A BILL
To establish the principles and practices for establishing sustainable levels of U.S. importing and exporting.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
(a) This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sustainable Trade Act.”
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.
(a) The Congress finds that—
(1) a sustainable level of international trade is an integral part of a sustainable, steady state economy;
(2) the United States, due to its geography and advanced domestic economy, is suited for relatively low levels of international trade;
(3) it is against the interest of the United States to enable exports if their domestic production compromises environmental and labor protections;
(4) most U.S. oil and natural gas exports are produced through hydraulic fracturing, particularly high-volume and horizontal fracturing methods, which pose documented risks to freshwater aquifers and surface waters;
(5) free international exchange facilitates comparative advantage, which is associated with productivity, but also with compromises in environmental and labor protections and anti-monopoly standards.
(b) The Congress declares that it is the policy of the Federal government to use all practicable means, consistent with its needs and obligations and other essential national policies, to—
(1) establish targets for the gradual reduction of U.S. international trade until sustainable levels of importing and exporting have been achieved;
(2) prohibit the international trade of agricultural commodities for which production compromises national biocapacity for waste absorption or the renewal of natural resources;
(3) prohibit the export of oil and natural gas produced through high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing;
(4) encourage trade factor equalization via the gradual elimination of international disparities in environmental and labor protections and in the regulation of monopolistic markets; and
(5) encourage trade factor equalization by promoting macroeconomic policy standards for full employment, revenue adequacy and equity, and fair labor practices in all loan or trade agreements.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(a) In this Act—
(1) the term “WTO” means the World Trade Organization.
SEC. 4. LONG-TERM TRADE TARGETS.
(a) GENERAL RULE.—Long-term international trade targets expressed as a percentage of national income are established.
(b) INTERNATIONAL TRADE TARGET SCHEDULES.—U.S. international trade targets are hereby—
(1) 20 percent of U.S. gross domestic product by 2040; and
(2) 15 percent of U.S. gross domestic product by 2055.
(c) COMMENCEMENT.—The U.S. Trade Representative shall annually prescribe targets for U.S. international trade based on the expected outcomes of the revisions and requirements introduced in sections 5-9, commencing no later than January 1, 2030, and thereafter by the end of each calendar year.
SEC. 5. AGRICULTURAL EXPORT AND IMPORT LIMITS.
(a) GENERAL RULE.—The Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service shall set annual export and import limits on agricultural commodities that, given domestic production and consumption, are within the biocapacity of the United States and of nations that export to the United States.
(b) LIMITS STANDARD.—The Foreign Agricultural Service shall set annual export and import limits for any agricultural commodity that falls into any of the categories defined in section 5(c) based on their determination of sustainable annual production, incorporating biocapacity factors including but not limited to—
(1) soil and water conservation;
(2) waste absorption capacity; and
(3) no net loss of forested land.
(c) COMMODITY THRESHOLDS.—The Foreign Agricultural Service shall determine the commodities subject to the limits established in section 5(b) according to the following thresholds—
(1) grains, seed oils, or meats for which the export value in the previous calendar year exceeds 20 percent of total U.S. production value; and
(2) grains, seed oils, or meats for which the import value in the previous calendar year exceeds 15 percent of total U.S. consumption value.
(d) EXPORT AND IMPORT CERTIFICATION.—The Foreign Agricultural Service shall certify the export or import of any commodity subject to the limits established in sections 5(a-c) until the applicable limit for that commodity is reached, after which the Service shall withhold certification.
(e) COMMENCEMENT.—The Foreign Agricultural Service shall publish in the Federal Register all export and import limits outlined in section 5(b) no later than July 1, 2028, and all limits shall be effective after January 1, 2029.
SEC. 6. HYDRAULIC-FRACTURING EXPORT PROHIBITION.
(a) EXPORT PROHIBITION.—Effective January 1, 2030, all oil and natural gas exports from high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations shall be prohibited.
(b) EXPORT-PROHIBITION ADMINISTRATION.—The Office of Export Enforcement shall administer the export prohibition established in section 6(a).
SEC. 7. RENEWABLE ENERGY SUBSIDY EXEMPTIONS.
(a) GENERAL RULE.—The U.S. Trade Representative shall, in its responsibility for trade negotiations at the WTO, support the exemption of subsidies related to renewable energy production or efficient electric-power consumption from countervailing measures or dispute action.
(b) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBLE PRODUCTS.—The Department of Energy shall authorize a list of products eligible for the exemption of subsidies from countervailing measures or dispute action, and shall update the list no later than January 1 of each successive calendar year.
