§2435 Commercial Agreements

Summary

The President can allow a two-country trade deal that gives products from a country equal treatment, if he finds the deal helps the chapter’s goals and is in the national interest. Any such agreement must run for an initial period of no more than 3 years. It can be renewed in extra periods, each not to exceed 3 years, only if there has been a fair balance of trade concessions and the President finds that expected or actual U.S. tariff and non‑tariff cuts from multilateral talks are matched by the other country. The agreement must also let either side suspend or end it for national security reasons, include safeguard rules for quick talks and possible import limits if imports hurt the market, provide patent/trademark and copyright protections when the other country is not party to the Paris Convention or the Universal Copyright Convention, and—for agreements entered into or renewed after January 3, 1975—include protections for industrial rights and steps to promote trade (like trade offices, fairs, and trade missions). It must have ways to settle disputes and to review how the deal is working, plus any other commercial arrangements that promote the chapter’s purposes. The agreement and any implementing proclamation take effect only after a joint resolution described in section 2191(b)(3) approving the agreement becomes law.