§3804 — Title 19 Customs Duties | U.S. Code

Summary

Before starting certain trade talks, the President must tell Congress in writing at least 90 calendar days before negotiations begin. That notice must say when talks will start, the U.S. goals for the talks, and whether the President wants a new deal or changes to an existing one. The President must talk with key House and Senate committees (for example, Ways and Means and Finance) and with a Congressional Oversight Group before and after the notice, and must meet with that Oversight Group if a majority asks. For talks about farm products, fish or shellfish, or textiles and apparel, the President must check whether U.S. tariffs bound under the Uruguay Round are lower than the other country’s and whether the talks can fix any gap. For agriculture the United States Trade Representative must, as soon as practical after August 6, 2002, list certain products that had small tariff cuts on January 1, 1995 (products where the new rate was at least 97.5% of the old rate), consult with relevant committees about further cuts, sanitary rules, and export subsidies, ask the International Trade Commission (ITC) for an economic study, and then tell those committees which products the United States plans to seek tariff changes for. Before entering a trade agreement, the President must consult with Ways and Means, Finance, other affected committees, and the Oversight Group about what the agreement is, how it meets U.S. goals, and how it will be put into law. At least 180 calendar days before signing the agreement, the President must report to Ways and Means and Finance on negotiation proposals that might require changes to U.S. trade-remedy laws and how those proposals relate to negotiating objectives (90 days before signing for agreements with Chile or Singapore). After the President gives required notices, a specific type of congressional resolution may be introduced under set committee and floor rules. The President must also give the ITC the agreement details at least 90 calendar days before signing and keep it updated; the ITC must report within 90 days after the agreement is signed on likely effects on GDP, trade, jobs, affected industries, and consumers, and must review other studies and explain agreements or differences among them. Finally, a report required under the Trade Act must be sent to the President, Congress, and the U.S. Trade Representative within 30 days after the President notifies Congress of intent to enter the agreement.

Title 19, §3804

Customs Duties — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The President, with respect to any agreement that is subject to the provisions of section 3803(b) of this title, shall—

(1)provide, at least 90 calendar days before initiating negotiations, written notice to the Congress of the President’s intention to enter into the negotiations and set forth therein the date the President intends to initiate such negotiations, the specific United States objectives for the negotiations, and whether the President intends to seek an agreement, or changes to an existing agreement;

(2)before and after submission of the notice, consult regarding the negotiations with the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, such other committees of the House and Senate as the President deems appropriate, and the Congressional Oversight group convened under section 3807 of this title; and

(3)upon the request of a majority of the members of the Congressional Oversight Group under section 3807(c) of this title, meet with the Congressional Oversight Group before initiating the negotiations or at any other time concerning the negotiations.

(b)(1)Before initiating or continuing negotiations the subject matter of which is directly related to the subject matter under section 3802(b)(10)(A)(i) of this title with any country, the President shall assess whether United States tariffs on agricultural products that were bound under the Uruguay Round Agreements are lower than the tariffs bound by that country. In addition, the President shall consider whether the tariff levels bound and applied throughout the world with respect to imports from the United States are higher than United States tariffs and whether the negotiation provides an opportunity to address any such disparity. The President shall consult with the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate concerning the results of the assessment, whether it is appropriate for the United States to agree to further tariff reductions based on the conclusions reached in the assessment, and how all applicable negotiating objectives will be met.

