Assistance for Workers Harmed by Tariffs on Exports Act

Assistance for Workers Harmed by Tariffs on Exports Act

This bill provides financial assistance to workers harmed by retaliatory foreign tariffs by expanding the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers program. The program currently provides assistance to workers adversely affected by competing imported goods and services.

Under the bill, workers at firms that have seen a significant decrease in sales, production, or exports of goods or services, in whole or in part as a result of tariffs imposed by foreign countries in response to U.S. tariff increases, may petition the Department of Labor for trade adjustment assistance.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3289 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3289

  To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to provide adjustment assistance to 
 certain workers adversely affected by reduced exports resulting from 
tariffs imposed as retaliation for United States tariff increases, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 26, 2018

Mrs. McCaskill introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to provide adjustment assistance to 
 certain workers adversely affected by reduced exports resulting from 
tariffs imposed as retaliation for United States tariff increases, 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 ``Assistance for Workers Harmed by 
Tariffs on Exports Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In recognition that trade policy can result in 
        disparate and disruptive changes to the economy, the Trade 
        Adjustment Assistance program was enacted to help workers 
        adversely impacted by the trade policy decisions of the Federal 
        Government.
            (2) The Trump Administration has made clear that it intends 
        to aggressively use Federal trade statutes, including section 
        232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1862), 
        section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411), and 
        potentially the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
        U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), to increase tariffs on selected imports.
            (3) Foreign countries affected by such tariff increases 
        have, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, already 
        raised tariffs on United States exports or have indicated that 
        they intend to respond by raising tariffs on such exports.
            (4) Increased tariffs on such exports threaten to reduce 
        employment in affected sectors of the United States economy.
            (5) Workers adversely impacted by these effects deserve 
        adjustment assistance.

SEC. 3. ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR RETALIATORY TARIFF INCREASES.

    Section 222(a)(2) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2272(a)(2)) 
is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ``or'' at the 
        end;
            (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking the period at the 
        end and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(C)(i) the sales or production, or both, of such firm 
        have decreased absolutely;
            ``(ii) exports of articles produced or services supplied by 
        such workers' firm have decreased;
            ``(iii) the decrease in exports described in clause (ii) 
        resulted in whole or in part from duties imposed on such 
        exports by a foreign country in response to duties imposed by 
        the United States on exports from that country pursuant to an 
        action taken under the authority of--
                    ``(I) section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 
                1962 (19 U.S.C. 1862);
                    ``(II) section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
                U.S.C. 2411); or
                    ``(III) the International Emergency Economic Powers 
                Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and
            ``(iv) the decrease in exports described in clause (ii) 
        contributed importantly to such workers' separation or threat 
        of separation and to the decline in the sales or production of 
        such firm.''.
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