Sec. 201. Partnership agreements
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The Secretary of State may enter into partnership agreements with countries in the Western Hemisphere, which shall serve as the gateway into accession of additional countries to the USMCA under section 222. A partnership agreement entered into under paragraph
(1)shall include protections for democracy and human rights and anti-corruption measures consistent with the Inter-American Democratic Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Secretary shall— consult with Congress during negotiations for a partnership agreement under paragraph (1); and notify Congress not less than 15 days before signing the partnership agreement. The Secretary may not enter into a partnership agreement under paragraph
(1)with a country— that is a member of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America; the government of which is listed under subparagraph
(C)of section 110(b)(1) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 ( 22 U.S.C. 7107(b)(1) ) (commonly referred to as tier 3 ) in the most recent report on trafficking in persons required under such section (commonly referred to as the Trafficking in Persons Report ); or the government of which is not— committed to the fight against terrorism; or in compliance with the terms of the Inter-American Democratic Charter of the Organization of American States. A partner country shall commit to abide by the terms of the partnership agreement entered into under subsection (a). The Secretary of State shall move to suspend the participation of a country in a partnership agreement entered into under subsection
(a)at the end of the one-year period beginning on the date on which the Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of other relevant agencies and upon consultation with Congress, determines that the country is in violation of the commitments of the country under subsection
(b)or is ineligible under subsection (a)(4), unless the country comes into compliance with those commitments and becomes eligible before the end of that period. Upon making a determination described in paragraph
(1)with respect to a country, the Secretary of State shall provide a notice of the determination, to be considered at the next scheduled meeting of the Americas Partnership Secretariat established under section 204, along with a list of deficiencies the government of the country could remedy to come back into compliance with the commitments of the country under subsection
(b)and to become eligible under subsection (a)(4). The text of the notice and the list shall be provided to— the permanent representative of the government of the country at the Secretariat; the government of each Americas partner country; and the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives. Before the Secretary of State makes a motion under paragraph
(1)with respect to a country, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Americas Partnership established under section 203(c)(1) shall seek a formal visit from the Americas Partnership Secretariat to the country to explain the reasons for the motion under paragraph (1). If the participation of a country in a partnership agreement entered into under subsection
(a)is suspended under paragraph (1)— the provisions of this title and the amendments made by this title shall not apply with respect to the country during the period of suspension; and the Secretary of State shall use the voice and vote of the United States in any appropriate multilateral forum to pressure the government of that country to take the actions necessary to come into compliance with the eligibility requirements under subsection (c). The suspension of the participation of a country in a partnership agreement under paragraph
(1)may not be construed to affect the relationship of that country to any country, other than the United States, that is a party or a potential party to the USMCA. The first countries with which the Secretary of State shall seek to enter into partnership agreements under subsection
(a)shall be countries identified under the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity
(APEP)executive program that are not ineligible under subsection (a)(4). A country seeking to enter into a partnership agreement under subsection
(a)shall submit a notification to the Secretary of State indicating the desire of the country to enter into such an agreement. Not later than 180 days after receiving a notification under paragraph
(1)from a country, the Secretary shall— make a determination with respect to whether or not to enter into a partnership agreement with the country; and notify the country of the determination. If the Secretary determines under subparagraph
(A)not to enter into a partnership agreement with a country, the Secretary shall notify the country in writing of the reasons for the determination and the steps the country can take to become eligible for a partnership agreement. The Secretary of State may provide grants, using amounts available for other grant programs of the Department of State, to countries to assist those countries to become eligible for partnership agreements under this section.
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Sec. 201
Partnership agreements
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