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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE RESOLUTION 11

2    AMENDMENT NO. ___. Amend House Resolution 11 by replacing
3everything after the heading with the following:
 
4    "WHEREAS, For almost 40 years, the United States Congress
5has pursued expansion of trade opportunities with other
6countries through free trade agreements that eliminate
7barriers, create transparency, and set rules to ensure fair
8trading terms for the United States; and
 
9    WHEREAS, As of January 1, 2014, the United States has 14
10free trade agreements with 20 partner countries, including:
11Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican
12Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Israel,
13Jordan, Korea, Morocco, Canada, Mexico, Oman, Panama, Peru, and
14Singapore; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In 2012, the United States' current free trade

 

 

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1agreements supported nearly 46% of the country's merchandise
2exports, totaling approximately $718 billion; and
 
3    WHEREAS, In July of 2013, the United States began
4negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment
5Partnership (T-TIP) free trade agreement with the European
6Union; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The European Union was the United States' largest
8export market in 2012 and has 28 member countries, including
9Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
10Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
11Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
12Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia,
13Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom; and
 
14    WHEREAS, In 2011, the United States and the European Union
15maintained approximately $3.7 trillion in investment in each
16other's economies; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The United States and the European Union together
18generate approximately half of the world's gross domestic
19product output; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The goals of the T-TIP agreement include a plan to
21expand the European markets for trade with the United States,

 

 

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1thereby strengthening the world's largest investment
2relationship; and
 
3    WHEREAS, In 2013, the United States' current free trade
4agreements benefited the State of Illinois by accounting for
5nearly 54% of goods exported from the State, totaling
6approximately $35.7 billion; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Illinois' largest merchandise export categories
8are machinery, transportation equipment, chemicals, computer
9and electronic products, and petroleum and coal products; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Illinois' top industrial goods exported to the
11European Union include machinery products with an approximate
12tariff rate of 9.7%, chemicals with an approximate tariff rate
13of 6.5%, and automotive products with an approximate tariff
14rate of 22%; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The elimination of tariffs through T-TIP will
16allow Illinois to gain greater market access for all goods
17exported to the European Union and its trade partners by
18enhancing the State's competitiveness in the global
19marketplace; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Any "Fast Track" or Trade Promotion Authority
21legislation filed before Congress must have greater openness,

 

 

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1robust opportunities for citizen and Congressional
2participation in trade negotiations, and clear accountability
3mechanisms to ensure the executive branch brings back trade
4deals that will have a positive impact on the United States
5trade balance by creating good, family-wage jobs, promoting
6transparency in maintaining health, safety, and environmental
7protections, addressing localized discriminatory practices,
8and ensuring that state and local governments can continue to
9legislate and regulate in the public interest; therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
12urge Congress to use its authority under Article I, Section 8
13of the United States Constitution, to "regulate Commerce with
14foreign Nations" if any "Fast Track" or "Trade Promotion
15Authority" legislation fails to meet the aforementioned
16requirements; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Trade
18Representative to negotiate the Transatlantic Trade and
19Investment Partnership (T-TIP) in a fair and transparent way
20that will have a positive impact on the United States trade
21balance; and be it further
 
22    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
23presented to the President of the United States, the United

 

 

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1States Trade Representative, the United States Senate Majority
2Leader, and the United States Senate Minority Leader.".