(c) ROSTER OF ELIGIBLE PRODUCTS.—Subject to annual revision, the Department of Energy shall include on its list, defined in section 7(b), the following items—
(1) photovoltaic solar panels;
(2) photovoltaic system inverters;
(3) batteries for the storage of intermittent renewable electric power generation;
(4) ductless mini-split heat pump systems;
(5) heat pump water heater systems;
(6) gearboxes for wind turbines; and
(7) hydropower generators.
(d) COMMENCEMENT.—The Department of Energy shall publish the initial list defined in section 7(b) no later than July 1, 2028, and the U.S. Trade Representative shall submit all exemption requests for WTO consideration no later than January 1, 2029, subject to annual revision, respectively, on July 1 and January 1 of successive calendar years.
SEC. 8. TRADE-NEGOTIATION PRIORITIES.
(a) GENERAL RULE.—The U.S. Trade Representative, the Trade Policy Review Group, and the Trade Policy Staff Committee shall support changes to WTO negotiations and Article XX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to promote broad latitude for environmental protection subsidies and for state-owned enterprises that also promote environmental protection and conservation of natural resources.
(b) PROMOTION OF TRADE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY STRUCTURAL DISCUSSIONS.—The U.S. Trade Representative shall—
(1) participate in all four working groups within the WTO’s Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structural Discussions;
(2) encourage broader member participation in the WTO Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structural Discussions; and
(3) encourage broader adoption of Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structural Discussions agreements to prioritize environmental protection in GATT Article XX.
(c) COMMENCEMENT.—All mandates and policy directives declared in sections 8(a-b) shall become effective on January 1, 2028.
SEC. 9. TRADE FACTOR EQUALIZATION.
(a) GENERAL RULE.—At the World Bank Group, the U.S. Trade Representative shall support firm labor- and environmental-protection mandates for all recipient nations of any loan or grant.
(b) WORLD BANK GROUP GOVERNANCE.—The U.S. governor on the World Bank Group Board of Governors and the U.S.-appointed executive director on the World Bank Group Board of Directors shall prioritize revenue adequacy, equity, and stability in their fiscal policy guidance for all recipient nations of any loan or grant.
(c) RECIPIENT-NATION COMMITMENTS.—The U.S. Trade Representative shall support a policy under which no development loan or grant is approved without the following commitments from any recipient nation’s legislative assemblies—
(1) a broad-based statutory wage floor no less than 60 percent of the national median individual income;
(2) the right to organize in labor unions, including the prohibition of any judicial injunction against strikes or pickets;
(3) child-labor prohibitions equal to or more protective than existing U.S. law; and
(4) macroeconomic policy directives that establish full employment as the principal goal.
(d) MEXICO AND CANADA PROGRAM: ENVIRONMENT.—The U.S. Trade Representative shall support an amendment to the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation to impose environmental regulations on all trading partners no less stringent than those enforced under existing U.S. law.
(e) MEXICO AND CANADA PROGRAM: LABOR.—The U.S. Trade Representative shall support an amendment to the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation to ensure collective bargaining rights for all workers in nations subject to the agreement no less substantial than those enforced under existing U.S. law.
(f) COMMENCEMENT.—All mandates outlined in sections 9(b-e) shall become effective on January 1, 2028.
SEC. 10. VIOLATIONS, ENFORCEMENT, AND PENALTIES.
(a) AGRICULTURAL EXPORT AND IMPORT LIMITS.—U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall impose the following penalties on any entity that exports or imports a commodity subject to the limits established in sections 5(a-c) without the certification required under section 5(d) or in excess of the certified shipment amount:
(1) For any first offense or any shipment that exceeds its certified amount by not more than 10 percent, a civil penalty not to exceed $50,000.
(2) For any subsequent offense or any shipment that exceeds its certified amount by more than 10 percent, a civil penalty not to exceed $100,000 and a criminal penalty not to exceed 6 months’ imprisonment.
(b) HYDRAULIC-FRACTURING EXPORT PROHIBITION.—The Office of Export Enforcement shall impose the following penalties on any entity that exports oil or natural gas subject to the prohibition established in section 6(a):
(1) For any first offense, a civil penalty not to exceed $500,000 and a criminal penalty not to exceed 6 months’ imprisonment.
(2) For any subsequent offense, a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000,000 and a criminal penalty not to exceed 2 years’ imprisonment.
