19 U.S.C. § 4201 — Trade negotiating objectives

Page 1060 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 4201 United States from yarns wholly formed in the United States and certified by the producer or entity controlling production as being suitable for use in the manufacture of apparel items such as trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts, skirts and divided skirts or pants, all the foregoing of cotton, except that— (A) fabric otherwise eligible as qualifying fabric shall not be ineligible as qualifying fabric because the fabric contains nylon fila- ment yarn with respect to which section 2703(b)(2)(A)(vii)(IV) of this title applies; (B) fabric that would otherwise be ineli- gible as qualifying fabric because the fabric contains yarns not wholly formed in the United States shall not be ineligible as qualifying fabric if the total weight of all such yarns is not more than 10 percent of the total weight of the fabric, except that any elastomeric yarn contained in an eligible ap- parel article must be wholly formed in the United States; and (C) fabric otherwise eligible as qualifying fabric shall not be ineligible as qualifying fabric because the fabric contains yarns or fibers that have been designated as not com- mercially available pursuant to— (i) article 3.25(4) or Annex 3.25 of the Agreement; (ii) Annex 401 of the North American Free Trade Agreement; (iii) section 3721(b)(5) of this title; (iv) section 3203(b)(3)(B)(i)(III) or (ii) of this title; (v) section 2703(b)(2)(A)(v) or 2703a(b)(5)(A) of this title; or (vi) any other provision, relating to de- termining whether a textile or apparel ar- ticle is an originating good eligible for preferential treatment, of a law that im- plements a free trade agreement entered into by the United States that is in effect at the time the claim for preferential treatment is made. (d) Review and report (1) Review The United States International Trade Com- mission shall carry out a review of the pro- gram under this section annually for the pur- pose of evaluating the effectiveness of, and making recommendations for improvements in, the program. (2) Report The United States International Trade Com- mission shall submit to the appropriate con- gressional committees annually a report on the results of the review carried out under paragraph (1). (e) Effective date and applicability (1) Effective date The program under this section shall be in effect for the 10-year period beginning on the date on which the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that sections A, B, C, and D of the Annex to Presi- dential Proclamation 8213 (December 20, 2007) have taken effect. (2) Applicability The program under this section shall apply with respect to qualifying fabric exported to an eligible country on or after August 1, 2007. (Pub. L. 109–53, title IV, § 404, as added Pub. L. 110–436, § 2(a), Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4977.) TERMINATION OF SECTION For termination of section by section 107(d) of Pub. L. 109–53, see Termination Date note below. Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT For Nov. 25, 2008, as the date on which the President certified to the appropriate congressional committees that sections A, B, C, and D of the Annex to Presi- dential Proclamation 8213 (December 20, 2007) had taken effect, referred to in subsec. (e)(1), see Proc. No. 8323, Nov. 25, 2008, 73 F.R. 72677. Presidential Proclama- tion 8213 is Proc. No. 8213, Dec. 20, 2007, 72 F.R. 73555, which is not set out in the Code. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries TERMINATION DATE Section to cease to have effect on the date the Do- minican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement ceases to be in force with respect to the United States, and, during any period in which a country ceases to be a CAFTA–DR country, to cease to have effect with respect to such country, see section 107 of Pub. L. 109–53, set out as an Effective and Termi- nation Dates note under section 4001 of this title. CHAPTER 27—BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL TRADE PRIORITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITY Sec. 4201. Trade negotiating objectives. 4202. Trade agreements authority. 4203. Congressional oversight, consultations, and access to information. 4204. Notice, consultations, and reports. 4205. Implementation of trade agreements. 4206. Treatment of certain trade agreements for which negotiations have already begun. 4207. Sovereignty. 4208. Interests of small businesses. 4209. Application of certain provisions. 4210. Definitions. § 4201. Trade negotiating objectives (a) Overall trade negotiating objectives The overall trade negotiating objectives of the United States for agreements subject to the pro- visions of section 4202 of this title are— (1) to obtain more open, equitable, and recip- rocal market access; (2) to obtain the reduction or elimination of barriers and distortions that are directly re- lated to trade and investment and that de- crease market opportunities for United States exports or otherwise distort United States trade; (3) to further strengthen the system of inter- national trade and investment disciplines and procedures, including dispute settlement; (4) to foster economic growth, raise living standards, enhance the competitiveness of the United States, promote full employment in the United States, and enhance the global economy; Page 1061 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 4201 (5) to ensure that trade and environmental policies are mutually supportive and to seek to protect and preserve the environment and enhance the international means of doing so, while optimizing the use of the world’s re- sources; (6) to promote respect for worker rights and the rights of children consistent with core labor standards of the ILO (as set out in sec- tion 4210(7) of this title) and an understanding of the relationship between trade and worker rights; (7) to seek provisions in trade agreements under which parties to those agreements en- sure that they do not weaken or reduce the protections afforded in domestic environ- mental and labor laws as an encouragement for trade; (8) to ensure that trade agreements afford small businesses equal access to international markets, equitable trade benefits, and ex- panded export market opportunities, and pro- vide for the reduction or elimination of trade and investment barriers that disproportion- ately impact small businesses; (9) to promote universal ratification and full compliance with ILO Convention No. 182 Con- cerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor; (10) to ensure that trade agreements reflect and facilitate the increasingly interrelated, multi-sectoral nature of trade and investment activity; (11) to recognize the growing significance of the Internet as a trading platform in inter- national commerce; (12) to