H.R. 694 · 119th Congress
Restoring Trade Fairness Act
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Not yet voted on. This bill is still a proposal: it hasn't reached a floor vote, and its text can change in committee or on the floor before any vote.
R
MoolenaarSponsor2 cosponsors · 1 D, 1 R
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill establishes various trade measures related to China, including by revoking China's permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status and increasing the rates of duty (i.e., tariffs) on Chinese imported goods. The bill prohibits imported goods originating from North Korea, China, Russia, or Iran from receiving de minimis treatment.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Jan 23, 2025
Restoring Trade Fairness Act
This bill establishes various trade measures related to China, including by revoking China's permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status and increasing the rates of duty (i.e., tariffs) on Chinese imported goods. The bill prohibits imported goods originating from North Korea, China, Russia, or Iran from receiving de minimis treatment. (Current law allows for U.S. imports under a de minimis threshold of $800 per shipment to enter free of tariffs, fees, and taxes.)
Specifically, the bill revokes China's PNTR status. Currently, China's PNTR status allows for Chinese goods to have duty rates set forth in column 1 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS). With the removal of China's PNTR status, the bill generally sets the applicable duty rates on imported Chinese goods at the higher rates listed in column 2 of the HTS, with exceptions.
The bill establishes a minimum duty rate of 35% for all Chinese goods, which requires column 2 rates to be at least 35%. However, the bill establishes a minimum duty rate of 100% for a list of specified goods (e.g., various minerals, certain vaccines and drugs, and certain defense-related articles). Duty rates are phased in over five years and adjusted annually for inflation.
The bill also
- authorizes the President to take additional actions related to trade with China,
- requires merchandise imported from China to be appraised based on U.S. value, and
- establishes a trust fund to compensate U.S. producers for lost revenue resulting from retaliatory actions by China.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Restoring Trade Fairness Act
Latest action (Jan 23, 2025): Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance · Origin: House · Introduced: Jan 23, 2025
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.