Executive departments and agencies for information in their possession concerning prices and other economic data from the principal supplier foreign country of each such article. "(c)(1) Within 30 days after any trade agreement under section 101 has been entered into which, when effective (i) will require or make appropriate any modification of duties or other import restrictions; the imposition of additional import restrictions; the modification of methods of customs valuation; the modification of methods for establishing the quantities on which assessments are made; the modification in requirements for marking imported merchandise to disclose the country of origin; or the continuance of existing customs or excise treatment, methods of valuation, methods of establishing the quantities on which assessments are made, or of requirements for marking imported merchandise so as to disclose the country of origin which modification, imposition, or continuance will exceed the limit to which such modification, imposition, or continuance may be extended without causing or threatening serious injury to the domestic industry producing like or directly competitive articles as found and reported by the Tariff Commission under subsection (a); or (ii) will fail to require or make appropriate the minimum increase in duty or additional import restrictions required to avoid such injury; the President shall transmit to the Congress a copy of such agreement together with a message accurately identifying the article or articles with respect to which such limits or minimum requirements are not complied with, and stating his reasons for the action taken with respect to such article or articles. 96-006 O 73 pt. 7-9 If either the Senate or the House of Representatives, or both, are not in session at the time of transmission, such agreement and message shall be filed with the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives, or both, as the case may be. "(2) Promptly after the President has transmitted such foreign trade agreement to Congress, the Commission shall deposit with the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, a copy of the portions of its report to the President dealing with the articles with respect to which such limits or minimum requirements are not complied with. "(d) (1) Such foreign trade agreement shall enter into effect only if a proclamation valid pursuant to this subsection is published by the President under the terms and conditions specified herein. "(2) Such proclamation shall be valid (i) only if the President has given notice to the Senate and to the House of Representatives of his intention to issue a proclamation making effective such foreign trade agreement, such notice to be given at least 120 days in advance of his publishing such proclamation; (ii) only after the expiration of 120 days from the date on which the President delivers a copy of such agreement to the Senate and to the House of Representatives, as well as a copy of his proposed proclamation in relation to such foreign trade agreement and a statement of his reasons for entering into an agreement providing for modification of duties or other import restrictions, the imposition of additional import restrictions, the modification of methods of customs valuation, the modification of methods of establishing the quantities on which assessments are made, or the modification of requirements for marking of imported products to disclose to the ultimate purchaser the country of origin, together with a statement of his reasons as to how such foreign trade agreement in view of such modification, imposition, or continuance in excess of the limits reported by the Tariff Commission will, in the judgment of the President, serve the interests of United States producers and workers and as to why the proposed proclamation or proclamations are necessary to carry out such foreign trade agreement; and (iii) only if between the date of delivery of the agreement to the Senate and to the House of Representatives and the expiration of the 120-day period referred to in subsection (d), neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives has adopted a resolution, by an affirmative vote of the yeas and nays of a majority of a quorum of that house, stating that it disapproves of the foreign trade agreement, or that it disapproves of that portion of the foreign trade agreement in which the President proposes to make modification, or to impose, or to continue, import restrictions, methods of customs valuation, methods of establishing the quantities on which assessments are made, or in the requirements for marking the country of origin in excess of the limits specified by the Tariff Commission in its report to the President. For purposes of this section, in the computation of the 120-day period, there shall be excluded the days on which either house is not in session because of adjournment of more than three days to a day certain, or an adjournment of the Congress sine die. The notices The Administration bill at Section 111 omits to provide that the Tariff Commission will investigate and supply to the President its advice with respect to articles which would be affected by provisions of a trade agreement entered into by the President which propose the reduction, harmonization, or elimination of nontariff barriers to trade. Under Section 103(d) of the bill, the President would be authorized to enter into trade agreements providing for such changes, and would be required to notify the Congress of his intention to implement such trade agreements. The Congress thereupon, according to the Administration bill, would have a 90-day period within which either house could by affirmative vote of the majority of its members disapprove such agreement. The Tariff Commission's advice is no less important with respect to such changes than it is in regard to proposed modifications in import duties, the continuance or modification of other import restrictions, customs or excise treatment, or change in methods of customs valuation, establishing the quantity of imported articles on which assessments will be made, and requirements for the marking of imported articles so as to disclose to the ultimate purchaser the country of origin. Accordingly, 6 it is proposed that the bill be further amended by adding a new section to specify the obligations of the Tariff Commission with respect to such proposed changes. The following language is recommended: "SEC. 112. TARIFF COMMISSION ADVICE AS TO PROPOSED MODIFICATION IN NONTARIFF BARRIERS TO TRADE.--(a) Before entering into negotiations concerning any proposed foreign trade agreement under section 103(d), the President shall furnish the United States Tariff Commission with a list of all articles imported into the United States to be considered for possible modification of domestic law alleged by countries which are the principal suppliers of such articles imported into the United States to be nontariff barriers which are to be considered for possible modification pursuant to intended negotiations in any proposed foreign trade agreement. The list shall identify the particular provisions of domestic law alleged by principal suppliers of U. S. imports to be nontariff barriers to U. S. imports and the type of modification which such countries have requested or which the President proposes to consider in the course of negotiations for such proposed foreign trade agreement. On receipt of such list, the Commission shall make such investigation and report to the President the findings of the Commission with respect to each such article as to (1) the extent to which such provisions of domestic law may be modified in the manner requested by principal suppliers of the imported articles, or in the manner proposed by the President, without causing or threatening serious injury to the domestic industry producing like or directly competitive articles; and (2) if modification in such provisions of domestic law, not requested by principal suppliers, or not proposed by the President, are required |