take into account other legitimate United States domestic objectives, including, but not limited to, the protection of legiti- mate health or safety, essential security, and consumer interests and the law and regula- tions related thereto; (13) to take into account conditions relating to religious freedom of any party to negotia- tions for a trade agreement with the United States; (14) to ensure that trade agreements do not require changes to the immigration laws of the United States or obligate the United States to grant access or expand access to visas issued under section 1101(a)(15) of title 8; and (15) to ensure that trade agreements do not establish obligations for the United States re- garding greenhouse gas emissions measures, including obligations that require changes to United States laws or regulations or that would affect the implementation of such laws or regulations, other than those fulfilling the other negotiating objectives in this section. (b) Principal trade negotiating objectives (1) Trade in goods The principal negotiating objectives of the United States regarding trade in goods are— (A) to expand competitive market opportu- nities for exports of goods from the United States and to obtain fairer and more open conditions of trade, including through the utilization of global value chains, by reduc- ing or eliminating tariff and nontariff bar- riers and policies and practices of foreign governments directly related to trade that decrease market opportunities for United States exports or otherwise distort United States trade; and (B) to obtain reciprocal tariff and nontariff barrier elimination agreements, including with respect to those tariff categories cov- ered in section 3521(b) of this title. (2) Trade in services (A) The principal negotiating objective of the United States regarding trade in services is to expand competitive market opportunities for United States services and to obtain fairer and more open conditions of trade, including through utilization of global value chains, by reducing or eliminating barriers to inter- national trade in services, such as regulatory and other barriers that deny national treat- ment and market access or unreasonably re- strict the establishment or operations of serv- ice suppliers. (B) Recognizing that expansion of trade in services generates benefits for all sectors of the economy and facilitates trade, the objec- tive described in subparagraph (A) should be pursued through all means, including through a plurilateral agreement with those countries willing and able to undertake high standard services commitments for both existing and new services. (3) Trade in agriculture The principal negotiating objective of the United States with respect to agriculture is to obtain competitive opportunities for United States exports of agricultural commodities in foreign markets substantially equivalent to the competitive opportunities afforded foreign exports in United States markets and to achieve fairer and more open conditions of trade in bulk, specialty crop, and value added commodities by— (A) securing more open and equitable mar- ket access through robust rules on sanitary and phytosanitary measures that— (i) encourage the adoption of inter- national standards and require a science- based justification be provided for a sani- tary or phytosanitary measure if the measure is more restrictive than the appli- cable international standard; (ii) improve regulatory coherence, pro- mote the use of systems-based approaches, and appropriately recognize the equiva- lence of health and safety protection sys- tems of exporting countries; (iii) require that measures are trans- parently developed and implemented, are based on risk assessments that take into account relevant international guidelines and scientific data, and are not more re- strictive on trade than necessary to meet the intended purpose; and (iv) improve import check processes, in- cluding testing methodologies and proce- dures, and certification requirements, while recognizing that countries may put in place measures to protect human, animal, or Page 1062 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 4201 plant life or health in a manner consistent with their international obligations, includ- ing the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (re- ferred to in section 3511(d)(3) of this title); (B) reducing or eliminating, by a date cer- tain, tariffs or other charges that decrease market opportunities for United States ex- ports— (i) giving priority to those products that are subject to significantly higher tariffs or subsidy regimes of major producing countries; and (ii) providing reasonable adjustment pe- riods for United States import sensitive products, in close consultation with Con- gress on such products before initiating tariff reduction negotiations; (C) reducing tariffs to levels that are the same as or lower than those in the United States; (D) reducing or eliminating subsidies that decrease market opportunities for United States exports or unfairly distort agri- culture markets to the detriment of the United States; (E) allowing the preservation of programs that support family farms and rural commu- nities but do not distort trade; (F) developing disciplines for domestic support programs, so that production that is in excess of domestic food security needs is sold at world prices; (G) eliminating government policies that create price depressing surpluses; (H) eliminating state trading enterprises whenever possible; (I) developing, strengthening, and clari- fying rules to eliminate practices that un- fairly decrease United States market access opportunities or distort agricultural mar- kets to the detriment of the United States, and ensuring that such rules are subject to efficient, timely, and effective dispute set- tlement, including— (i) unfair or trade distorting activities of state trading enterprises and other admin- istrative mechanisms, with emphasis on requiring price transparency in the oper- ation of state trading enterprises and such other mechanisms in order to end cross subsidization, price discrimination, and price undercutting; (ii) unjustified trade restrictions or com- mercial requirements, such as labeling, that affect new technologies, including biotechnology; (iii) unjustified sanitary or phytosanitary restrictions, including re- strictions not based on scientific prin- ciples in contravention of obligations in the Uruguay Round Agreements or bilat- eral or regional trade agreements; (iv) other unjustified technical barriers to trade; and (v) restrictive rules in the administra- tion of tariff rate quotas; (J) eliminating practices that adversely af- fect trade in perishable or cyclical products, while improving import relief mechanisms to recognize the unique characteristics of perishable and cyclical agriculture; (K) ensuring that import