Trade Enforcement Bill Introduced in House
On July 17, 2008, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rangel and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Levin introduced H.R. 6530, the Trade Enforcement Act of 2008, to amend U.S. trade laws to eliminate foreign barriers to exports of U.S. goods and services, restore rights under trade remedy laws, strengthen enforcement of U.S. intellectual property rights (IPR) and health and safety laws at U.S. borders, and for other purposes.
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The following are highlights of H.R. 6530 according to a House Ways and Means Committee summary of the bill (partial list):
Eliminating Barriers to U.S. Exports
To eliminate barriers to U.S. exports, H.R. 6530 would:
require USTR to take action against non-tariff barriers. The bill would require the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to identify annually "priority foreign countries" with unfair barriers and take action.
restore "Super 301." H.R. 6530 would restore the "Super 301" provision signed into law by President Reagan requiring USTR to prioritize annually the most significant barriers to U.S. exports and work to eliminate them.
create Congressional Trade Enforcer Office. The Office of the Congressional Trade Enforcer would investigate barriers to U.S. exports, develop complaints against foreign countries and call on USTR to file cases.
Restoring and Enhancing U.S. Trade Remedies
To restore and enhance U.S. trade remedies H.R. 6530 would:
mandate application of CV duties to "NME" countries (China), etc. In 2007, the Commerce Department began applying countervailing (CV) duties to imports from non-market economy countries (NMEs), like China. H.R. 6530 would "lock in" the Commerce Department's change in practice; ensure that it fully captures NME subsidy practices; and ensure that Congress has a role in determining when an NME should be treated as a market economy country.
limit Presidential discretion to deny safeguard relief. H.R. 6530 would limit the President's discretion to deny relief under the Section 4211 safeguard mechanism providing temporary relief if Chinese imports cause market disruption to an industry in the U.S.
require new approach to implementing WTO "zeroing" rulings. H.R. 6530 would overturn the Commerce Department's decision to comply with WTO Appellate Body rulings against the U.S.' use of zeroing in certain antidumping duty proceedings, and direct it to come up with an approach that captures fully the unfair trade practice.
Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy, Improving Import Safety
To address problems with counterfeiting and piracy and to improve import safety, H.R. 6530 would:
create IPR director, advisory committee, etc. The bill would create a Director of IPR Enforcement and an IPR Enforcement advisory committee to advise on IPR enforcement issues; promote the use of new technology to better fight IPR infringement; create a "watch list" for suspected bad actors; and prevent U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from excusing fines assessed for illegal imports.
create import safety program, require "unique identifiers," etc. H.R. 6530 would create a voluntary government-private sector import safety program; require the use of "unique identifiers" to facilitate identifying the source of goods that pose health and safety threats; and establish new sanctions for repeated non-compliance with U.S. health and safety laws.
increase CBP/ICE staffing, resources, training. The bill would authorize the support, resources and training that CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) need to carry out their import safety and IPR enforcement responsibilities.
1Section 421 was added to the Trade Act of 1974 by the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000, in order to implement a transitional bilateral safeguard provision relating to China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Although the President has had the opportunity to implement Section 421 restrictions against China, he has so far declined to do so.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 05/28/08 news, 08052810, for BP summary of a Senate Finance Committee hearing on S. 1919, the Trade Enforcement Act of 2007.)
House Ways and Means Committee press release (dated 07/17/08) available at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/news.asp?formmode=release&id=676
Rep. Levin's related Op-Ed (posted 06/10/08) available at http://thehill.com/op-eds/a-policy-that-goes-on-the-offense-for-u.s.-businesses-and-workers-2008-06-10.html
House Ways and Means Committee summary of H.R. 6530 available at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/110/sse.pdf
H.R. 6530 available at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/110/hr6530.pdf
BP Note
Press sources indicate that because of the short congressional calendar and likely opposition from the Administration, H.R. 6530 is unlikely to be considered before next year.