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Title 19 — Customs DutiesRelease 119-73

§2136 Reciprocal nondiscriminatory treatment

Title 19 › Chapter CHAPTER 12— - TRADE ACT OF 1974 › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - NEGOTIATING AND OTHER AUTHORITY › Part Part 2— - Other Authority › § 2136

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Any tariff, import limit, or duty-free rule made under a trade agreement must apply to goods from every foreign country, unless another law says otherwise. The President must check, after all negotiations finish or by the five-year mark that began on January 3, 1975 (whichever comes first), whether a major industrial country failed to give U.S. businesses trade opportunities equal to those the U.S. gave them. "Major industrial country" means Canada, the European Economic Community and its member countries, Japan, and any other country the President names.

Full Legal Text

Title 19, §2136

Customs Duties — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or in any other provision of law, any duty or other import restriction or duty-free treatment proclaimed in carrying out any trade agreement under this subchapter shall apply to products of all foreign countries, whether imported directly or indirectly.
(b)The President shall determine, after the conclusion of all negotiations entered into under this chapter or at the end of the 5-year period beginning on January 3, 1975, whichever is earlier, whether any major industrial country has failed to make concessions under trade agreements entered into under this chapter which provide competitive opportunities for the commerce of the United States in such country substantially equivalent to the competitive opportunities, provided by concessions made by the United States under trade agreements entered into under this chapter, for the commerce of such country in the United States.
(c)For purposes of this section, “major industrial country” means Canada, the European Economic Community, the individual member countries of such Community, Japan, and any other foreign country designated by the President for purposes of this subsection.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 93–618, Jan. 3, 1975, 88 Stat. 1978, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

References in Text

note set out under section 2101 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

1998—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 105–362 redesignated subsec. (d) as (c) and struck out former subsec. (c) which related to recommendations to Congress for legislation following a Presidential determination that a major industrial country failed to grant equivalent concessions.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

19 U.S.C. § 2136

Title 19 — Customs Duties

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73