relief mecha- nisms for perishable and cyclical agriculture are as accessible and timely to growers in the United States as those mechanisms that are used by other countries; (L) taking into account whether a party to the negotiations has failed to adhere to the provisions of already existing trade agree- ments with the United States or has cir- cumvented obligations under those agree- ments; (M) taking into account whether a product is subject to market distortions by reason of a failure of a major producing country to ad- here to the provisions of already existing trade agreements with the United States or by the circumvention by that country of its obligations under those agreements; (N) otherwise ensuring that countries that accede to the World Trade Organization have made meaningful market liberalization com- mitments in agriculture; (O) taking into account the impact that agreements covering agriculture to which the United States is a party have on the United States agricultural industry; (P) maintaining bona fide food assistance programs, market development programs, and export credit programs; (Q) seeking to secure the broadest market access possible in multilateral, regional, and bilateral negotiations, recognizing the effect that simultaneous sets of negotiations may have on United States import sensitive com- modities (including those subject to tariff rate quotas); (R) seeking to develop an international consensus on the treatment of seasonal or perishable agricultural products in inves- tigations relating to dumping and safe- guards and in any other relevant area; (S) seeking to establish the common base year for calculating the Aggregated Meas- urement of Support (as defined in the Agree- ment on Agriculture) as the end of each country’s Uruguay Round implementation period, as reported in each country’s Uru- guay Round market access schedule; (T) ensuring transparency in the adminis- tration of tariff rate quotas through multi- lateral, plurilateral, and bilateral negotia- tions; and (U) eliminating and preventing the under- mining of market access for United States products through improper use of a coun- try’s system for protecting or recognizing geographical indications, including failing to ensure transparency and procedural fair- ness and protecting generic terms. (4) Foreign investment Recognizing that United States law on the whole provides a high level of protection for investment, consistent with or greater than the level required by international law, the principal negotiating objectives of the United States regarding foreign investment are to re- duce or eliminate artificial or trade distorting barriers to foreign investment, while ensuring Page 1063 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 4201 that foreign investors in the United States are not accorded greater substantive rights with respect to investment protections than United States investors in the United States, and to secure for investors important rights com- parable to those that would be available under United States legal principles and practice, by— (A) reducing or eliminating exceptions to the principle of national treatment; (B) freeing the transfer of funds relating to investments; (C) reducing or eliminating performance requirements, forced technology transfers, and other unreasonable barriers to the es- tablishment and operation of investments; (D) seeking to establish standards for ex- propriation and compensation for expropria- tion, consistent with United States legal principles and practice; (E) seeking to establish standards for fair and equitable treatment, consistent with United States legal principles and practice, including the principle of due process; (F) providing meaningful procedures for resolving investment disputes; (G) seeking to improve mechanisms used to resolve disputes between an investor and a government through— (i) mechanisms to eliminate frivolous claims and to deter the filing of frivolous claims; (ii) procedures to ensure the efficient se- lection of arbitrators and the expeditious disposition of claims; (iii) procedures to enhance opportunities for public input into the formulation of government positions; and (iv) providing for an appellate body or similar mechanism to provide coherence to the interpretations of investment provi- sions in trade agreements; and (H) ensuring the fullest measure of trans- parency in the dispute settlement mecha- nism, to the extent consistent with the need to protect information that is classified or business confidential, by— (i) ensuring that all requests for dispute settlement are promptly made public; (ii) ensuring that— (I) all proceedings, submissions, find- ings, and decisions are promptly made public; and (II) all hearings are open to the public; and (iii) establishing a mechanism for ac- ceptance of amicus curiae submissions from businesses, unions, and nongovern- mental organizations. (5) Intellectual property The principal negotiating objectives of the United States regarding trade-related intellec- tual property are— (A) to further promote adequate and effec- tive protection of intellectual property rights, including through— (i)(I) ensuring accelerated and full imple- mentation of the Agreement on Trade-Re- lated Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights referred to in section 3511(d)(15) of this title, particularly with respect to meeting enforcement obligations under that agreement; and (II) ensuring that the provisions of any trade agreement governing intellectual property rights that is entered into by the United States reflect a standard of protec- tion similar to that found in United States law; (ii) providing strong protection for new and emerging technologies and new meth- ods of transmitting and distributing prod- ucts embodying intellectual property, in- cluding in a manner that facilitates legiti- mate digital trade; (iii) preventing or eliminating discrimi- nation with respect to matters affecting the availability, acquisition, scope, main- tenance, use, and enforcement of intellec- tual property rights; (iv) ensuring that standards of protec- tion and enforcement keep pace with tech- nological developments, and in particular ensuring that rightholders have the legal and technological means to control the use of their works through the Internet and other global communication media, and to prevent the unauthorized use of their works; (v) providing strong enforcement of in- tellectual property rights, including through accessible, expeditious, and effec- tive civil, administrative, and criminal en- forcement mechanisms; and (vi) preventing or eliminating govern- ment involvement in the violation of intel- lectual property rights, including cyber theft and piracy; (B) to secure fair, equitable, and non- discriminatory market access opportunities for United States persons that rely upon in- tellectual