The Trade and Tariff Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-573) clarified the conditions under which unfair trade cases under

Section 301 Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974 (19U.S.C.br>§ 2411 last amended March 23, 2018) authorizes the President to take all appropriate action, including tariff-based and non-tariff-based retaliation, to obtain the removal of any act, poli ...

of the

Trade Act of 1974 The Trade Act of 1974 (, codified at ) was passed to help industry in the United States become more competitive or phase workers into other industries or occupations. Fast track authority The Trade Act of 1974 created fast track authority for ...

(P.L. 93-618) can be pursued. It also provided bilateral trade negotiating authority for the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement and the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement, and set out procedures to be followed for congressional approval of future bilateral trade agreements. The bill was sponsored by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Sam Gibbons Sam Melville Gibbons (January 20, 1920 – October 10, 2012) was an American politician from the U.S. state, state of Florida, who served in the Florida State House of Representatives, Florida State Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives. ...

(FL-7) and was signed into law by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

on October 30, 1984.

Congressional gatekeeping

A key feature of the legislation was its modification of the 1974 Trade Act's

Fast track authority The fast track authority for brokering trade agreements is the authority of the President of the United States to negotiate international agreements in an expedited manner and with limited congressional oversight. Renamed the trade promotion a ...

, incorporating a "committee gatekeeping" device. Congress opted to adapt the fast-track procedure to possible bilateral free-trade agreements with nations other than Israel.Harold Hongju Koh, History of the Fast-Track Approval Mechanism" Going forward, the procedure provided that if a country other than Israel requested free-trade negotiations with the United States, the President would be required to notify two "gatekeeper" committees – the House Ways and Means and the Senate Finance committees – and to consult with those committees for a period of 60 legislative days before giving the statutorily required 90-day notice of his intent to sign an agreement. If neither committee disapproved of the negotiations during this 60-day committee consultation period, any subsequently negotiated agreement would receive fast-track legislative consideration. The 1984 Act thus greatly increased the influence of Congress in negotiating trade agreements. For example, the 60-day pre-negotiation consultation period with the two committees secured their involvement in the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement negotiations months before formal talks began, allowing Congress to extract concessions from the President as a condition of letting negotiations proceed.

References

* United States federal trade legislation 1984 in the United States {{US tax acts