Trade Law Reform Act of 2006

Trade Law Reform Act of 2006 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to revise various specified factors that the International Trade Commission (ITC) must consider in making material injury determinations in countervailing duty and antidumping duty proceedings.

Repeals the one-year monitoring program for cases involving persistent dumping. Requires initiation of an expedited antidumping duty investigation in such cases.

Suspends for three years the requirement that the administering authority direct the Customs Service to allow, at the importer's option, the posting of a bond or security in lieu of a cash deposit, until completion of an antidumping or countervailing duty review, for each entry of the subject merchandise (bonding privileges).

Modifies certain factors used to value freight for imputs in nonmarket economy country antidumping calculations.

Requires enactment of a joint resolution by Congress before revocation of a foreign country as a nonmarket economy country. (Currently the administering authority has power to make such a revocation without prior congressional approval.)

Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to change the standard for determining if an imported product is harming domestic producers by requiring a showing that the product causes or threatens to cause serious injury. (Current law requires a product to be a substantial cause of injury).

Amends the Trade Act of 2002 to: (1) urge the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to reject any trade agreement proposal, whether through the World Trade Organization (WTO) or with any country, if such agreement would weaken existing U.S. trade remedy laws; and (2) increase the President's reporting duties under such Act.

Congressional Advisory Commission on WTO Dispute Settlement Act - Establishes the Congressional Advisory Commission on WTO Dispute Settlement.

Requires a certain steel import licensing and monitoring program to remain in effect, and be established by the Secretary of Commerce as a permanent program.

Applies the amendments made by this Act to goods from Canada and Mexico.

Requires participation in WTO consultations and panel proceedings to be allowed to certain private U.S. persons supportive of the government's position before a dispute settlement panel or Appellate Body of the WTO if they have a direct economic interest in the resolution of the matters in dispute. Limits this requirement to proceedings in which the USTR seeks to: (1) enforce U.S. rights under a multilateral trade agreement; or (2) defend a challenged action or determination of the U.S. government.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov