19 U.S.C. § 4203 — Congressional oversight, consultations, and access to information

(a) Consultations with Members of Congress

(1) Consultations during negotiations. During negotiations under this chapter, the United States Trade Representative must:

(A) Meet, when any Member of Congress asks, about the negotiating goals, the status of ongoing negotiations, and what changes to United States laws or their administration might be recommended to Congress to carry out a trade agreement or its requirements, amendments, or recommendations.

(B) Give any Member of Congress who asks access to relevant negotiation documents, including classified documents.

(C) Consult closely and promptly with the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance, and keep them fully informed about the negotiations.

(D) Consult closely and promptly with the House and Senate Advisory Groups on Negotiations convened under subsection (c), and with every House and Senate committee having jurisdiction over laws that could be affected by a resulting trade agreement; the Trade Representative must keep all of them fully informed.

(E) For negotiations and agreements about agricultural trade, also consult closely and promptly, including immediately before an agreement is initialed, with the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and keep them fully informed.

(2) Consultations before an agreement takes effect. Before exchanging notes that make a trade agreement effective, the Trade Representative must consult closely and promptly with the Members and committees listed in paragraph (1). The Trade Representative must also keep them fully informed about steps the trading partner has taken to comply with the agreement provisions that will take effect on its effective date.

(3) Enhanced coordination with Congress.

(A) Written guidelines. After consulting the chairmen and ranking members of the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance, the Trade Representative:

(i) must, no later than 120 days after June 29, 2015, develop written guidelines for stronger coordination with Congress about negotiations under this chapter, including coordination with the congressional advisers designated under subsection (b); and

(ii) may revise the guidelines when necessary.

(B) Content of guidelines. The guidelines must improve coordination through procedures that ensure:

(i) prompt briefings, when a Member of Congress asks, about negotiating goals, the status of ongoing negotiations under this chapter, and possible changes to United States laws or their administration that could be recommended to carry out a trade agreement or its requirements, amendments, or recommendations; and

(ii) detailed and timely information for Members of Congress and, when appropriate, their staff with proper security clearances, about the negotiations and relevant documents, including classified information. Committee staff with proper security clearances must receive information appropriate to the committee’s responsibilities for trade-agreement programs affected by the negotiations.

(C) Distribution. The Trade Representative must distribute these guidelines to every Federal agency that could have jurisdiction over laws affected by trade negotiations.

(b) Designated congressional advisers

(1) Designation.

(A) House of Representatives. In each Congress, the Speaker of the House may designate any House Member as a congressional adviser on trade policy and negotiations. Before doing so, the Speaker must consult the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means and the chairman and ranking member of the committee from which the Member will be chosen.

(B) Senate. In each Congress, the President pro tempore of the Senate may designate any Senator as a congressional adviser on trade policy and negotiations. The President pro tempore must consult the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Finance and the chairman and ranking member of the committee from which the Member will be chosen.

(2) Consultations with designated advisers. During negotiations under this chapter, the Trade Representative must consult closely and promptly, including immediately before initialing an agreement, with the advisers designated under paragraph (1), and keep them fully informed about the negotiations.

(3) Accreditation. The Trade Representative, acting for the President, must accredit each designated Member as a delegate and official adviser to United States delegations at international conferences, meetings, and negotiating sessions concerning trade agreements.

(c) Congressional advisory groups on negotiations

(1) In general. No later than 60 days after June 29, 2015, and no later than 30 days after each Congress convenes, the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means must convene the House Advisory Group on Negotiations, and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance must convene the Senate Advisory Group on Negotiations. This subsection calls them collectively the “congressional advisory groups.”

(2) Members and functions.

(A) House group membership. In each Congress, the House group consists of:

(i) the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means, plus three additional members of that committee, no more than two of whom may belong to the same political party; and

(ii) the chairman and ranking member, or their designees, of each House committee that, under House rules, would have jurisdiction over laws affected by a trade-agreement negotiation conducted during that Congress and covered by this chapter.

