: ``[Sanitary and
phytosanitary] trade barriers prevent U.S. producers from
shipping hundreds of millions of dollars worth of goods,
hurting farms and small businesses''.
(11) The improper use of sanitary and phytosanitary trade
barriers to trade can be reduced through achieving and
implementing agreements that provide for enhanced
harmonization, transparency, equivalency, improved regulatory
practices, and more efficient and effective dispute settlement.
The elimination and reduction in use of such barriers to trade
will strengthen the international trading system by providing
certainty, predictability, and fair treatment.
(12) The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures has proven valuable to United States
exporters, but experience has exposed certain inadequacies in
its rules.
(13) Accordingly, as the United States prepares for future
trade agreements, the Administration must prioritize further
strengthening of rules on sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
SEC. 3. TRADE NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES OF THE UNITED STATES WITH RESPECT
TO THE APPLICATION OF SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
TO AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
(a) Overall Trade Negotiating Objectives.--The overall trade
negotiating objective of the United States with respect to the
application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures to agricultural
products for trade agreements between the United States and foreign
countries is to secure more open, equitable, and reciprocal market
access by strengthening the rules governing the application of sanitary
and phytosanitary measures to agricultural products.
(b) Principal Trade Negotiating Objectives.--The principal trade
negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to the
application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures to agricultural
products are the following:
(1) To strengthen the requirement that the application of
measures is based on scientific evidence by requiring parties
to the agreement to make available their risk assessments and
provide a science-based justification for regulations, in
particular in cases in which measures are more restrictive than
international standards.
(2) To encourage parties to the agreement to participate
actively in the development of international standards relating
to the application of measures and to apply those standards
whenever it is appropriate to do so and to require parties to
provide a scientific justification whenever they apply a
standard that deviates from an established international
standard.
(3) To improve regulatory coherence and increase the use of
systems-based approaches, to require parties to the agreement
to evaluate on a timely basis the health and safety protection
systems of other parties and to allow imports of products if
the system of the exporting party meets or exceeds the end-
product standards of the importing party.
(4) To require greater transparency in the development and
implementation of the measures, to require parties to the
agreement to publish proposed measures, including a scientific
justification, to provide an opportunity for interested parties
to comment on the proposal, and to take into account reasonable
concerns, and to require parties to provide significant advance
notice before implementing new, non-emergency measures in order
to provide ample time for any necessary adjustments by industry
in order to come into compliance.
(5) To require parties to the agreement to carry out risk
analysis in a timely manner consistent with the guidelines
developed by relevant international organizations, to ensure
that risk assessments are based on the most relevant scientific
data, to require parties to consider the full range of risk
management options and to ensure that the measures are no more
trade-restrictive than necessary to meet the intended purpose,
and to require effective risk communication.
(6) To improve rules governing the testing of imported
products, to require importing parties to use validated test
methods and to provide importers with the right to a
confirmatory test, and to provide the right of appeal.
(7) To promote the harmonization of export certification
requirements and to require that parties to the agreement limit
information requirements on export documents to that which is
necessary to determine whether a product meets sanitary and
phytosanitary standards.
(8) To ensure that new sanitary and phytosanitary trade
obligations are fully enforceable through an a more efficient
and effective dispute settlement process.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act
takes effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and applies with
respect to negotiations entered into before, on, or after such date of
enactment for any trade agreement relating to the application of
sanitary and phytosanitary measures to agricultural products.
(b) Exception.--This Act does not apply with respect to
negotiations for any of the following:
(1) The United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.
(2) The United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement.
(3) The United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement.
(4) The Doha Development Round of the World Trade
Organization.
<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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