21st Century Trade Agreements and Market Access Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
21st Century Trade Agreements and Market Access Act - Directs the President to report to Congress on foreign countries before the United States initiates trade agreement negotiations. Requires such report to: (1) assess whether the foreign country has a democratic form of government, adopted core labor rights, respects fundamental human rights and religious freedoms, complies with environmental laws, and enforces intellectual rights under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS); (2) assess whether the foreign country's government or any persons in such country transfer sensitive technology or products or provide services to other countries in a manner that poses a threat to U.S. national security; and (3) certify that the foreign country has not engaged in the unfair manipulation of the rate of exchange between its currency and the U.S. dollar in the 10-year period prior to such report.
Directs the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), also before initiation of trade agreement negotiations, to report to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the Secretary of Commerce, and Congress on market access opportunities and challenges arising from a prospective trade agreement if it will involve the modification of duties on imported products. Requires such report to: (1) assess tariff and nontariff barriers, policies, and practices of the government of the foreign country with respect to U.S. exports having the same physical characteristics and uses as the imported product for which a duty will be modified; (2) assess expected opportunities for U.S. exports to that foreign country if such tariff and nontariff barriers, policies, and practices are eliminated; and (3) estimate the foreign country's per capita and median income and population.
Directs the USTR, after a trade agreement enters into force, to report annually to Congress on each foreign country party to it on: (1) market access commitments made by the foreign country under the trade agreement; (2) any commitments undermined by discriminatory measures imposed by the foreign country; (3) those commitments likely to have the most significant potential to increase U.S. economic growth or to have a negative impact on the creation of U.S. jobs, wages, and productivity; and (4) actions taken by the foreign country to comply with market access commitments.
The summary continues for 8 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on June 27, 2012. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 27, 2012: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced it on June 27, 2012, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 27, 2012, 5235 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5235 days ago, on June 27, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers