§286gg — Title 22 Foreign Relations and Intercourse | U.S. Code

Summary

Require the Treasury Secretary to tell U.S. officials at the multilateral development banks and the Fund to push for lending rules that cut trade and investment barriers, stop unfair trade practices, and support better economic ties. The Secretary must work with the Trade Policy Committee and ask U.S. directors to have bank and Fund staff cooperate with the World Trade Organization Secretariat. Before the banks or the Fund give financial help to a country, U.S. officials must try to get that country to agree to stop unfair trade or investment practices that the U.S. Trade Representative, after consulting the Trade Policy Committee, finds seriously harm the global trading system. Examples include predatory export subsidies for farm goods, other export subsidies like below‑market financing, harsh import limits, performance rules on foreign investors, and actions that break international agreements. When deciding how to support loans or drawings, Treasury must consider a country’s progress in ending these practices. If the U.S. backs aid for a country that has not met the targets, Treasury must explain the reasons to Congress. Multilateral development banks: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Inter‑American Development Bank; African Development Bank; Asian Development Bank.

Title 22, §286gg

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director of each of the multilateral development banks (in this section referred to as the “banks”) and of the Fund to initiate a wide consultation with the Managing Director of each of the banks and of the Fund and the other directors of the banks and of the Fund with regard to the development of financial assistance policies which, to the maximum feasible extent—

(A)reduce obstacles to and restrictions upon international trade and investment in goods and services;

(B)eliminate unfair trade and investment practices; and

(C)promote mutually advantageous economic relations.

(2)The Secretary of the Treasury shall work closely in this effort with the Trade Policy Committee.

(3)As part of this effort, the Secretary of the Treasury shall also instruct the United States Executive Director of each of the banks and of the Fund to encourage close cooperation between their staff and the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (as the term “World Trade Organization” is defined in section 3501(8) of title 19).

(b)(1)The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director of each of the banks and of the Fund, prior to the extension to any country of financial assistance by the banks and by the Fund, to work to have the banks and the Fund obtain the agreement of such country to eliminate, in a manner consistent with its balance of payments adjustment program, unfair trade and investment practices with respect to goods and services which the United States Trade Representative, after consultation with the Trade Policy Committee, has determined to have a significant deleterious effect on the international trading system.

(2)Such practices include—

(A)the provision of predatory export subsidies, employed in connection with the exporting of agricultural commodities and products thereof to foreign countries;

(B)the provision of other export subsidies, such as government subsidized below-market interest rate financing for commodities or manufactured goods;

(C)unreasonable import restrictions;

(D)the imposition of trade-related performance requirements on foreign investment; and

(E)practices which are inconsistent with international agreements.

(c)(1)In determining the United States position on requests for loans or periodic drawing under bank and Fund programs, the Secretary of the Treasury shall take full account of the progress countries have made in achieving targets for eliminating or phasing out the practices referred to in subsection (b) of this section.

(2)In the event that the United States supports a request for loans or drawing by a country that has not achieved the bank and Fund targets relating to such practices specified in its program, the Secretary of the Treasury shall report to the appropriate committees of the Congress the reasons for the United States position.

(d)For purposes of this section, the term “multilateral development banks” means the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, the African Development Bank, and the Asian Development Bank.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Pub. L. 99–591 is a corrected version of Pub. L. 99–500.

Amendments

1999—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 106–36 substituted “Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (as the term ‘World Trade Organization’ is defined in section 3501(8) of title 19)” for “GATT Secretariat”. 1986—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 99–500 and Pub. L. 99–591, § 101(f) [title V, § 555(b)], inserted “each of the multilateral development banks (in this section referred to as the ‘banks’) and of”, “each of the banks and of”, and “banks and of the”, and substituted “development of financial” for “development of Fund financial”. Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 99–500 and Pub. L. 99–591, § 101(f) [title V, § 555(c)], inserted “each of the banks and of” and substituted “their staff” for “Fund staff”. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 99–500 and Pub. L. 99–591, § 101(f) [title V, § 555(d)], inserted “each of the banks and of”, “the banks and by”, and “the banks and”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 99–500 and Pub. L. 99–591, § 101(f) [title V, § 555(e), (f)], inserted “bank and” and “loans or” in pars. (1) and (2). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 99–500 and Pub. L. 99–591, § 101(f) [title V, § 555(a)], added subsec. (d).

§286gg Elimination of trade restrictions

Summary

Title 22, §286gg

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Citations & Metadata