,,ii #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ahja ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #aa1 #bjac,mr4 ,merkley 7for himself and ,ms4 ,baldwin7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,tariff ,act of #aicj to include in the calculation of normal value the cost of paying adequate wages and maintaining sustainable production methods1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,level the ,playing ,field in ,global ,trade ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,findings2 sense of ,congress 7a7 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,working families in the ,united ,states and around the world have not enjoyed many of the benefits of increased global trade4 7#b7 ,while the global economy grew at an average rate of #c4c percent per year between #aiie and #bjjg1 annual wage growth remained at less than #c percent4 7#c7 ,between #aihi and #bjaj1 hourly productivity in the ,united ,states grew more than #c times as fast as wages1 and nearly #d1jjj1jjj manufacturing jobs disappeared in the ,united ,states between #aiih and #bjac4 7#d7 ,the lowest #bj percent of wage earners in the ,united ,states have seen average hourly wages decline by #c4i percent1 and the next lowest #bj percent saw their earnings fall by #d4c percent1 while earnings for those in the top #bj percent increased by nearly #cj percent4 7#e7 ,in #bjaj1 there were approximately #idb1jjj1jjj working poor living with their families on less than #b4jj per person per day4 7#f7 ,global biodiversity health declined #bh percent from #aigj to #bjjh4 7#g7 ,the ,world ,health ,organization attributes more than #ejj1jjj premature deaths annually to urban air pollution in ,asia alone4 7#h7 ,an estimated #afj1jjj1jjj people suffer from work-related diseases1 and there are an estimated #bgj1jjj1jjj fatal and non-fatal work-related accidents each year4 7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the antidumping and countervailing duty laws of the ,united ,states under title ,,vii of the ,tariff ,act of #aicj 7#ai ,u4,s4,c4 #afga et seq47 have provided targeted1 effective relief against unfair trade practices and must be protected and enhanced2 and 7#b7 the failure to include within antidumping duty calculations the real costs of inadequate wages1 insufficient workplace safety conditions1 and insufficient environmental controls-- 7,a7 has a substantial negative effect on ,united ,states manufacturing and the ,united ,states economy2 and 7,b7 fails to support efforts to improve conditions for working families and the environment in the ,united ,states and around the world4 #c4 ,purposes ,the purposes of this ,act are-- 7#a7 to ensure that goods imported into the ,united ,states fully reflect the real costs of paying an adequate living wage1 upholding workplace safety standards1 and maintaining basic environmental protections2 and 7#b7 to provide a streamlined method for entities that meet those standards to satisfy the requirements of the amendments made by this ,act4 #d4 ,adjustment of normal value to include the cost of paying adequate wages and maintaining sustainable production methods 7a7 ,in general ,section #ggc7;a7 of the ,tariff ,act of #aicj 7#ai ,u4,s4,c4 #afgg;b7a77 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating paragraph 7#h7 as paragraph 7#i72 and 7#b7 by inserting after paragraph 7#g7 the following3 7#h7 ,adjustments for costs of providing adequate wages and using sustainable production methods 7,a7 ,increase ,except as otherwise provided in this paragraph1 the price described in paragraph 7#a77;,b7 shall also be increased by the difference1 if any1 between-- 7i7 the actual cost of producing the subject merchandise2 and 7ii7 the estimated cost of producing the subject merchandise if the producer paid its employees adequate wages and maintained sustainable production methods4 7,b7 ,credits for compliance ,at the request of an exporter or producer1 the administering authority shall reduce the amount of the increase under subparagraph 7,a7 with respect to subject merchandise of that exporter or producer by an amount the administering authority determines reflects the extent to which the subject merchandise was produced under conditions under which all employees receive adequate wages and sustainable production methods are maintained4 ,the amount by which the increase under subparagraph 7,a7 to the price under paragraph 7#a77;,b7 is reduced under this subparagraph shall be referred to as a credit4 7,c7 ,precertification 7i7 ,exporter- or producer-specific precertification 7,i7 ,requests ,an exporter or producer seeking to import merchandise into the ,united ,states may request the administering authority to issue a precertification that merchandise of the exporter or producer imported into the ,united ,states from a specific country is eligible for credits under subparagraph 7,b7 before an investigation is initiated under subtitle ,b with respect to the merchandise4 7,,ii7 ,standard for precertification ,the administering authority shall issue to an exporter or producer that requests a precertification under subclause 7,i7 a precertification that covers all merchandise imported into the ,united ,states by the exporter or producer from a specific country if the exporter or producer demonstrates to the satisfaction of the administering authority that all such merchandise1 including significant components or ingredients of the merchandise1 was or will be produced under conditions under which all employees receive adequate wages and sustainable production methods are maintained4 7,,iii7 ,effective period ,a precertification issued under this clause shall remain in effect for such period as the administrating authority determines appropriate1 but not longer than #e years4 7ii7 ,country-wide precertification ,the administering authority may issue a precertification for all merchandise imported from a country if the government of that country maintains and enforces laws requiring all producers of such merchandise in that country to pay its employees adequate wages and to maintain sustainable production methods4 7iii7 ,safe harbor 7,i7 ,in general ,if the administering authority has issued a precertification under clause 7i7 or 7ii71 merchandise to which the precertification