property protection; and (C) to respect the Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, adopt- ed by the World Trade Organization at the Fourth Ministerial Conference at Doha, Qatar on November 14, 2001, and to ensure that trade agreements foster innovation and promote access to medicines. (6) Digital trade in goods and services and cross-border data flows The principal negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to digital trade in goods and services, as well as cross-border data flows, are— (A) to ensure that current obligations, rules, disciplines, and commitments under the World Trade Organization and bilateral and regional trade agreements apply to dig- ital trade in goods and services and to cross- border data flows; (B) to ensure that— (i) electronically delivered goods and services receive no less favorable treat- ment under trade rules and commitments than like products delivered in physical form; and (ii) the classification of such goods and services ensures the most liberal trade Page 1064 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 4201 treatment possible, fully encompassing both existing and new trade; (C) to ensure that governments refrain from implementing trade-related measures that impede digital trade in goods and serv- ices, restrict cross-border data flows, or re- quire local storage or processing of data; (D) with respect to subparagraphs (A) through (C), where legitimate policy objec- tives require domestic regulations that af- fect digital trade in goods and services or cross-border data flows, to obtain commit- ments that any such regulations are the least restrictive on trade, nondiscrim- inatory, and transparent, and promote an open market environment; and (E) to extend the moratorium of the World Trade Organization on duties on electronic transmissions. (7) Regulatory practices The principal negotiating objectives of the United States regarding the use of government regulation or other practices to reduce market access for United States goods, services, and investments are— (A) to achieve increased transparency and opportunity for the participation of affected parties in the development of regulations; (B) to require that proposed regulations be based on sound science, cost benefit anal- ysis, risk assessment, or other objective evi- dence; (C) to establish consultative mechanisms and seek other commitments, as appro- priate, to improve regulatory practices and promote increased regulatory coherence, in- cluding through— (i) transparency in developing guide- lines, rules, regulations, and laws for gov- ernment procurement and other regu- latory regimes; (ii) the elimination of redundancies in testing and certification; (iii) early consultations on significant regulations; (iv) the use of impact assessments; (v) the periodic review of existing regu- latory measures; and (vi) the application of good regulatory practices; (D) to seek greater openness, trans- parency, and convergence of standards devel- opment processes, and enhance cooperation on standards issues globally; (E) to promote regulatory compatibility through harmonization, equivalence, or mu- tual recognition of different regulations and standards and to encourage the use of inter- national and interoperable standards, as ap- propriate; (F) to achieve the elimination of govern- ment measures such as price controls and reference pricing which deny full market ac- cess for United States products; (G) to ensure that government regulatory reimbursement regimes are transparent, provide procedural fairness, are nondiscrim- inatory, and provide full market access for United States products; and (H) to ensure that foreign governments— (i) demonstrate that the collection of un- disclosed proprietary information is lim- ited to that necessary to satisfy a legiti- mate and justifiable regulatory interest; and (ii) protect such information against dis- closure, except in exceptional cir- cumstances to protect the public, or where such information is effectively protected against unfair competition. (8) State-owned and state-controlled enter- prises The principal negotiating objective of the United States regarding competition by state- owned and state-controlled enterprises is to seek commitments that— (A) eliminate or prevent trade distortions and unfair competition favoring state-owned and state-controlled enterprises to the ex- tent of their engagement in commercial ac- tivity, and (B) ensure that such engagement is based solely on commercial considerations, in particular through disciplines that elimi- nate or prevent discrimination and market- distorting subsidies and that promote trans- parency. (9) Localization barriers to trade The principal negotiating objective of the United States with respect to localization bar- riers is to eliminate and prevent measures that require United States producers and serv- ice providers to locate facilities, intellectual property, or other assets in a country as a market access or investment condition, in- cluding indigenous innovation measures. (10) Labor and the environment The principal negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to labor and the environment are— (A) to ensure that a party to a trade agree- ment with the United States— (i) adopts and maintains measures imple- menting internationally recognized core labor standards (as defined in section 4210(17) of this title) and its obligations under common multilateral environmental agreements (as defined in section 4210(6) of this title), (ii) does not waive or otherwise derogate from, or offer to waive or otherwise dero- gate from— (I) its statutes or regulations imple- menting internationally recognized core labor standards (as defined in section 4210(17) of this title), in a manner affect- ing trade or investment between the United States and that party, where the waiver or derogation would be incon- sistent with one or more such standards, or (II) its environmental laws in a manner that weakens or reduces the protections afforded in those laws and in a manner affecting trade or investment between the United States and that party, except as provided in its law and provided not inconsistent with its obligations under Page 1065 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 4201 common multilateral environmental agreements (as defined in section 4210(6) of this title) or other provisions of the trade agreement specifically agreed upon, and (iii) does not fail to effectively enforce its environmental or labor laws, through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction, in a manner affecting trade or investment between the United States and that party after entry into force of a trade agreement between those countries; (B) to recognize that— (i) with respect to environment, parties to a trade agreement retain the right to exercise prosecutorial discretion and to make decisions