(2)(A)Before initiating negotiations with regard to agriculture, and, with respect to the Free Trade Area for the Americas and negotiations with regard to agriculture under the auspices of the World Trade Organization, as soon as practicable after August 6, 2002, the United States Trade Representative shall—

(i)identify those agricultural products subject to tariff-rate quotas on August 6, 2002, and agricultural products subject to tariff reductions by the United States as a result of the Uruguay Round Agreements, for which the rate of duty was reduced on January 1, 1995, to a rate which was not less than 97.5 percent of the rate of duty that applied to such article on December 31, 1994;

(ii)consult with the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate concerning—

(I)whether any further tariff reductions on the products identified under clause (i) should be appropriate, taking into account the impact of any such tariff reduction on the United States industry producing the product concerned;

(II)whether the products so identified face unjustified sanitary or phytosanitary restrictions, including those not based on scientific principles in contravention of the Uruguay Round Agreements; and

(III)whether the countries participating in the negotiations maintain export subsidies or other programs, policies, or practices that distort world trade in such products and the impact of such programs, policies, and practices on United States producers of the products;

(iii)request that the International Trade Commission prepare an assessment of the probable economic effects of any such tariff reduction on the United States industry producing the product concerned and on the United States economy as a whole; and

(iv)upon complying with clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), notify the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate of those products identified under clause (i) for which the Trade Representative intends to seek tariff liberalization in the negotiations and the reasons for seeking such tariff liberalization.

(B)If, after negotiations described in subparagraph (A) are commenced—

(i)the United States Trade Representative identifies any additional agricultural product described in subparagraph (A)(i) for tariff reductions which were not the subject of a notification under subparagraph (A)(iv), or

(ii)any additional agricultural product described in subparagraph (A)(i) is the subject of a request for tariff reductions by a party to the negotiations,

(3)Before initiating, or continuing, negotiations which directly relate to fish or shellfish trade with any country, the President shall consult with the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and shall keep the Committees apprised of negotiations on an ongoing and timely basis.

(c)Before initiating or continuing negotiations the subject matter of which is directly related to textiles and apparel products with any country, the President shall assess whether United States tariffs on textile and apparel products that were bound under the Uruguay Round Agreements are lower than the tariffs bound by that country and whether the negotiation provides an opportunity to address any such disparity. The President shall consult with the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate concerning the results of the assessment, whether it is appropriate for the United States to agree to further tariff reductions based on the conclusions reached in the assessment, and how all applicable negotiating objectives will be met.

(d)(1)Before entering into any trade agreement under section 3803(b) of this title, the President shall consult with—

(A)the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate;

(B)each other committee of the House and the Senate, and each joint committee of the Congress, which has jurisdiction over legislation involving subject matters which would be affected by the trade agreement; and

(C)the Congressional Oversight Group convened under section 3807 of this title.

(2)The consultation described in paragraph (1) shall include consultation with respect to—

(A)the nature of the agreement;

(B)how and to what extent the agreement will achieve the applicable purposes, policies, priorities, and objectives of this chapter; and

(C)the implementation of the agreement under section 3805 of this title, including the general effect of the agreement on existing laws.

(3)(A)The President, at least 180 calendar days before the day on which the President enters into a trade agreement under section 3803(b) of this title, shall report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate—

(i)the range of proposals advanced in the negotiations with respect to that agreement, that may be in the final agreement, and that could require amendments to title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 [19 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.] or to chapter 1 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. 2251 et seq.]; and

(ii)how these proposals relate to the objectives described in section 3802(b)(14) of this title.

(B)With respect to a trade agreement entered into with Chile or Singapore, the report referred to in subparagraph (A) shall be submitted by the President at least 90 calendar days before the day on which the President enters into that agreement.

(C)(i)At any time after the transmission of the report under subparagraph (A), if a resolution is introduced with respect to that report in either House of Congress, the procedures set forth in clauses (iii) through (vi) shall apply to that resolution if—

(I)no other resolution with respect to that report has previously been reported in that House of Congress by the Committee on Ways and Means or the Committee on Finance, as the case may be, pursuant to those procedures; and

(II)no procedural disapproval resolution under section 3805(b) of this title introduced with respect to a trade agreement entered into pursuant to the negotiations to which the report under subparagraph (A) relates has previously been reported in that House of Congress by the Committee on Ways and Means or the Committee on Finance, as the case may be.

