From the Congressional Research Service: U.S. Trade Statutes: Expiration Dates and Mandated Periodic Reports to Congress (October 2) - and a lesson on the trade policy relationship between Congress and the President:
The Constitution gives Congress express power over the imposition of tariffs and the regulation of foreign trade. As part of this responsibility, Congress enacts laws including those that: establish tariff rates; implement trade agreements; provide remedies against unfairly traded imports; control exports of sensitive technology; and extend tariff preferences to imports from developing countries.
Over time, and under carefully prescribed circumstances, Congress has delegated some of its trade authority to the Executive Branch. Congress, however, has, in some cases, kept tight reins on the use of this authority by requiring that certain trade laws and programs be renewed; and by requiring the Executive Branch to issue reports to Congress to monitor the implementation of the trade laws and programs.
This report is intended to assist Congress in exercising its oversight responsibilities regarding foreign trade. It is designed as a quick reference guide on two key elements of U.S. trade statutes: (a) expiration dates for major trade programs and trade statutes; and (b) mandated periodic reports to Congress. To this end, the report provides this information in two tables. Table 1 includes expiration dates of programs or laws. Table 2 includes information on mandated reports to Congress by the Executive branch, as required under various trade laws.
The organization of, and information in, this report is based on the content and structure of the House Ways and Means Committee Print, Overview and Compilation of U.S. Trade Statutes, Parts I and II (2005). Together, these two volumes are commonly referred to as the House Ways and Means Blue Book, referring to the color of their covers. The Blue Book pulls together key information for Congress relating to the trade statutes.
Specifically, Table 1 lists expiration dates for the roughly 24 trade statutes or programs that include termination dates ? which range from 2007 to 2015. It also lists reciprocal trade agreements, which have no expiration dates. Table 2 includes laws that require, in all, approximately 41 separate reports to Congress. The required publication frequency for most of these reports is typically either biannual, annual, or biennial.
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