NAFTA Accountability Act

Summary

NAFTA Accountability Act - Requires assessment of the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), renegotiation of certain NAFTA provisions, and withdrawal from NAFTA unless specified conditions are met and certified to. Sets forth conditions for continuing U.S. participation in NAFTA, which must be met before the end of 1998. Requires certifications by certain U.S. officials with respect to NAFTA, relating to: (1) overall trade balance between each NAFTA Party (United States, Canada, and Mexico) (by the Secretary of Commerce); (2) currency values (by the Secretary of the Treasury); (3) gains in U.S. jobs and living standards (by the Secretary of Labor); (4) health and environmental standards, with respect to food imports and to U.S.-Mexico border areas (by the Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator of the Food and Drug Administration, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency); (5) flow of illegal drugs from Mexico and Canada (by the Attorney General); (6) NAFTA Party democracy and human freedoms (by the President); (7) U.S. agriculture (by the Secretary of Agriculture); and (8) compliance with U.S. transportation safety standards by Mexican commercial trucks or buses coming into the United States (by the Secretary of Transportation). Requires the President to renegotiate, in specified ways, the terms of NAFTA to: (1) correct trade deficits, currency distortions, loss of U.S. jobs, and agricultural tariff and quota provisions; and (2) ensure the safety of the public health and the environment, provide effective drug interdiction, and ensure compliance with certain U.S. transportation standards. Directs the President to consult regularly with the Congress regarding such renegotiations and certifications. Directs the U.S. Trade Representative to consult with appropriate congressional committees in developing technical and conforming amendments that may be required to carry out this Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that until the conditions set by this Act are met: (1) the President should not engage in negotiations to expand NAFTA to include other countries; and (2) fast-track authority should not be renewed with respect to the approval of any such NAFTA expansion.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

1. 10 November 1997

   Introduced

   Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

   Source: IntroReferral

2. 10 November 1997

   Introduced

   Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S12461-12462)

   Source: IntroReferral

3. 10 November 1997

   Introduced

   Introduced in Senate

   Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

• Introduced in Senate · 10 November 1997 · Official file

Documents

3 official files

• Introduced in Senate (text)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 10 November 1997

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in Senate (PDF)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 10 November 1997

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 10 November 1997

  Open at official source

Sponsors

• Rep. Dorgan, Byron L. [D-ND-At Large] · D · Sponsor
• Sen. Byrd, Robert C. [D-WV] · D · Sponsor
• Rep. Campbell, Ben Nighthorse [D-CO-3] · R · Sponsor
• Sen. Hollings, Ernest F. [D-SC] · D · Sponsor
• Sen. Inouye, Daniel K. [D-HI] · D · Sponsor
• Sen. Wellstone, Paul D. [D-MN] · D · Sponsor
• Rep. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME-2] · R · Sponsor
• · ssfi00 · Standing

Related records

• related to → NAFTA Accountability Act