House Dems, One Republican Push Bill to Require Trade Barrier Removal in FTAs
Twenty-five House Democrats, alongside Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., introduced a bill on Feb. 5 to require foreign partners to give reciprocal market access concessions in U.S. free trade agreements. Reps. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., and Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., led the bill’s introduction for the Democrats.
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Slaughter vowed several weeks ago to introduce the Reciprocal Market Access Act, HR-764, during an anti-Trade Promotion Authority rally in early January (see 1501090022). Slaughter and DeLauro have since continued to reject TPA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (see 1501210016).
The legislation would require the U.S. FTAs to remove real barriers to U.S. exports, not just tariff reduction and elimination, Slaughter said in a briefing on the bill (here). The bill would make the U.S. president certify to Congress the reciprocal removal of a trade barrier when U.S. negotiators want to cut U.S. tariffs. The International Trade Commission would also have to investigate U.S. market access opportunities in foreign markets, and then relay the findings to Congress and the administration.
The National Council of Textile Organizations, the Coalition for a Prosperous America and a number of unions support the legislation (here). Slaughter's office didn't respond with a copy of the text.