(B) Senate group membership. In each Congress, the Senate group consists of:

(i) the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Finance, plus three additional members of that committee, no more than two of whom may belong to the same political party; and

(ii) the chairman and ranking member, or their designees, of each Senate committee that, under Senate rules, would have jurisdiction over laws affected by a trade-agreement negotiation conducted during that Congress and covered by this chapter.

(C) Accreditation. The Trade Representative, acting for the President, must accredit every member described in subparagraphs (A)(i) and (B)(i) as a delegate and official adviser to the United States delegation in negotiations for any trade agreement covered by this chapter. Each chairman and ranking member described there may also designate up to three personnel with proper security clearances to serve as delegates and official advisers in those negotiations. The Trade Representative must accredit every member described in subparagraphs (A)(ii) and (B)(ii) as a delegate and official adviser to the United States delegation in the negotiations that caused that member to belong to an advisory group.

(D) Consultation and advice. The groups must consult with and advise the Trade Representative about specific goals, negotiating strategies and positions, development of the applicable trade agreement, and compliance with and enforcement of the commitments negotiated under it.

(E) Chair. The House group is chaired by the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. The Senate group is chaired by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.

(F) Coordination with other committees. A member of any committee represented on an advisory group may send comments about a covered trade-agreement negotiation to that committee’s member of the appropriate advisory group.

(3) Guidelines.

(A) Purpose and revision. After consulting the chairmen and ranking members of the House Committee on Ways and Means and Senate Committee on Finance, the Trade Representative:

(i) must, no later than 120 days after June 29, 2015, develop written guidelines to support useful and timely information exchange between the Trade Representative and the groups; and

(ii) may revise the guidelines when necessary.

(B) Content. The guidelines must provide, among other things, for:

(i) detailed briefings, on a fixed schedule stated in the guidelines, about negotiating goals and positions and the status of negotiations. Briefings must begin as soon as practicable after the groups convene and become more frequent as negotiations reach their final stage;

(ii) access for group members and staff with proper security clearances to relevant negotiation documents, including classified documents;

(iii) the closest practicable coordination between the Trade Representative and the groups during all critical periods, including at negotiation locations;

(iv) consultation after the agreement is concluded about continuing compliance with and enforcement of its negotiated commitments; and

(v) the schedule for submitting the report required by 19 U.S.C. § 4204(d)(3).

(4) Request for meeting. If a majority of either advisory group asks, the President must meet with that group before beginning negotiations for a trade agreement or at any other time about the negotiations.

(d) Consultations with the public

(1) Guidelines for public engagement. After consulting the chairmen and ranking members of the House Committee on Ways and Means and Senate Committee on Finance, the Trade Representative:

(A) must, no later than 120 days after June 29, 2015, develop written guidelines for public access to information about negotiations under this chapter; and

(B) may revise the guidelines when necessary.

(2) Purposes. The guidelines must:

(A) support transparency;

(B) encourage public participation; and

(C) promote collaboration in the negotiation process.

(3) Content. The guidelines must include procedures that:

(A) quickly disclose information in forms the public can readily find and use; and

(B) provide frequent chances for public input through Federal Register requests for comments and other means.

(4) Distribution. The Trade Representative must distribute the guidelines to every Federal agency that could have jurisdiction over laws affected by trade negotiations.

(e) Consultations with advisory committees

(1) Guidelines for working with advisory committees. After consulting the chairmen and ranking members of the House Committee on Ways and Means and Senate Committee on Finance, the Trade Representative:

(A) must, no later than 120 days after June 29, 2015, develop written guidelines for stronger coordination with advisory committees established under 19 U.S.C. § 2155 about negotiations under this chapter; and

(B) may revise the guidelines when necessary.

(2) Content. The guidelines must improve coordination with those advisory committees through procedures that ensure:

(A) timely briefings and regular opportunities for the committees to give input throughout negotiations about matters relevant to the sectors or functional areas they represent; and

(B) detailed and timely information for each committee member about negotiations and relevant documents, including classified information, on matters relevant to the sectors or functional areas that member represents. When appropriate, the information must also go to a designee of that member who has proper security clearances.

(3) Distribution. The Trade Representative must distribute these guidelines to every Federal agency that could have jurisdiction over laws affected by trade negotiations.

(f) Omitted.