U.S Code last checked for updates: Nov 23, 2024
§ 4405.
Trade Enforcement Trust Fund
(a)
Establishment
(b)
Transfer of amounts
(1)
In general
(2)
Limitation
(3)
Frequency of transfers
(c)
Investment of amounts
(1)
Investment of amounts
(2)
Interest and proceeds
(d)
Availability of amounts from Trust Fund
(1)
In general
The United States Trade Representative shall, on the basis of the advice of the Trade Policy Committee and relevant subordinate bodies of the TPC, use or transfer for the use by Federal agencies represented on the TPC amounts in the Trust Fund, only as provided by appropriations Acts, for making expenditures for any of the following:
(A)
To seek to enforce the provisions of and commitments and obligations under the WTO Agreements and free trade agreements to which the United States is a party and resolve any actions by foreign countries that are inconsistent with those provisions, commitments, and obligations.
(B)
To monitor and ensure the full implementation by foreign countries of the provisions of and commitments and obligations under free trade agreements to which the United States is a party for purposes of systematically assessing, identifying, investigating, or initiating steps to address inconsistencies with those provisions, commitments, and obligations.
(C)
To thoroughly investigate and respond to petitions under section 2412 of this title requesting that action be taken under section 2411 of this title.
(D)
To support capacity-building efforts undertaken by the United States pursuant to any free trade agreement to which the United States is a party and to prioritize and give special attention to the timely, consistent, and robust implementation of the commitments and obligations of a party to that free trade agreement, including commitments and obligations related to trade in goods, trade in services, trade in agriculture, foreign investment, intellectual property, digital trade in goods and services and cross-border data flows, regulatory practices, state-owned and state-controlled enterprises, localization barriers to trade, labor and the environment, currency, foreign currency manipulation, anticorruption, trade remedy laws, textiles, and commercial partnerships.
(E)
To support capacity-building efforts undertaken by the United States pursuant to any such free trade agreement and to include performance indicators against which the progress and obstacles for the implementation of commitments and obligations can be identified and assessed within a meaningful time frame.
(2)
Limitation
(e)
Report
(f)
Comptroller General study
(1)
In general
The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study that includes the following:
(A)
A comprehensive analysis of the trade enforcement expenditures of each Federal agency with responsibilities relating to trade that specifies, with respect to each such Federal agency—
(i)
the amounts appropriated for trade enforcement; and
(ii)
the number of full-time employees carrying out activities relating to trade enforcement.
(B)
Recommendations on the additional employees and resources that each such Federal agency may need to effectively enforce the free trade agreements to which the United States is a party.
(2)
Report
(g)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Trade Policy Committee; TPC
(2)
WTO
(3)
WTO agreement
(4)
WTO agreements
(Pub. L. 114–125, title VI, § 611, Feb. 24, 2016, 130 Stat. 192.)
cite as: 19 USC 4405