Summary of Managers Amendment to H.R. 3005
Offered by Chairman Thomas

• Establishes a negotiating objective that the Administration strive to ensure that parties to trade agreements do not weaken or reduce their current health, worker, safety, or environmental standards.

• With respect to investment disputes, recognizes that U.S. law on the whole provides a high level of protection for investment consistent with or greater than the level required by international law and directs the USTR to secure for investors important rights comparable to those that would be available under U.S. legal principles and practices.

• In the negotiating objectives relating to investment, directs the Administration to establish an appellate mechanism to correct manifestly erroneous interpretations of law.

• Also relating to investment, directs the Administration to establish public access to investor-state proceedings and increased transparency.

• While the underlying bill specifies that parties have the right to certain reasonable discretion with respect to labor and environmental regulation, the amendment clarifies that no retaliation can be authorized based on the exercise of this discretion.

• Changes the "promotion of certain priorities" section and directs the Administration to seek to establish a consultative mechanism to examine the trade consequences of unanticipated currency movements and to scrutinize whether a foreign government is engaged in a pattern of manipulating its currency to promote an artificial competitive advantage in international trade.

• Removes import sensitive agriculture, such as citrus and sugar, from proclamation authority and requires identification of these products, an ITC evaluation, and formal notification of Congress if the Administration or a trading partner decides to seek negotiations on any import sensitive agriculture product. Requires consultations on whether import sensitive agriculture faces unjustified sanitary or phytosanitary restrictions.

• For textiles, it grants special identification and consultations with Ways and Means for products facing tariff disparities (higher foreign tariffs than U.S. tariffs) and an assessment of whether negotiations will address the disparities.

• Increases the role of Congress by providing a procedure which can be commenced by any Member, whereby TPA can be withdrawn expeditiously with respect to one or more agreements. The provision also requires the Administration to meet with the Congressional Oversight Group before the initiation of the negotiation, and at any other time that group may request. The reasons for withdrawal of TPA include failure to consult or meet and failure of the agreement to make progress in achieving the purposes, policies, priorities, and objectives established in TPA.

• Expresses that it is Sense of Congress to ensure adequate staffing in the Committees of primary jurisdiction over trade.