regarding the allocation of enforcement resources with respect to other environmental laws determined to have higher priorities, and a party is effec- tively enforcing its laws if a course of ac- tion or inaction reflects a reasonable, bona fide exercise of such discretion, or results from a reasonable, bona fide decision re- garding the allocation of resources; and (ii) with respect to labor, decisions re- garding the distribution of enforcement re- sources are not a reason for not complying with a party’s labor obligations; a party to a trade agreement retains the right to rea- sonable exercise of discretion and to make bona fide decisions regarding the alloca- tion of resources between labor enforce- ment activities among core labor stand- ards, provided the exercise of such discre- tion and such decisions are not incon- sistent with its obligations; (C) to strengthen the capacity of United States trading partners to promote respect for core labor standards (as defined in sec- tion 4210(7) of this title); (D) to strengthen the capacity of United States trading partners to protect the envi- ronment through the promotion of sustain- able development; (E) to reduce or eliminate government practices or policies that unduly threaten sustainable development; (F) to seek market access, through the elimination of tariffs and nontariff barriers, for United States environmental tech- nologies, goods, and services; (G) to ensure that labor, environmental, health, or safety policies and practices of the parties to trade agreements with the United States do not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate against United States exports or serve as disguised barriers to trade; (H) to ensure that enforceable labor and environment obligations are subject to the same dispute settlement and remedies as other enforceable obligations under the agreement; and (I) to ensure that a trade agreement is not construed to empower a party’s authorities to undertake labor or environmental law en- forcement activities in the territory of the United States. (11) Currency The principal negotiating objective of the United States with respect to currency prac- tices is that parties to a trade agreement with the United States avoid manipulating ex- change rates in order to prevent effective bal- ance of payments adjustment or to gain an un- fair competitive advantage over other parties to the agreement, such as through cooperative mechanisms, enforceable rules, reporting, monitoring, transparency, or other means, as appropriate. (12) Foreign currency manipulation The principal negotiating objective of the United States with respect to unfair currency practices is to seek to establish accountability through enforceable rules, transparency, re- porting, monitoring, cooperative mechanisms, or other means to address exchange rate ma- nipulation involving protracted large scale intervention in one direction in the exchange markets and a persistently undervalued for- eign exchange rate to gain an unfair competi- tive advantage in trade over other parties to a trade agreement, consistent with existing ob- ligations of the United States as a member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization. (13) WTO and multilateral trade agreements Recognizing that the World Trade Organiza- tion is the foundation of the global trading system, the principal negotiating objectives of the United States regarding the World Trade Organization, the Uruguay Round Agreements, and other multilateral and plurilateral trade agreements are— (A) to achieve full implementation and ex- tend the coverage of the World Trade Orga- nization and multilateral and plurilateral agreements to products, sectors, and condi- tions of trade not adequately covered; (B) to expand country participation in and enhancement of the Information Technology Agreement, the Government Procurement Agreement, and other plurilateral trade agreements of the World Trade Organiza- tion; (C) to expand competitive market opportu- nities for United States exports and to ob- tain fairer and more open conditions of trade, including through utilization of glob- al value chains, through the negotiation of new WTO multilateral and plurilateral trade agreements, such as an agreement on trade facilitation; (D) to ensure that regional trade agree- ments to which the United States is not a party fully achieve the high standards of, and comply with, WTO disciplines, including Article XXIV of GATT 1994, Article V and V bis of the General Agreement on Trade in Services, and the Enabling Clause, including through meaningful WTO review of such re- gional trade agreements; (E) to enhance compliance by WTO mem- bers with their obligations as WTO members through active participation in the bodies of the World Trade Organization by the United States and all other WTO members, includ- Page 1066 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 4201 ing in the trade policy review mechanism and the committee system of the World Trade Organization, and by working to in- crease the effectiveness of such bodies; and (F) to encourage greater cooperation be- tween the World Trade Organization and other international organizations. (14) Trade institution transparency The principal negotiating objective of the United States with respect to transparency is to obtain wider and broader application of the principle of transparency in the World Trade Organization, entities established under bilat- eral and regional trade agreements, and other international trade fora through seeking— (A) timely public access to information re- garding trade issues and the activities of such institutions; (B) openness by ensuring public access to appropriate meetings, proceedings, and sub- missions, including with regard to trade and investment dispute settlement; and (C) public access to all notifications and supporting documentation submitted by WTO members. (15) Anti-corruption The principal negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to the use of money or other things of value to influence acts, decisions, or omissions of foreign govern- ments or officials or to secure any improper advantage in a manner affecting trade are— (A) to obtain high standards and effective domestic enforcement mechanisms applica- ble to persons from all countries partici- pating in the applicable trade agreement that prohibit such attempts to influence acts, decisions, or omissions of foreign gov- ernments or officials or to secure any such improper advantage; (B) to ensure that such standards level the playing field for United States persons in international trade and investment; and (C) to seek commitments to work jointly to encourage and support anti-corruption and anti-bribery initiatives in international trade fora, including through the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Of- ficials in International Business