USTR Inspector General Act of 2020

USTR Inspector General Act of 2020

This bill requires the President to appoint an Inspector General of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), who shall conduct an audit of the process for excluding articles from certain duties with respect to articles imported from China.

The required audit shall include an assessment of whether USTR officials (1) uniformly applied the criteria used to review a request for, or objection to, excluding such articles from duties; (2) met with any interested parties to discuss a request or objection while the request or objection was pending; and (3) at any time permitted the resubmission of a previously submitted request or objection after the submission deadline.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7980 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7980

 To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to establish an Inspector 
 General of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 7, 2020

 Mr. Pascrell (for himself, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Pallone, Ms. Judy Chu of 
   California, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Hastings, Ms. 
   Kaptur, and Mr. Serrano) introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to 
   the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to establish an Inspector 
 General of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, 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 ``USTR Inspector General Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Section 8 of article I of the Constitution of the 
        United States provides that Congress has the sole power to 
        regulate international trade.
            (2) Congress established the Office of the United States 
        Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President 
        under section 141 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2171) 
        with the primary responsibility for developing, and 
        coordinating implementation of, the international trade policy 
        of the United States.
            (3) The United States Trade Representative has primary 
        responsibility for administering a variety of trade statutes 
        and for monitoring the implementation and enforcement of trade 
        agreements.
            (4) Section 141(c)(1)(F) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
        U.S.C. 2171(c)(1)(F)) states that the United States Trade 
        Representative shall ``report directly to the President and the 
        Congress regarding, and be responsible to the President and the 
        Congress for the administration of, trade agreements 
        programs''.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE OFFICE OF THE UNITED 
              STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 12 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 
(5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``;or the Director of the 
        National Reconnaissance Office;'' and inserting ``, the 
        Director of the National Reconnaissance Office, or the United 
        States Trade Representative,''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or the National 
        Reconnaissance Office'' and inserting ``the National 
        Reconnaissance Office, or the Office of the United States Trade 
        Representative''.
    (b) Appointment of Inspector General.--Not later than 120 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall 
appoint an individual to serve as the Inspector General of the Office 
for the United States Trade Representative in accordance with section 
3(a) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).

SEC. 4. AUDIT OF PROCESS FOR SEEKING EXCLUSIONS FROM CERTAIN DUTIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Office of the 
United States Trade Representative shall commence conducting an audit 
of the process established by the United States Trade Representative 
for excluding articles from duties imposed under section 301 of the 
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411) with respect to articles imported 
from the People's Republic of China.
    (b) Elements.--In conducting the audit required by subsection (a), 
the Inspector General shall assess whether--
            (1) all information used to make determinations with 
        respect to requests for or objections to such exclusions was 
        included in the official record; and
            (2) officials of the Office of the United States Trade 
        Representative--
                    (A) uniformly applied the criteria used to review 
                such requests or objections to all persons that 
                submitted such requests or objections, as the case may 
                be;
                    (B) changed the criteria used to review such 
                requests or objections while such requests or 
                objections, as the case may be, were pending;
                    (C) met with any interested parties to discuss such 
                requests or objections while such requests or 
                objections, as the case may be, were pending;
                    (D) at any time permitted the resubmission of a 
                previously submitted request or objection after the 
                submission deadline; and
                    (E) uniformly allowed persons that submitted such 
                requests or objections to submit additional information 
                at any time while such requests or objections, as the 
                case may be, were under review.
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