{
  "id": "RL32700",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32700",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 304817,
      "date": "2005-06-09",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:42:32.336029",
      "title": "Seeking Withdrawal of Congressional Approval of the WTO Agreement: Background, Legislative Procedure, and Practical Consequences",
      "summary": "The Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) legislatively approved the World Trade\nOrganization\n(WTO) Agreement and the specialized agreements annexed to it. It also enacted the provisions\nimplementing the many obligations the United States undertook under them, and contains provisions\n(Section 125) establishing the legislative procedure for Congressional withdrawal of such approval. \n Initiation of such withdrawal action is predicated on the transmission by the Administration of\na mandatory quinquennial report, next due by March 1, 2005, analyzing the costs and benefits of past\nU.S. participation in the WTO as well as the value of continued U.S. participation. Thereupon, a\nprivileged joint resolution may be introduced by any Member to withdraw the Congress' approval\nof the WTO Agreement provided by the URAA. \n The legislative procedure for such withdrawal basically follows Section 152 of the Trade Act\nof 1974, which provides for the enactment of joint resolutions disapproving certain trade-related\nactions, which for this purpose has been modified specifically by Section 125 of the URAA. The\nprocedure provides for a (nonmandatory) introduction of the resolution, with mandatory,\nnonamendable language, and specific expedited (fast-track) consideration.\n Although the immediate function of the withdrawal provision is to create a mechanism that will\npermit periodic Congressional review of U.S. participation in the WTO and the provision focuses\nspecifically on withdrawing the approval of the WTO Agreement, it has been considered in Congress\nand in the civil society in the broader context of United States' withdrawal from actual participation\n(i.e., membership) in the WTO. \n On June 9, 2005, the House defeated a resolution ( H.J.Res. 27 ) to withdraw\napproval of the WTO Agreement by a vote of 338-86. A similar resolution in the year 2000 failed\nby a wider margin (363-56) in the House, and a withdrawal resolution was not even introduced in\nthe Senate. A resolution offers Congress the opportunity to debate the costs and benefits of U.S.\nparticipation in the WTO. In this context, Congressional concern with U.S. trading partners,\nparticularly the European Union and Canada, and various other contentious issues emerged in the\nfloor debate and statements on  H.J.Res. 27 . Such issues are dealt with in detail in  CRS Report RL32918 ,  World Trade Organization (WTO): Issues in the Debate on U.S.\nParticipation, \nby Ian F. Fergusson and Lenore Sek.\n This report, which will be updated as needed, sets out the background of the issue, the\nfunctional timetable and requirements for taking the legislative action for such withdrawal, and the\nrelated WTO procedure. It also describes past and current activity under the withdrawal provision\nand suggests the probable consequences of the withdrawal resolution, if enacted and implemented.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL32700",
          "sha1": "43f253169d4bcadef1bcf0e4936e6738c6d3cb37",
          "filename": "files/20050609_RL32700_43f253169d4bcadef1bcf0e4936e6738c6d3cb37.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL32700",
          "sha1": "b03d90b5403cf7467d12d9f45a96325ddba87081",
          "filename": "files/20050609_RL32700_b03d90b5403cf7467d12d9f45a96325ddba87081.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": []
}