Trans- actions of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, done at Paris December 17, 1997 (commonly known as the ‘‘OECD Anti-Bribery Convention’’). (16) Dispute settlement and enforcement The principal negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to dispute settle- ment and enforcement of trade agreements are— (A) to seek provisions in trade agreements providing for resolution of disputes between governments under those trade agreements in an effective, timely, transparent, equi- table, and reasoned manner, requiring deter- minations based on facts and the principles of the agreements, with the goal of increas- ing compliance with the agreements; (B) to seek to strengthen the capacity of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism of the World Trade Organization to review compli- ance with commitments; (C) to seek adherence by panels convened under the Dispute Settlement Understanding and by the Appellate Body to— (i) the mandate of those panels and the Appellate Body to apply the WTO Agree- ment as written, without adding to or di- minishing rights and obligations under the Agreement; and (ii) the standard of review applicable under the Uruguay Round Agreement in- volved in the dispute, including greater deference, where appropriate, to the fact finding and technical expertise of national investigating authorities; (D) to seek provisions encouraging the early identification and settlement of dis- putes through consultation; (E) to seek provisions to encourage the provision of trade-expanding compensation if a party to a dispute under the agreement does not come into compliance with its obli- gations under the agreement; (F) to seek provisions to impose a penalty upon a party to a dispute under the agree- ment that— (i) encourages compliance with the obli- gations of the agreement; (ii) is appropriate to the parties, nature, subject matter, and scope of the violation; and (iii) has the aim of not adversely affect- ing parties or interests not party to the dispute while maintaining the effective- ness of the enforcement mechanism; and (G) to seek provisions that treat United States principal negotiating objectives equally with respect to— (i) the ability to resort to dispute settle- ment under the applicable agreement; (ii) the availability of equivalent dispute settlement procedures; and (iii) the availability of equivalent rem- edies. (17) Trade remedy laws The principal negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to trade remedy laws are— (A) to preserve the ability of the United States to enforce rigorously its trade laws, including the antidumping, countervailing duty, and safeguard laws, and avoid agree- ments that lessen the effectiveness of do- mestic and international disciplines on un- fair trade, especially dumping and subsidies, or that lessen the effectiveness of domestic and international safeguard provisions, in order to ensure that United States workers, agricultural producers, and firms can com- pete fully on fair terms and enjoy the bene- fits of reciprocal trade concessions; and (B) to address and remedy market distor- tions that lead to dumping and subsidiza- tion, including overcapacity, cartelization, and market access barriers. (18) Border taxes The principal negotiating objective of the United States regarding border taxes is to ob- tain a revision of the rules of the World Trade Organization with respect to the treatment of Page 1067 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 4201 border adjustments for internal taxes to re- dress the disadvantage to countries relying primarily on direct taxes for revenue rather than indirect taxes. (19) Textile negotiations The principal negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to trade in textiles and apparel articles are to obtain competitive opportunities for United States exports of tex- tiles and apparel in foreign markets substan- tially equivalent to the competitive opportu- nities afforded foreign exports in United States markets and to achieve fairer and more open conditions of trade in textiles and ap- parel. (20) Commercial partnerships (A) In general With respect to an agreement that is pro- posed to be entered into with the Trans- atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership countries and to which section 4202(b) of this title will apply, the principal negotiating ob- jectives of the United States regarding com- mercial partnerships are the following: (i) To discourage actions by potential trading partners that directly or indirectly prejudice or otherwise discourage commer- cial activity solely between the United States and Israel. (ii) To discourage politically motivated actions to boycott, divest from, or sanc- tion Israel and to seek the elimination of politically motivated nontariff barriers on Israeli goods, services, or other commerce imposed on the State of Israel. (iii) To seek the elimination of state- sponsored unsanctioned foreign boycotts against Israel or compliance with the Arab League Boycott of Israel by prospective trading partners. (B) Definition In this paragraph, the term ‘‘actions to boycott, divest from, or sanction Israel’’ means actions by states, non-member states of the United Nations, international organi- zations, or affiliated agencies of inter- national organizations that are politically motivated and are intended to penalize or otherwise limit commercial relations spe- cifically with Israel or persons doing busi- ness in Israel or in Israeli-controlled terri- tories. (21) Good governance, transparency, the effec- tive operation of legal regimes, and the rule of law of trading partners The principal negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to ensuring imple- mentation of trade commitments and obliga- tions by strengthening good governance, transparency, the effective operation of legal regimes and the rule of law of trading partners of the United States is through capacity build- ing and other appropriate means, which are important parts of the broader effort to create more open democratic societies and to pro- mote respect for internationally recognized human rights. (22) Fisheries negotiations The principal negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to trade in fish, seafood, and shellfish products are— (A) to obtain competitive opportunities for United States exports of fish, seafood, and shellfish products in foreign markets sub- stantially equivalent to the competitive op- portunities afforded foreign exports of fish, seafood, and shellfish products in United States markets and to achieve fairer and more open conditions of trade in fish, sea- food, and shellfish products, including by re- ducing or eliminating tariff and nontariff barriers; (B) to eliminate fisheries subsidies that distort trade, including subsidies of the type referred to in paragraph 9 of Annex D to the Ministerial