Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2754 - Shipbuilding Trade Agreement Act

(House)
(Crane (R) IL, Gibbons (D) FL, and 4 cosponsors)

The Administration supports House passage of H.R. 2754, which would implement the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Shipbuilding Agreement, to which the United States is a party. Enactment of H.R. 2754 would permit U.S. shipyards to benefit from the elimination of unfair foreign government subsidies and other trade distorting practices.

The Administration opposes, however, the so-called Bateman amendment, which contains provisions that would be inconsistent with the Shipbuilding Agreement and, if adopted, would likely result in failure of the Agreement. The amendment would be contrary to the Agreement in several ways. For example, it would extend the present terms of the Title XI shipbuilding loan guarantee program until January 1, 1999, and the delivery date for vessels covered by these guarantees until January 1, 2002. It would also contravene the Agreement's provisions allowing other parties redress in the unlikely event that unexpectedly large Jones Act vessel construction occurs and is determined by the Agreement's signatories to undermine the Agreement. This provision allowed the United States to negotiate the exemption for the home-build requirements of the Jones Act, which allow only U.S.-built vessels to operate in coastal trade.

Pay-As-You-Go Scoring

H.R. 2754 would afreet receipts; therefore, it is subject to the pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirement of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1990. OMB's preliminary scoring estimates for this bill are presented in the table below. Final scoring of this legislation may deviate from this estimate.

Pay-As-You-Go Estimates
($ millions)