Sec. 805. Policy statement on trade
704 words·~3 min read·
/bill/114/hconres/27/eh/section-805·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The House finds the following: Opening foreign markets to American exports is vital to the United States economy and beneficial to American workers and consumers. The Commerce Department estimates that every $1 billion of United States exports supports more than 5,000 jobs here at home. The United States can increase economic opportunities for American workers and businesses through the expansion of trade, adherence to trade agreement rules by the United States and its trading partners, and the elimination of foreign trade barriers to United States goods and services.
Trade Promotion Authority is a bipartisan and bicameral effort to strengthen the role of Congress in setting negotiating objectives for trade agreements, to improve consultation with Congress by the Administration, and to provide a clear framework for congressional consideration and implementation of trade agreements. Global trade and commerce is not a zero-sum game. The idea that global expansion tends to hollow out United States operations is incorrect. Foreign-affiliate activity tends to complement, not substitute for, key parent activities in the United States such as employment, worker compensation, and capital investment.
When United States headquartered multinationals invest and expand operations abroad it often leads to more jobs and economic growth at home. Trade agreements have saved the average American family of four more than $10,000 per year, as a result of lower duties. Trade agreements also lower the cost of manufacturing inputs by removing duties. American businesses and workers have shown that, on a level playing field, they can excel and surpass the international competition. When negotiating trade agreements, United States laws on Intellectual Property
(IP)protection should be used as a benchmark for establishing global IP frameworks. Strong IP protections have contributed significantly to the United States status as a world leader in innovation across sectors, including in the development of life-saving biologic medicines. The data protections afforded to biologics in United States law, including 12 years of data protection, allow continued development of pioneering medicines to benefit patients both in the United States and abroad. To maintain the cycle of innovation and achieve truly 21st century trade agreements, it is vital that our negotiators insist on the highest standards for IP protections. The status quo of the current tax code also undermines the competitiveness of United States businesses and costs the United States economy investment and jobs. The United States currently has an antiquated system of international taxation whereby United States multinationals operating abroad pay both the foreign-country tax and United States corporate taxes. They are essentially taxed twice. This puts them at an obvious competitive disadvantage. A modern and competitive international tax system would facilitate global commerce for United States multinational companies and would encourage foreign business investment and job creation in the United States. The ability to defer United States taxes on their foreign operations, which some erroneously refer to as a tax loophole, cushions this disadvantage to a certain extent. Eliminating or restricting this provision (and others like it) would harm United States competitiveness. This budget resolution advocates fundamental tax reform that would lower the United States corporate rate, now the highest in the industrialized world, and switch to a more competitive system of international taxation. This would make the United States a much more attractive place to invest and station business activity and would chip away at the incentives for United States companies to keep their profits overseas (because the United States corporate rate is so high). It is the policy of this concurrent resolution to pursue international trade, global commerce, and a modern and competitive United States international tax system to promote job creation in the United States. The United States should continue to seek increased economic opportunities for American workers and businesses through the expansion of trade opportunities, adherence to trade agreements and rules by the United States and its trading partners, and the elimination of foreign trade barriers to United States goods and services by opening new markets and by enforcing United States rights. To that end, Congress should pass Trade Promotion Authority to strengthen the role of Congress in setting negotiating objectives for trade agreements, to improve consultation with Congress by the Administration, and to provide a clear framework for congressional consideration and implementation of trade agreements.