applies shall not be subject to an antidumping duty solely because a petition filed under section #gcb7;b77#a7 with respect to the merchandise alleges that the merchandise was not produced under conditions under which all employees receive adequate wages and sustainable production methods are maintained4 7,,ii7 ,challenging precertification ,an interested party described in subparagraph 7,c71 7,d71 7,e71 7,f71 or 7,g7 of section #gga7i7 that files a petition under section #gcb7;b77#a7 with respect to the merchandise covered by a precertification issued under clause 7i7 for a producer or exporter or under clause 7ii7 for a country bears the burden of proving that the merchandise was not produced under conditions under which all employees receive adequate wages and sustainable production methods are maintained4 7iv7 ,demonstration of injury 7,i7 ,presumption ,except as provided in subclause 7,,ii71 an interested party described in subparagraph 7,c71 7,d71 7,e71 7,f71 or 7,g7 of section #gga7i7 that files a petition under section #gcb7;b77#a7 with respect to merchandise that relies on calculations of normal value made under this paragraph shall be presumed to demonstrate that the party is materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of imports of the merchandise4 7,,ii7 ,exceptions ,an interested party described in subparagraph 7,c71 7,d71 7,e71 7,f71 or 7,g7 of section #gga7i7 that files a petition under section #gcb7;b77#a7 with respect to merchandise that relies on calculations of normal value made under this paragraph shall not be presumed to demonstrate that the party is materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of imports of the merchandise if-- 7aa7 the country from which the merchandise is exported is covered by a precertification issued under clause 7ii72 or 7bb7 the estimated cost of producing the merchandise under subparagraph 7,a77ii7 is equal to or greater than the cost of producing the merchandise in the country in which the interested party is located4 7v7 ,use of third-party standards 7,i7 ,in general ,the administering authority1 the ,secretary of ,labor1 and the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency may jointly establish procedures pursuant to which obtaining certification from an organization described in subclause 7,,ii7 may demonstrate the eligibility of an exporter or producer for a precertification under clause 7i7 or the eligibility of a country for a precertification under clause 7ii74 7,,ii7 ,organization described ,an organization described in this subclause is an independent third-party organization that sets standards with respect to adequate wages and sustainable production methods4 7,d7 ,guidance on compliance ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the ,level the ,playing ,field in ,global ,trade ,act of #bjac1 the administering authority shall publish in the ,federal ,register guidance with respect to how persons producing merchandise for exportation to the ,united ,states or seeking to import such merchandise into the ,united ,states may obtain credits and precertifications under subparagraphs 7,b7 and 7,c74 7,e7 ,definitions ,in this paragraph3 7i7 ,adequate wage 7,i7 ,in general ,the term adequate wage-- 7aa7 means compensation for a regular work week that is sufficient to meet the basic needs of the employee and to provide the employee with some discretionary income2 and 7bb7 includes-- 7,,aa7 at a minimum1 the payment of the higher of the minimum wage or the appropriate prevailing wage1 compliance with all legal requirements relating to wages 7including freedom of association relating to the bargaining relating to wages and related matters71 and the provision of such benefits as are required by law or contract2 and 7,,bb7 such other elements as the administering authority considers appropriate4 7,,ii7 ,guidance on interpretation 7aa7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the ,level the ,playing ,field in ,global ,trade ,act of #bjac1 the administering authority shall publish in the ,federal ,register guidance1 developed jointly with the ,secretary of ,labor1 with respect to the interpretation of adequate wage4 7bb7 ,use of third-party standards ,in developing guidance under item 7aa71 the administering authority and the ,secretary may consider independent third-party standards1 including1 as appropriate1 standards on an industry-by-industry or country-by-country basis4 7ii7 ,sustainable production methods 7,i7 ,in general ,the term sustainable production methods means the application of technologies and methods that are necessary to provide for-- 7aa7 workplace safety1 toxic waste control1 and the conservation of energy and natural resources1 based on local standards and conditions2 and 7bb7 such other relevant standards as the administering authority considers appropriate4 7,,ii7 ,guidance on interpretation 7aa7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the ,level the ,playing ,field in ,global ,trade ,act of #bjac1 the administering authority shall publish in the ,federal ,register guidance1 developed jointly with the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency and the ,secretary of ,labor1 with respect to the interpretation of sustainable production methods4 7bb7 ,use of third-party standards ,in developing guidance under item 7aa71 the administering authority and the ,administrator may consider independent third-party standards1 including1 as appropriate1 standards on an industry-by-industry or country-by-country basis4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by subsection 7a7 shall apply with respect to merchandise imported into the ,united ,states-- 7#a7 on and after the date that is #b years after the date of the enactment of this ,act from-- 7,a7 any country with which the ,united ,states has a free trade agreement in effect2 7,b7 any country that is a member of the ,world ,trade ,organization2 or 7,c7 ,canada or ,mexico1 pursuant to article #aijb of the ,north ,american ,free ,trade ,agreement and section #djh of the ,north ,american ,free ,trade ,agreement ,implementation ,act 7#ai ,u4,s4,c4 #cdch72 and 7#b7 on or after the date that is one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act from any country other than a country described in paragraph 7#a74