,,iii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #fea ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #b1 #bjbj,mr4 ,portman 7for himself and ,mr4 ,cardin7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,,resolution ,expressing the sense of the ,senate that1 while the ,united ,states finds value and usefulness in the ,world ,trade ,organization in fulfilling the needs of the ,united ,states and other free and open economies in the #bast century1 significant reforms at the ,world ,trade ,organization are needed and the ,united ,states must therefore continue to demonstrate leadership to achieve those reforms4 ,whereas the ,united ,states had led the formation1 as well as reform1 of rules governing the multilateral trading system since ,world ,war ,,ii2 ,whereas the ,united ,states is a founding member of the ,world ,trade ,organization 7in this preamble referred to as the ,,wto7 and a key architect of the organization2 ,whereas the ,united ,states secured important commitments in the ,,wto to facilitate trade in goods and services1 to prevent the application of non-scientific restrictions on ,united ,states agriculture1 and to protect ,united ,states intellectual property2 ,whereas the ,united ,states uses the rules of the ,,wto to benefit workers1 farmers1 and businesses in the ,united ,states by facilitating access to the #ij percent of the world's consumers who live outside the borders of the ,united ,states2 ,whereas the fundamental purpose of the ,,wto is to create space for members to negotiate with each other1 and the ,,wto reserves to those members exclusively the right to negotiate and adopt rules that reduce and eliminate trade barriers and discriminatory treatment2 ,whereas the prompt settlement of disputes in which a member of the ,,wto considers that its rights are being impaired by the actions of another member is essential to the functioning of the ,,wto and the maintenance of a proper balance between the rights and obligations of members2 ,whereas the ,,wto's dispute settlement function1 including in particular the ,appellate ,body1 has increasingly failed to enforce the rules of the ,,wto in a timely manner1 and has usurped the negotiating prerogative of members by creating new obligations and rights that are inconsistent with the rules negotiated by members2 ,whereas the creation of those obligations and rights undermines-- 7#a7 the ,,wto's negotiating function by discouraging members from making concessions2 and 7#b7 the ,,wto's dispute settlement function by encouraging overuse of the process and undermining its legitimacy1 including by preventing free market economies from responding to globally trade distortive practices by nonmarket economies2 ,whereas the ,,wto does not have sufficient rules to discipline the distortive economic policies of nonmarket economies1 such as policies relating to excess capacity and forced technology transfer1 the special treatment those economies afford to state-owned enterprises1 and their massive and opaque industrial subsidies2 ,whereas there is long-standing bipartisan support in the ,united ,states ,congress to reform the ,,wto to address those failings2 ,whereas the current presidential administration1 as well as prior administrations1 raised concerns about the failings described in this preamble and have made reform of the ,,wto a top priority of ,united ,states trade policy2 ,whereas the ,united ,states urges ,,wto members to work constructively with the ,united ,states to assess the reasons why the existing ,,wto rules have proven inadequate in order to create an atmosphere within the ,,wto that is conducive to the development of new rules less subject to jurisprudential drift2 ,whereas the guiding principle for reform of the ,,wto1 and the lens through which ,,wto members should consider specific reform proposals1 is the restoration of the ,,wto's capability and capacity for negotiation between members2 and ,whereas1 given that the ,united ,states has achieved its trade policy objectives through active leadership at the ,,wto1 and that an absence of that leadership would be filled by nonmarket economies that are hostile to a host of ,united ,states interests3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that it is the sense of the ,senate that-- 7#a7 while the ,united ,states finds value and usefulness in the ,world ,trade ,organization 7in this resolution referred to as the ,,wto7 in order to fulfill the needs of the ,united ,states and other free and open economies in the #bast century1 significant reforms are needed2 7#b7 the ,united ,states must therefore continue to demonstrate leadership to achieve reforms that restore the effectiveness of the ,,wto's-- 7,a7 negotiating function2 7,b7 dispute settlement function so that it transparently1 efficiently1 and fully enforces outcomes negotiated by members rather than usurping their primacy by creating new rights or obligations2 and 7,c7 rules for special and differential treatment to ensure those rules promote development for truly disadvantaged countries1 rather than becoming tools for globally competitive countries to engage in protectionism and market distortions2 7#c7 the efforts to reform the negotiating function of the ,,wto should revitalize the negotiating function by providing confidence to members that the ,,wto operates according to the rules as negotiated and adopted by members2 7#d7 a revitalized negotiating function must include new rules that reflect the #bast century economy1 further combat anticompetitive and protectionist barriers1 and ensure disputes are efficiently resolved2 7#e7 the ,united ,states ,trade ,representative should continue to lead efforts to work with ,,wto members to pursue reforms at the ,,wto that-- 7,a7 ensure the dispute settlement mechanism faithfully applies the rules adopted by members1 including by undertaking measures to ensure the ,,wto's ,appellate ,body does not create new rights and obligations2 7,b7 improve public confidence in dispute settlement by promoting greater transparency and efficiency in the conduct of proceedings2 7,c7 redress the consistent failure by certain members to satisfy their notification obligations under various ,,wto agreements1 including through measures that strengthen accountability2 7,d7 ensures rules for special and differential treatment are appropriately reserved for countries whose state of development and global competitiveness actually warrants such flexibility2 7,e7 create new rules and structures that can serve the interests of the ,united ,states while promoting peace1 prosperity1 good governance1 transparency1 effective operation of legal regimes1 the rule of law1 and free enterprise2 and 7,f7 expand upon the trilateral negotiations currently underway with ,japan and the ,european ,union2 and 7#f7 the ,united ,states ,trade ,representative should explore and assess specific reform proposals1 including-- 7,a7 pursuing plurilateral agreements that further the interests of the ,united ,states while limiting the benefits accruing to countries that are not parties to those agreements2 7,b7 efforts to ensure that incorrect interpretations by the ,appellate ,body1 including with respect to the ,agreement on ,safeguards1 the ,agreement on ,implementation of ,article ,,vi of the ,general ,agreement on ,tariffs and ,trade #aiid1 and the ,agreement on ,subsidies and ,countervailing ,measures1 are corrected1 and not to be deemed precedential2 7,c7 new rules and norms to address practices of nonmarket economies1 such as practices relating to state-owned enterprises1 which certain countries often utilize for objectives that cause severe trade distortions2 and 7,d7 better implementation of existing rules1 such as the prohibition in paragraph #d of ,article ,,xiv of the ,general ,agreement on ,tariffs and ,trade on currency manipulation1 to ensure that those rules are effective to preserve the rights of free market economies4