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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION 11

 
2    WHEREAS, For almost 40 years, the United States Congress
3has pursued expansion of trade opportunities with other
4countries through free trade agreements that eliminate
5barriers, create transparency, and set rules to ensure fair
6trading terms for the United States; and
 
7    WHEREAS, As of January 1, 2014, the United States has 14
8free trade agreements with 20 partner countries, including:
9Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican
10Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Israel,
11Jordan, Korea, Morocco, Canada, Mexico, Oman, Panama, Peru, and
12Singapore; and
 
13    WHEREAS, In 2012, the United States' current free trade
14agreements supported nearly 46% of the country's merchandise
15exports, totaling approximately $718 billion; and
 
16    WHEREAS, In July of 2013, the United States began
17negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment
18Partnership (T-TIP) free trade agreement with the European
19Union; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The European Union was the United States' largest
21export market in 2012 and has 28 member countries, including

 

 

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1Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
2Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
3Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
4Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia,
5Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom; and
 
6    WHEREAS, In 2011, the United States and the European Union
7maintained approximately $3.7 trillion in investment in each
8other's economies; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The United States and the European Union together
10generate approximately half of the world's gross domestic
11product output; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The goals of the T-TIP agreement include a plan to
13expand the European markets for trade with the United States,
14thereby strengthening the world's largest investment
15relationship; and
 
16    WHEREAS, In 2013, the United States' current free trade
17agreements benefited the State of Illinois by accounting for
18nearly 54% of goods exported from the State, totaling
19approximately $35.7 billion; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Illinois' largest merchandise export categories
21are machinery, transportation equipment, chemicals, computer

 

 

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1and electronic products, and petroleum and coal products; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Illinois' top industrial goods exported to the
3European Union include machinery products with an approximate
4tariff rate of 9.7%, chemicals with an approximate tariff rate
5of 6.5%, and automotive products with an approximate tariff
6rate of 22%; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The elimination of tariffs through T-TIP will
8allow Illinois to gain greater market access for all goods
9exported to the European Union and its trade partners by
10enhancing the State's competitiveness in the global
11marketplace; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Any "Fast Track" or Trade Promotion Authority
13legislation filed before Congress must have greater openness,
14robust opportunities for citizen and Congressional
15participation in trade negotiations, and clear accountability
16mechanisms to ensure the executive branch brings back trade
17deals that will have a positive impact on the United States
18trade balance by creating good, family-wage jobs, promoting
19transparency in maintaining health, safety, and environmental
20protections, addressing localized discriminatory practices,
21and ensuring that state and local governments can continue to
22legislate and regulate in the public interest; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
3urge Congress to use its authority under Article I, Section 8
4of the United States Constitution, to "regulate Commerce with
5foreign Nations" if any "Fast Track" or "Trade Promotion
6Authority" legislation fails to meet the aforementioned
7requirements; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Trade
9Representative to negotiate the Transatlantic Trade and
10Investment Partnership (T-TIP) in a fair and transparent way
11that will have a positive impact on the United States trade
12balance; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
14presented to the President of the United States, the United
15States Trade Representative, the United States Senate Majority
16Leader, and the United States Senate Minority Leader.