[Title 3 CFR 13116]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - January 1, 2000 Edition]
[Title 3 - Presidential Documents]
[Executive Order 13116 - Executive Order 13116 of March 31, 1999]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
3Presidential Documents12000-01-012000-01-01falseExecutive Order 13116 of March 31, 199913116Executive Order 13116Presidential Documents
Executive Order 13116 of March 31, 1999
Identification of Trade Expansion Priorities and Discriminatory
Procurement Practices
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the
laws of the United States of America, including title III of the Act of
March 3, 1993, as amended (41 U.S.C. 10d), sections 141 and 301-310 of
the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the Act) (19 U.S.C. 2171, 2411-2420),
title III of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended (19 U.S.C.
2511-2518), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and to
ensure that the trade policies of the United States advance, to the
greatest extent possible, the export of the products and services of the
United States and that trade policy resources are used efficiently, it
is hereby ordered as follows:
Part I: Identification of Trade Expansion Priorities
Section 1. Identification and Annual Report. (a) Within 30 days of the
submission of the National Trade Estimate Report required by section
181(b) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 2241(b)) for 1999, 2000, and 2001, the
United States Trade Representative (Trade Representative) shall review
United States trade expansion priorities and identify priority foreign
country practices, the elimination of which is likely to have the most
significant potential to increase United States exports, either directly
or through the establishment of a beneficial precedent. The Trade
Representative shall submit to the Committee on Finance of the Senate
and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, and
shall publish in the Federal Register, a report on the priority foreign
country practices identified.
(b) In identifying priority foreign country practices under
paragraph (a) of this section, the Trade Representative shall take into
account all relevant factors, including:
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(1) the major barriers and trade distorting practices described in the National Trade Estimate Report;
(2) the trade agreements to which a foreign country is a party and its compliance with those agreements;
(3) the medium-term and long-term implications of foreign government procurement plans; and
(4) the international competitive position and export potential of United States products and services.
(c) The Trade Representative may include in the report, if
appropriate, a description of the foreign country practices that may in
the future warrant identification as priority foreign country practices.
The Trade Representative also may include a statement about other
foreign country practices that were not identified because they are
already being addressed by provisions of United States trade law,
existing bilateral trade agreements, or in trade negotiations with other
countries and progress is being made toward their elimination.
Sec. 2. Resolution. Upon submission of the report required by paragraph
(a) of section 1 of this part, the Trade Representative shall, with
respect to any priority foreign country practice identified therein,
engage the country concerned for the purpose of seeking a satisfactory
resolution, for example, by obtaining compliance with a trade agreement
or the elimination of the practice as quickly as possible, or, if this
is not feasible, by providing for compensatory trade benefits.
Sec. 3. Initiation of Investigations. Within 90 days of the submission
of the report required by paragraph (a) of section 1 of this part, the
Trade Representative shall initiate under section 302(b)(1) of the Act
(19 U.S.C. 2412(b)(1)) investigations with respect to all of the
priority foreign country practices identified, unless during the 90-day
period the Trade Representative determines that a satisfactory
resolution of the matter to be investigated has been achieved.
Part II: Identification of Discriminatory Government Procurement
Practices
Section 1. Identification and Annual Report. (a) Within 30 days of the
submission of the National Trade Estimate Report for 1999, 2000, and
2001, the Trade Representative shall submit to the Committees on Finance
and on Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committees on Ways and
Means and Government Reform and Oversight of the House of
Representatives, and shall publish in the Federal Register, a report on
the extent to which foreign countries discriminate against U.S. products
or services in making government procurements.
(b) In the report, the Trade Representative shall identify countries
that:
(1) are not in compliance with their obligations under the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government
Procurement (the GPA), Chapter 10 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), or other agreements
relating to government procurement (procurement agreements) to which that country and the United States
are parties; or
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(2) maintain, in government procurement, a significant and persistent pattern or practice of discrimination
against U.S. products or services that results in identifiable harm to U.S. businesses and whose products
or services are acquired in significant amounts by the United States Government.
