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Regular Session, 2014
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 203
BY REPRESENTATIVE EDWARDS
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development
to reevaluate the cooperative endeavor agreement with the Russian-based EuroChem.
WHEREAS, on July 10, 2013, Governor Bobby Jindal and EuroChem chief
executive officer Dmitry Strezhnev announced that EuroChem committed to build an
ammonia and urea production plant in Louisiana to manufacture and distribute fertilizer
products in the United States and other markets; and
WHEREAS, to secure the project, the state offered this Russian-based company an
incentive package that includes a six million dollar performance-based grant to offset the
costs of site infrastructure improvements; and
WHEREAS, in addition, EuroChem is poised to receive the benefit of the
Department of Economic Development's FastStart workforce training programs and is
expected to utilize Louisiana's Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs, all of
which are funded with tax dollars; and
WHEREAS, since the announcement of the six million dollar incentive grant to a
Russian-based company, relations between the United States and Russia have become tense
due to events in Ukraine; and
WHEREAS, the first three months of 2014 brought a sweeping chain of events to
the world political stage: the Ukraine's parliament voted to oust President Viktor
Yanukovych; Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Crimea, located in southern
Ukraine; and a majority of Crimeans voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia, an
election that the United States does not recognize as legal; and
WHEREAS, following these events, Russian President Putin signed a law which
annexed Crimea as a part of Russia, an action that the United States views as an illegal land
grab; and ENROLLEDHR NO. 203
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WHEREAS, in late March 2014, the United States targeted sanctions against persons
close to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine crisis and threatened broad
penalties against key sectors of Russia's economy if the country moved deeper into the
sovereign nation of Ukraine; and
WHEREAS, in retaliation, Russia issued its own sanctions against a number of
individuals in the executive and legislative branches of the United States government,
including the chair of the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources;
and
WHEREAS, the United States Department of the Treasury has cautioned Americans
against conducting transactions with Russian firms that may be controlled by an individual
who may have sanctions imposed upon him, even if that person does not own a majority
stake; and
WHEREAS, Gazprom, the giant energy company which is majority owned by the
Russian state, threatened to reduce deliveries of natural gas to Ukraine, a move that if taken
could threaten the delivery of natural gas to a number of our European allies; and
WHEREAS, all this at a time when EuroChem, a company that receives funding
from Russian state banks, will gain access to our state's much less expensive resources,
including natural gas that runs through Louisiana pipelines; and
WHEREAS, in the short amount of time between the announcement of the
EuroChem project and today, the world stage has changed dramatically and what once
appeared to be an informed, sound investment for the state may end up as a complete loss
given current relations between the United States and Russia; and
WHEREAS, even after EuroChem's purchase of two thousand one hundred fifty
acres of land from the state, it was announced that the company has not yet selected a final
location for the proposed plant; and
WHEREAS, at a time when Russia and the United States are at odds over Russia's
position in the Ukraine, the EuroChem project may not result in a positive return on state tax
dollars, and may in fact result in a complete loss at a time when our state needs far
outnumber our state dollars; and
WHEREAS, it would be prudent to reevaluate the EuroChem project given the
company's home base is in Russia and the uncertainties surrounding the project. ENROLLEDHR NO. 203
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request that the secretary of the Department
of Economic Development reevaluate and explore rescinding the cooperative endeavor
agreement with the Russian-based company EuroChem.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Department of Economic Development.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES