SLS 15RS-400 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 68
BY SENATOR MORRISH
AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES. Memorializes Congress to restore trade relations
between the United States and Cuba in order to open the market to Louisiana rice.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To memorialize the Congress of the United States to restore trade relations between the
3 United States and Cuba in order to open the market to Louisiana rice.
4 WHEREAS, in 2014, Louisiana produced over three billion pounds of rice
5 amounting to fifteen percent of the United States' rice production; and
6 WHEREAS, the rice industry provides over nine thousand jobs to the Louisiana
7 economy; and
8 WHEREAS, increased rice exports to Cuba would lead to greater export
9 opportunities for Louisiana farmers and the potential for increased acreage; and
10 WHEREAS, resumed rice exports to Cuba would also benefit those affiliated with
11 rice production, milling, and exporting; and
12 WHEREAS, rice farming and milling has a large impact on Louisiana's secondary
13 economy in that for every dollar that Louisiana rice produces, approximately thirty-five
14 cents is added indirectly to the economy through seed and fertilizer sales, farm equipment,
15 crop services, and transportation; and
16 WHEREAS, resuming the trade of rice with Cuba would be a huge economic gain
17 for Louisiana's port system; and
18 WHEREAS, prior to the creation of the trade embargo in 1962, the Port of New
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SLS 15RS-400 ORIGINAL
1 Orleans handled over sixty-five percent of all traded goods to Cuba; and
2 WHEREAS, the fifty-plus-year trade embargo between the United States and Cuba
3 remains the longest-standing embargo in modern history; and
4 WHEREAS, Louisiana is the top state of origination for Cuban-bound exports,
5 representing nearly thirty percent of the export market share; and
6 WHEREAS, it is time to end an outdated policy that continues to deny valuable
7 business opportunities to Louisiana rice farmers, millers, and allied businesses, such as
8 transportation, storage, and shipping; and
9 WHEREAS, Cuba imports more than one billion dollars worth of food every year,
10 including approximately five hundred thousand tons of rice; and
11 WHEREAS, the rice industry in Louisiana is positioned to benefit from the market
12 opportunities that normalized trade with Cuba would provide due to our healthy supply, port
13 infrastructure, and proximity to Cuba; and
14 WHEREAS, the USA Rice Federation and its affiliate members along with the
15 Louisiana Rice Growers Association, the Louisiana Rice Promotion Board, and the
16 Louisiana Rice Council are in support of restoring trade relations between the United States
17 and Cuba in order to open the market to Louisiana rice.
18 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana memorializes
19 the Congress of the United States to restore trade relations between the United States and
20 Cuba in order to open the market to Louisiana rice.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution shall be transmitted
22 to the secretary of the United States Senate, the clerk of the United States House of
23 Representatives, and to each member of the Louisiana delegation to the United States
24 Congress.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Curry Lann.
DIGEST
SCR 68 Original 2015 Regular Session Morrish
Memorializes Congress to restore trade relations between the United States and Cuba in
order to open the market to Louisiana rice.
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