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[Pages S3003-S3004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS
The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and
were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:
POM-61. A resolution adopted by the House of
Representatives of the State of Michigan urging the United
States Congress to speedily approve the recently negotiated
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement; to the Committee on
Finance.
House Resolution No. 81
Whereas, The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is
a close tri-lateral relationship between the United States,
Canada, and Mexico. For more than 25 years, NAFTA has been
economically, culturally and strategically important for all
parties; and
Whereas, NAFTA is significant for the American economy.
Trade with Canada and Mexico supports nearly 12 million
American jobs, and nearly 5 million of those jobs are
supported by increased NAFTA trade. Since the agreement began
in 1994, trade with Canada and Mexico has nearly quadrupled
to $1.3 trillion, and the two countries buy more than one-
third of U.S. merchandise exports. U.S. service exports to
Canada and Mexico have also tripled, rising from $27.5
billion in 1993 to $91.3 billion in 2017, thanks to the trade
agreement's new market access and clearer rules; and
Whereas, Trade with Canada and Mexico is significant to
U.S. states. For 43 states, our contiguous international
neighbors represent
[[Page S3004]]
the first or second largest export market, and all but one
state counts Canada or Mexico as a top three trading partner.
Canada is Michigan's largest export market, and Mexico is
Michigan's third largest export market. NAFTA has also
contributed to a 300 percent increase in Michigan's
agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico; and
Whereas, Small and medium-sized enterprises in the United
States rely on trade with Canada and Mexico to support and
grow their business. Canada and Mexico are the top two export
destinations for U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises,
more than 125,000 of which sold their goods and services in
Canada and Mexico in 2014; and
Whereas, Trade among our North American trading partners is
made up predominantly of intellectual property (IP)-intensive
goods and services that employ millions of Americans in high
paying jobs and generate billions of dollars in economic
output. However, many of the IP-intensive goods, services,
and exchanges through which trade is facilitated did not
exist when the agreement was drafted. This situation has
resulted in uneven and weak IP enforcement. Stronger
enforcement of IP rights will encourage more foreign direct
investment and increase gross domestic product; and
Whereas, The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
creates a 21st Century trade agreement for North America. The
renegotiated USMCA has provisions favorable to U.S.
autoworkers that would help level the playing field between
U.S. and Mexican autoworkers. The updated agreement is also
more beneficial to the agricultural sector than NAFTA and
will offer a higher degree of certainty and stability to
Michigan farmers. The new IP provisions are the most
comprehensive of any multilateral U.S. trade agreement and
are vastly superior to those included in NAFTA; and
Whereas, A seamless transition between NAFTA and the USMCA
will ensure that none of the benefits in trade accomplished
by the integration of the three North American economies will
be lost: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the
Congress of the United States to speedily approve the
recently negotiated United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement;
and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the
United States House of Representatives, and the members of
the Michigan congressional delegation.
____
POM-62. A resolution adopted by the Commissioner's Court of
Grayson County, Texas, urging the United States Congress to
designate the Butterfield Overland Trail as a National
Historic Trail; to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources.
____________________