Sec. 2. Considerations in Making Identifications. In making the
identifications required by section 1 of this part, the Trade
Representative shall: (a) consider the requirements of the GPA, NAFTA,
or other procurement agreements, government procurement practices, and
the effects of such practices on U.S. businesses as a basis for
evaluating whether the procurement practices of foreign governments do
not provide fair market opportunities for U.S. products or services;
(b) take into account, among other factors, whether and to what
extent countries that are parties to the GPA, NAFTA, or other
procurement agreements, and other countries described in section 1 of
this part:
(1) use sole-sourcing or otherwise noncompetitive procedures for procurement that could have been conducted
using competitive procedures;
(2) conduct what normally would have been one procurement as two or more procurements, to decrease the
anticipated contract values below the value threshold of the GPA, NAFTA, or other procurement agreements,
or to make the procurement less attractive to U.S. businesses;
(3) announce procurement opportunities with inadequate time intervals for U.S. businesses to submit bids; and
(4) use specifications in such a way as to limit the ability of U.S. suppliers to participate in procurements;
and
(c) consider information included in the National Trade Estimate
Report, and any other additional criteria deemed appropriate, including,
to the extent such information is available, the failure to apply
transparent and competitive procedures or maintain and enforce effective
prohibitions on bribery and other corrupt practices in connection with
government procurement.
Sec. 3. Impact of Noncompliance and Denial of Comparable Treatment. The
Trade Representative shall take into account, in identifying countries
in the annual report and in any action required by this part, the
relative impact of any noncompliance with the GPA, NAFTA, or other
procurement agreements, or of other discrimination on U.S. commerce, and
the extent to which such noncompliance or discrimination has impeded the
ability of U.S. suppliers to participate in procurements on terms
comparable to those available to suppliers of the country in question
when seeking to sell goods or services to the United States Government.
Sec. 4. Resolution. Upon submission of the report required by section 1
of this part, the Trade Representative shall engage any country
identified therein for the purpose of seeking a satisfactory resolution,
for example, by obtaining compliance with the GPA, NAFTA, or other
procurement agreements or the elimination of the discriminatory
procurement practices as quickly as possible, or, if this is not
feasible, by providing for compensatory trade benefits.
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Sec. 5. Initiation of Investigations. (a) Within 90 days of the
submission of the report required by section 1 of this part, the Trade
Representative shall initiate under section 302(b)(1) of the Act (19
U.S.C. 2412(b)(1)) investigations with respect to any practice that:
(1) was the basis for the identification of a country under section 1; and
(2) is not at that time the subject of any other investigation or action under title III, chapter 1, of the
Act,
unless during the 90-day period the Trade Representative determines that
a satisfactory resolution of the matter to be investigated has been
achieved.
(b) For investigations initiated under paragraph (a) of this section
(other than an investigation involving the GPA or NAFTA), the Trade
Representative shall apply the time limits and procedures in section
304(a)(3) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 2414(a)(3)). The time limits in
subsection 304(a)(3)(B) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 2414(a)(3)(B)) shall apply
if the Trade Representative determines that:
(1) complex or complicated issues are involved in the investigation that require additional time;
(2) the foreign country involved in the investigation is making substantial progress in drafting or
implementing legislative or administrative measures that will end the discriminatory procurement practice;
or
(3) such foreign country is undertaking enforcement measures to end the discriminatory procurement practice.
Part III: Direction
Section 1. Presidential Direction. The authorities delegated pursuant to
this order shall be exercised subject to any subsequent direction by the
President in a particular matter.
Sec. 2. Consultations and Advice. In developing the annual reports
required by part I and part II of this order, the Trade Representative
shall consult with executive agencies and seek information and advice
from U.S. businesses in the United States and in the countries involved
in the practices under consideration.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 31, 1999.