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US HR1947
US HR1947STRONGER Act of 2015 Supplemental Trade Review, Oversight, Noncompliance and General Enforcement Resources Act of 2015
summary
Introduced
04/22/2015
04/22/2015
In Committee
05/04/2015
05/04/2015
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
01/03/2017
01/03/2017
Introduced Session
114th Congress
Bill Summary
STRONGER Act of 2015 Supplemental Trade Review, Oversight, Noncompliance and General Enforcement Resources Act of 2015 Establishes in the U.S. Treasury the Trade Agreements Enforcement Trust Fund. Directs the Department of the Treasury to transfer to the Trust Fund an amount equal to $15 million of the countervailing duties and antidumping duties received in the Treasury for each fiscal year beginning after enactment of this Act. Limits the total amount of funds in the Trust Fund to $30 million. Authorizes the President to make sums in the Trust Fund available to: (1) the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to take specified actions relating to enforcement of free trade agreements; and (2) the USTR, the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Labor, and other departments and agencies with relevant expertise to take specified actions relating to implementation assistance and local capacity building under such agreements. Prohibits amounts made available in the Trust Fund from being used to negotiate any new free trade agreement. Directs the President to establish a permanent interagency committee to ensure that actions taken under under this Act relating to implementation assistance and local capacity building are effectively prioritized, targeted, coordinated, and implemented. Requires the United States to promote aid effectiveness and accountability through transparency, monitoring, evaluation, learning, and fostering local ownership and implementation of U.S. assistance through such activities by requiring the interagency committee to: (1) publish timely, comprehensive, and detailed information regarding such activities on a quarterly basis, consistent with the U.S. commitment to full compliance with the International Aid Transparency Initiative; (2) conduct evaluations that are independent, methodologically rigorous, made public in their entirety, and transmitted to the International Aid Transparency Initiative Registry; and (3) develop and implement procedures for ensuring that data and evaluation results inform decisionmaking and lead to the revision and promotion of best practices among relevant executive branch agencies.
AI Summary
This bill, known as the STRONGER Act of 2015, establishes a dedicated fund called the Trade Agreements Enforcement Trust Fund within the U.S. Treasury, to be financed by $15 million annually from countervailing duties (taxes imposed on imported goods that are subsidized by their country of origin) and antidumping duties (taxes imposed on imported goods sold at less than their fair market value), with a total fund limit of $30 million. The President can then use these funds for two main purposes: first, to support the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in enforcing existing free trade agreements, which includes resolving inconsistencies and monitoring compliance; and second, to provide implementation assistance and local capacity building under these agreements, focusing on labor and environmental commitments, with the goal of making these efforts self-sustaining and locally owned. Importantly, these funds cannot be used to negotiate new free trade agreements. To ensure these assistance efforts are effective, the bill mandates the creation of a permanent interagency committee, chaired by the Deputy USTR, to coordinate and prioritize these activities. This committee will also be responsible for promoting aid effectiveness and accountability through transparency, by publishing detailed information quarterly in accordance with the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), conducting rigorous and public evaluations, and using data and evaluation results to improve best practices among government agencies.
Committee Categories
Budget and Finance, Business and Industry
Sponsors (9)
Earl Blumenauer (D)*,
Jim Himes (D),
Ron Kind (D),
Rick Larsen (D),
John Larson (D),
Jim McDermott (D),
Richard Neal (D),
Linda Sánchez (D),
Mike Thompson (D),
Last Action
Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade. (on 05/04/2015)
Official Document
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