Declaration adopted by the World Trade Organization at the Sixth Min- isterial Conference at Hong Kong, China on December 18, 2005; (C) to pursue transparency in fisheries sub- sidies programs; and (D) to address illegal, unreported, and un- regulated fishing. (c) Capacity building and other priorities In order to address and maintain United States competitiveness in the global economy, the President shall— (1) direct the heads of relevant Federal agen- cies— (A) to work to strengthen the capacity of United States trading partners to carry out obligations under trade agreements by con- sulting with any country seeking a trade agreement with the United States con- cerning that country’s laws relating to cus- toms and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, intellectual property rights, labor, and the environment; and (B) to provide technical assistance to that country if needed; (2) seek to establish consultative mecha- nisms among parties to trade agreements to strengthen the capacity of United States trad- ing partners to develop and implement stand- ards for the protection of the environment and human health based on sound science; (3) promote consideration of multilateral en- vironmental agreements and consult with par- ties to such agreements regarding the consist- ency of any such agreement that includes trade measures with existing environmental exceptions under Article XX of GATT 1994; and (4) submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate an an- nual report on capacity-building activities un- dertaken in connection with trade agreements negotiated or being negotiated pursuant to this chapter. (Pub. L. 114–26, title I, § 102, June 29, 2015, 129 Stat. 320; Pub. L. 114–125, title IX, § 914(a)–(c), Feb. 24, 2016, 130 Stat. 273.) Page 1068 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 4201 Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (c)(4), was in the original ‘‘this title’’, meaning title I of Pub. L. 114–26, June 29, 2015, 129 Stat. 320, which is classified prin- cipally to this chapter. For complete classification of title I to the Code, see Short Title note set out below and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2016—Subsec. (a)(14). Pub. L. 114–125, § 914(a), added par. (14). Subsec. (a)(15). Pub. L. 114–125, § 914(b), added par. (15). Subsec. (b)(22). Pub. L. 114–125, § 914(c), added par. (22). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2016 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 114–125, title IX, § 914(g), Feb. 24, 2016, 130 Stat. 276, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this sec- tion [amending this section and sections 4203 to 4205 of this title] shall take effect as if included in the enact- ment of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 ([title I of] Public Law 114–26; 129 Stat. 320; 19 U.S.C. 4201 et seq.).’’ SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 114–26, title I, § 101, June 29, 2015, 129 Stat. 320, provided that: ‘‘This title [enacting this chapter and amending sections 2151 to 2155, 2171, 2191, and 2212 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Bipartisan Congres- sional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015’.’’ Executive Documents EX. ORD. NO. 13701. DELEGATION OF CERTAIN AUTHORI- TIES AND ASSIGNMENT OF CERTAIN FUNCTIONS UNDER THE BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL TRADE PRIORITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2015 Ex. Ord. No. 13701, July 17, 2015, 80 F.R. 43903, pro- vided: By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (the ‘‘Act’’) (Public Law 114–26) and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby order as follows: SECTION 1. Authorities and Functions under the Act. (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this sec- tion, the authorities granted to and functions specifi- cally assigned to the President under title I of the Act are delegated and assigned, respectively, to the United States Trade Representative (U.S. Trade Representa- tive). (b) The exercise of the following authorities of, and functions specifically assigned to, the President under, title I of the Act are not delegated or assigned under this order: (i) section 102(c)(1) and (c)(3) of the Act; (ii) section 103(a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (a)(5), (a)(7), (b)(1), and (c)(2) of the Act [see bracketed note below]; (iii) section 105(a)(5) of the Act; and (iv) section 106(a)(1)(A) and (E) of the Act. (c)(i) The functions of the President under section 102(c)(2) of the Act with respect to establishing consult- ative mechanisms are assigned to the Secretary of State in consultation with the U.S. Trade Representa- tive, with the advice and assistance of the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv- ices, the Administrator of the Environmental Protec- tion Agency, the Secretary of Commerce and, as the Secretary of State determines appropriate, the heads of other executive departments and agencies. (ii) The functions of the President under section 105(d)(1) of the Act are assigned to the U.S. Trade Rep- resentative, who shall conduct the environmental re- views under section 105(d)(1)(A) of the Act through the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee, and shall perform the reporting function under section 105(d)(1)(B) of the Act. (iii) The functions of the President under section 105(d)(2)(A) of the Act are assigned to the Secretary of Labor, who, in coordination with the U.S. Trade Rep- resentative, shall conduct the employment impact re- view under section 105(d)(2)(A) of the Act through the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee, and shall prepare the report under section 105(d)(2) of the Act. The functions of the President under section 105(d)(2)(B) of the Act are assigned to the U.S. Trade Representative, who shall perform the reporting func- tion under that section. (iv) The functions of the President under section 105(d)(3) of the Act are assigned to the Secretary of Labor, who, in consultation with the U.S. Trade Rep- resentative and the Secretary of State, shall prepare the report on labor rights under section 105(d)(3)(A) and (B) of the Act, and to the U.S. Trade Representative, who shall perform the reporting function under section 105(d)(3) of the Act. (v) The functions of the President under section 105(e)(2)(A) through (C) and (E) of the Act with respect to preparing plans for implementing and enforcing agreements submitted to the Congress pursuant to sec- tion 103(b) of the Act are assigned to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, who shall carry out these functions with the advice and assistance of the Secretaries of State, the Treasury, Agriculture, Com- merce, and Homeland Security and the U.S. Trade Rep- resentative and other executive departments and agen- cies as necessary. SEC. 2. Capacity Building. The U.S. Trade Representa- tive, with the advice and assistance of executive de- partments and agencies participating in capacity build- ing activities undertaken in accordance with section 102(c)(1) and (2) of the Act, shall perform the reporting function under section 102(c)(4) of the Act. SEC. