H.R. 1743

[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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