[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1743 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1743
To provide the President with authority to enter into a comprehensive
trade agreement with the United Kingdom, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 27, 2025
Mr. Smith of Nebraska (for himself, Mr. Himes, Mr. Miller of Ohio, Mr.
LaHood, and Mr. Arrington) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the
Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide the President with authority to enter into a comprehensive
trade agreement with the United Kingdom, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Undertaking Negotiations on
Investment and Trade for Economic Dynamism Act'' or the ``UNITED Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States should pursue more open trade and
investment relationships with its allies to strengthen the
economy of the United States, improve the standard of living of
the people of the United States, and advance the strategic
interests of the United States;
(2) agreements to reduce or eliminate barriers to trade and
investment between the United States and its allies will foster
mutually beneficial economic relationships that advance the
economic interests of workers, farmers, ranchers, and
businesses of all sizes in the United States;
(3) the shared values and long history of the ``special
relationship'' between the United States and the United Kingdom
present a unique opportunity to deepen the mutually beneficial
economic and strategic relationship between those countries and
further expand prosperity for the citizens of those countries;
(4) a high-standard, comprehensive trade agreement between
the United States and the United Kingdom would help strengthen
that relationship, improve the economic prospects of people in
both countries, increase the resilience of critical supply
chains, support collaboration in emerging technologies, and
create export opportunities for businesses of all sizes;
(5) the efforts of the United States-United Kingdom Trade
and Investment Working Group and the bilateral negotiations
initiated by President Donald Trump have laid groundwork toward
a comprehensive trade agreement;
(6) the United States-United Kingdom Dialogue on the Future
of Atlantic Trade, initiated by President Joe Biden, along with
the signing of the Atlantic Declaration for a Twenty-First
Century U.S.-U.K. Economic Partnership, continues longstanding
efforts to improve economic cooperation between the United
States and the United Kingdom;
(7) the robust labor and environmental protections in the
United Kingdom reduce the risk of regulatory arbitrage that
undercuts workers and businesses in the United States;
(8) Congress passed the Agreement between the United States
of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA) with
overwhelming bipartisan support, setting high standards in
North America with respect to labor rights, the environment,
intellectual property, non-market practices, and services, and
those standards should inform future negotiations;
(9) trade agreements with foreign trading partners that
share the values and ambition of the United States offer an
opportunity to build on the USMCA and set high international
standards across many important policy areas;
(10) any trade negotiations between the United States and
the United Kingdom must honor the agreement between the
Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom
signed on April 10, 1998 (commonly known as the ``Good Friday
Agreement''), and any trade agreement between those countries
must advance peace, stability, and prosperity in Ireland and
Northern Ireland;
(11) the United Kingdom, like many key trading partners of
the United States, is actively negotiating for expanded access
to foreign markets and the United States must likewise seek to
advance its access to foreign markets to ensure that
businesses, consumers, farmers, ranchers, and workers in the
United States are not left behind; and
(12) to effectively pursue comprehensive trade negotiations
with the United Kingdom for purposes of a trade agreement
between the United States and the United Kingdom, Congress must
grant new negotiating authority to the President, which
should--
(A) enable the swift negotiation and passage
through Congress of such an agreement; and
(B) be narrowly tailored to provide clear direction
to the executive branch of the United States
Government.
SEC. 3. NEGOTIATING AND TRADE AGREEMENTS AUTHORITY FOR COMPREHENSIVE
AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED KINGDOM.
(a) Initiation of Negotiations.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, in order to enhance the economic
well-being of the United States, the President shall seek to initiate
negotiations with the United Kingdom regarding tariff and nontariff
barriers affecting any industry, product, or service sector.
(b) Authority for Comprehensive Trade Agreement With the United
Kingdom.--
(1) In general.--To strengthen the economic competitiveness
of the United States, the President may enter into a
comprehensive trade agreement with the United Kingdom regarding
tariff and nontariff barriers affecting trade between the
United States and United Kingdom.
(2) Termination of authority.--The authority under
paragraph (1) terminates on March 1, 2029.
(c) Modifications Permitted.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the President
may proclaim such modification or continuance of any existing
duty, continuance of existing duty-free or excise treatment, or
such additional duties as the President determines to be
required or appropriate to carry out an agreement entered into
under subsection (b).
(2) Limitations.--
(A) Modifications or additions to agreement.--
Substantial modifications to, or substantial additional
provisions of, an agreement entered into after March 1,
2029, are not covered by the authority under paragraph
(1).
(B) Amount of duty modification.--No proclamation
may be made under paragraph (1) that--
(i) reduces any rate of duty (other than a
rate of duty that does not exceed 5 percent ad
valorem on the date of the enactment of this
Act) to a rate of duty that is less than 50
percent of the rate of such duty that applies
on such date of enactment;
(ii) reduces the rate of duty below that
applicable under the Uruguay Round Agreements
(as defined in section 2(7) of the Uruguay
Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3501)) or a
successor agreement, on any import sensitive
agricultural product; or
(iii) increases any rate of duty above the
rate that applied on the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(d) Consultation With and Notification to Congress.--To ensure the
alignment of the trade policy priorities of Congress with the content
of any agreement under this section, the President shall consult with
Congress before and throughout negotiations initiated under subsection
(a) and shall notify Congress of the intention of the President to
enter into an agreement under subsection (b) or to make a proclamation
under subsection (c).
(e) Bills Qualifying for Trade Authorities Procedures.--
(1) Implementing bills.--
(A) In general.--The provisions of section 151 of
the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2191) apply to a bill
of either House of Congress that contains provisions
described in subparagraph (B) to the same extent as
such section 151 applies to implementing bills under
that section. A bill to which this paragraph applies
shall hereafter in this section be referred to as an
``implementing bill''.
(B) Provisions specified.--The provisions described
in this subparagraph are--
(i) a provision approving a trade agreement
entered into under this section and approving
the statement of administrative action, if any,
proposed to implement such trade agreement; and
(ii) if changes in existing laws or new
statutory authority are required to implement
such trade agreement, only such provisions as
are strictly necessary or appropriate to
implement such trade agreement, either
repealing or amending existing laws or
providing new statutory authority.
(2) Deadline for submission of bill.--The procedures under
paragraph (1) apply to implementing bills submitted with
respect to a trade agreement entered into under this section
before March 1, 2029.
(f) Limitation on Waiver, Suspension, or Termination.--An agreement
entered into under this section shall not be waived, suspended, or
terminated, in whole or in part, with respect to the United States
without the express approval by Congress of such termination.
(g) Relationship to Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and
Accountability Act of 2015.--An agreement under this section shall not
enter into force with respect to the United States and an implementing
bill shall not qualify for trade authorities procedures under
subsection (e), including an agreement that does not require changes to
United States law or an implementing bill in connection therewith,
unless the following requirements under the Bipartisan Congressional
Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4201 et
seq.) are carried out with respect to that agreement or implementing
bill to the same extent as would be required of an agreement entered
into under section 103(b) of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4202(b)),
notwithstanding the expiration of authority to enter into an agreement
under such section 103(b):
(1) The trade negotiating objectives under section 102 of
that Act (19 U.S.C. 4201).
(2) The congressional oversight and consultation
requirements under section 104 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4203).
(3) The notification, consultation, and reporting
requirements under section 105 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4204).
(4) The implementation procedures under section 106 of that
Act (19 U.S.C. 4205).
(5) The provisions related to sovereignty under section 108
of that Act (19 U.S.C. 4207).
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