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) In exercising authority delegated by or per- forming functions assigned in this order, officers of the United States: (i) shall ensure that all actions taken by them are consistent with the President’s constitutional author- ity to (A) conduct the foreign affairs of the United States, including the commencement, conduct, and ter- mination of negotiations with foreign countries and international organizations; (B) withhold information the disclosure of which could impair the foreign rela- tions, the national security, the deliberative processes of the Executive, or the performance of the Executive’s constitutional duties; (C) recommend for congressional consideration such measures as the President may judge necessary or expedient; and (D) supervise the ex- ecutive branch; and (ii) may redelegate authority delegated by this order and may further assign functions assigned by this order to officers of any other department or agency within the executive branch to the extent permitted by law, and such redelegation or further assignment shall be published in the Federal Register. (c) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appro- priations. (d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforce- able at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. BARACK OBAMA. [For delegation of authority and functions under sec- tion 103(a)(1)(A) and (b)(1) of Pub. L. 114–26, notwith- standing section 1(b)(ii) of Ex. Ord. No. 13701, set out above, see Memorandum of President of the United Page 1069 TITLE 19—CUSTOMS DUTIES § 4202 States, Jan. 29, 2016, 81 F.R. 5571, set out as a note under section 4202 of this title.] § 4202. Trade agreements authority (a) Agreements regarding tariff barriers (1) In general Whenever the President determines that one or more existing duties or other import re- strictions of any foreign country or the United States are unduly burdening and restricting the foreign trade of the United States and that the purposes, policies, priorities, and objec- tives of this chapter will be promoted thereby, the President— (A) may enter into trade agreements with foreign countries before— (i) July 1, 2018; or (ii) July 1, 2021, if trade authorities pro- cedures are extended under subsection (c); and (B) may, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), proclaim— (i) such modification or continuance of any existing duty, (ii) such continuance of existing duty free or excise treatment, or (iii) such additional duties, as the President determines to be required or appropriate to carry out any such trade agreement. Substantial modifications to, or substantial additional provisions of, a trade agreement en- tered into after July 1, 2018, or July 1, 2021, if trade authorities procedures are extended under subsection (c), shall not be eligible for approval under this chapter. (2) Notification The President shall notify Congress of the President’s intention to enter into an agree- ment under this subsection. (3) Limitations No proclamation may be made under para- graph (1) that— (A) reduces any rate of duty (other than a rate of duty that does not exceed 5 percent ad valorem on June 29, 2015) to a rate of duty which is less than 50 percent of the rate of such duty that applies on June 29, 2015; (B) reduces the rate of duty below that ap- plicable under the Uruguay Round Agree- ments or a successor agreement, on any im- port sensitive agricultural product; or (C) increases any rate of duty above the rate that applied on June 29, 2015. (4) Aggregate reduction; exemption from stag- ing (A) Aggregate reduction Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the aggregate reduction in the rate of duty on any article which is in effect on any day pursuant to a trade agreement entered into under paragraph (1) shall not exceed the ag- gregate reduction which would have been in effect on such day if— (i) a reduction of 3 percent ad valorem or a reduction of 1⁄10 of the total reduction, whichever is greater, had taken effect on the effective date of the first reduction proclaimed under paragraph (1) to carry out such agreement with respect to such article; and (ii) a reduction equal to the amount ap- plicable under clause (i) had taken effect at 1-year intervals after the effective date of such first reduction. (B) Exemption from staging No staging is required under subparagraph (A) with respect to a duty reduction that is proclaimed under paragraph (1) for an article of a kind that is not produced in the United States. The United States International Trade Commission shall advise the President of the identity of articles that may be ex- empted from staging under this subpara- graph. (5) Rounding If the President determines that such action will simplify the computation of reductions under paragraph (4), the President may round an annual reduction by an amount equal to the lesser of— (A) the difference between the reduction without regard to this paragraph and the next lower whole number; or (B) 1⁄2 of 1 percent ad valorem. (6) Other limitations A rate of duty reduction that may not be proclaimed by reason of paragraph (3) may take effect only if a provision authorizing such reduction is included within an imple- menting bill provided for under section 4205 of this title and that bill is enacted into law. (7) Other tariff modifications Notwithstanding paragraphs (1)(B), (3)(A), (3)(C), and (4) through (6), and subject to the consultation and layover requirements of sec- tion 115 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3524), the President may pro- claim the modification of any duty or staged rate reduction of any duty set forth in Sched- ule XX, as defined in section 2(5) of that Act (19 U.S.C. 3501(5)), if the United States agrees to such modification or staged rate reduction in a negotiation for the reciprocal elimination or harmonization of duties under the auspices of the World Trade Organization. (8) Authority under Uruguay Round Agree- ments Act not affected Nothing in this subsection shall limit the authority provided to the President under sec- tion 111(b) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3521(b)). (b) Agreements regarding tariff and nontariff barriers (1) In general (A) Whenever the President determines that— (i) 1 or more existing duties or any other import restriction of any foreign country or the United States or any other barrier to, or other distortion of, international trade un- duly burdens or restricts the foreign trade of the United States or adversely affects the United States economy, or