the submission on an informal basis by private organizations or groups, representing labor, industry, agriculture, consumer interests, and others, of statistics, data, and other trade information, as well as policy recommendations, pertinent to the negotiation of any trade agreement referred to in section 101 or 102

SEC. 161-163. CONGRESSIONAL ADVISORS, TRANSMISSION OF AGREEMENTS TO CONGRESS, REPORTS

The general provisions of the bill requiring Congressional participation in negotiations and statements to the Congress of the reasons for each agreement do not specifically refer to supply but would require Congressional participation in negotiations of trade agreements affecting supply and reporting to Congress on supply problems.

SEC. 202. IMPORT RELIEF

In determining whether to accord import relief the President must take into account:

(4) the effect of import relief on consumers (including the price and availability of the imported article and the like or directly competitive article produced in the United States) and on competition in the domestic markets for such articles;

(5) the effect of import relief on the international economic interests of the United States; These factors require a consideration of supply availability before relief is granted.

SEC. 301. RESPONSES TO CERTAIN TRADE PRACTICES OF FOREIGN

GOVERNMENTS

(a) Whenever the President determines that a foreign country or instrumentality

(2) engages in discriminatory or other acts or policies which are unjustifiable or unreasonable and which burden or restrict United States commerce,

the President shall take all appropriate and feasible steps within his power to obtain the elimination of such restrictions or subsidies, and he

(A) may suspend, withdraw, or prevent the application of, or may refrain from proclaiming, benefits of trade agreement concessions to carry out a trade agreement with such country or instrumentality; and

(B) may impose duties or other import restrictions on the products of such foreign country or instrumentality for such time as he deems appropriate.

The authority is broad enough for the United States to retaliate against unfair foreign export controls on needed raw materials and other products and other unfair denials of access to supply including foreign discriminatory actions. The measures available to the President under this section for use in responding against the unfair foreign action consist of import restrictions.

TITLE IV. COMMERCIAL AGREEMENTS WITH COMMUNIST COUNTRIES

Bilateral commercial agreements under section 404 can provide for more than market access (MFN on the part of the United States, import promises on the part of the foreign country). They can provide for "such other arrangements of a commercial nature as will promote the purposes stated in section 2". This can include questions of supply access. This interpretation is reinforced by the terms governing renewal of these agreements:

(A) a satisfactory balance of trade concessions has been maintained during the life of each agreement, and

(B) the President determines that actual or foreseeable reductions in United States tariffs and nontariff barriers to trade resulting from multilateral negotiations are satisfactorily reciprocated by the other party to the bilateral agreement;

Trade concessions can take the form of supply assurance including agreeing to abstaining from the imposition of export restrictions.

TITLE V. GENERALIZED PREFERENCES

Reasons for making an article eligible pursuant to section 503 for preferential treatment include lowering the import barriers to supplies of needed materials.

This is consistent with the breadth of advice available under sections 131-134, the prenegotiation requirements referred to above. In addition, application of the competitive need formula (Section 504 (c), which cuts off duty free imports from a country when a market share or value ceiling is reached) can be waived for national interest reasons. National interest considerations include removing barriers to imports of articles in short supply.

[Whereupon, at 1:15 p.m., the committee adjourned, to reconvene Wednesday, March 6, 1974, at 10 a.m.]

APPENDIX A

CHARTS ON U.S. TRADE, BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, AND ENERGY

Prepared by the Staff of the Committee on Finance

(351)