(ii)For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “resolution” means only a resolution of either House of Congress, the matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows: “That the __ finds that the proposed changes to United States trade remedy laws contained in the report of the President transmitted to the Congress on __ under section 2104(d)(3) of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002 with respect to __, are inconsistent with the negotiating objectives described in section 2102(b)(14) of that Act.”, with the first blank space being filled with the name of the resolving House of Congress, the second blank space being filled with the appropriate date of the report, and the third blank space being filled with the name of the country or countries involved.

(iii)Resolutions in the House of Representatives—

(I)may be introduced by any Member of the House;

(II)shall be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and, in addition, to the Committee on Rules; and

(III)may not be amended by either Committee.

(iv)11 So in original. Two cls. (iv) have been enacted. Resolutions in the Senate—

(I)may be introduced by any Member of the Senate;

(II)shall be referred to the Committee on Finance; and

(III)may not be amended.

(iv)1 It is not in order for the House of Representatives to consider any resolution that is not reported by the Committee on Ways and Means and, in addition, by the Committee on Rules.

(v)It is not in order for the Senate to consider any resolution that is not reported by the Committee on Finance.

(vi)The provisions of section 152(d) and (e) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2192(d) and (e)) (relating to floor consideration of certain resolutions in the House and Senate) shall apply to resolutions.

(e)The report required under section 135(e)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. 2155(e)(1)] regarding any trade agreement entered into under section 3803(a) or (b) of this title shall be provided to the President, the Congress, and the United States Trade Representative not later than 30 days after the date on which the President notifies the Congress under section 3803(a)(1) or 3805(a)(1)(A) of this title of the President’s intention to enter into the agreement.

(f)(1)The President, at least 90 calendar days before the day on which the President enters into a trade agreement under section 3803(b) of this title, shall provide the International Trade Commission (referred to in this subsection as “the Commission”) with the details of the agreement as it exists at that time and request the Commission to prepare and submit an assessment of the agreement as described in paragraph (2). Between the time the President makes the request under this paragraph and the time the Commission submits the assessment, the President shall keep the Commission current with respect to the details of the agreement.

(2)Not later than 90 calendar days after the President enters into the agreement, the Commission shall submit to the President and the Congress a report assessing the likely impact of the agreement on the United States economy as a whole and on specific industry sectors, including the impact the agreement will have on the gross domestic product, exports and imports, aggregate employment and employment opportunities, the production, employment, and competitive position of industries likely to be significantly affected by the agreement, and the interests of United States consumers.

(3)In preparing the assessment, the Commission shall review available economic assessments regarding the agreement, including literature regarding any substantially equivalent proposed agreement, and shall provide in its assessment a description of the analyses used and conclusions drawn in such literature, and a discussion of areas of consensus and divergence between the various analyses and conclusions, including those of the Commission regarding the agreement.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Tariff Act of 1930, referred to in subsec. (d)(3)(A)(i), is act June 17, 1930, ch. 497, 46 Stat. 590. Title VII of the Act is classified generally to subtitle IV (§ 1671 et seq.) of chapter 4 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1654 of this title and Tables. The Trade Act of 1974, referred to in subsec. (d)(3)(A)(i), is Pub. L. 93–618, Jan. 3, 1975, 88 Stat. 1978. Chapter 1 of title II of the Act is classified generally to part 1 (§ 2251 et seq.) of subchapter II of chapter 12 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 2101 of this title and Tables. section 2104(d)(3) and 2102(b)(14) of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002, referred to in subsec. (d)(3)(C)(ii), are classified to subsec. (d)(3) of this section and section 3802(b)(14) of this title, respectively.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Committee on Resources of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Natural Resources of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Tenth Congress, Jan. 5, 2007.

Executive Documents

Delegation of Functions For delegation of functions of President under this section, see section 1 of Ex. Ord. No. 13277, Nov. 19, 2002, 67 F.R. 70305, set out as a note under section 3801 of this title.

§3804 Consultations and assessment