Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SCR38 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R9285 BPG-D
2	2	By: Hinojosa, et al. S.C.R. No. 38
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5	5	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, The economy of Texas depends on access to world
7	7	markets, and the state has greatly benefited by the North American
8	8	Free Trade Agreement; and
9	9	WHEREAS, Negotiated by President George H. W. Bush and signed
10	10	by President Bill Clinton in 1994, NAFTA created the world's
11	11	largest free trade zone; it eliminated most tariffs between the
12	12	United States, Mexico, and Canada and made it easier to do business
13	13	across the continent; and
14	14	WHEREAS, In 1991, the year before President Bush agreed to
15	15	the terms of NAFTA, the Lone Star State exported $15.5 billion in
16	16	goods to Mexico, according to the Texas Center's Institute for
17	17	International Trade; that figure increased to almost $92.5 billion
18	18	in 2015, and Mexico ranks as the state's top export market; and
19	19	WHEREAS, NAFTA has also facilitated cross-border
20	20	manufacturing operations and distribution centers that allow
21	21	companies to price goods effectively for worldwide markets; supply
22	22	chains that snake back and forth across international boundaries
23	23	have become important components of corporate strategies, and by
24	24	combining their comparative advantages, the United States and
25	25	Mexico have developed an ultra-competitive regional system that
26	26	improves North America's global trade standing; and
27	27	WHEREAS, The Texas business community relies heavily on
28	28	exports for its continued success; as of 2014, nearly 42,000
29	29	companies exported from Texas locations, including 39,000 small-
30	30	and medium-sized goods exporters; moreover, the Texas Railroad
31	31	Commission predicts that Mexican demand for natural gas, the
32	32	state's biggest export, will increase in the next few years, from
33	33	2.1 billion cubic feet per day in 2015 to 3.4 billion in 2020; and
34	34	WHEREAS, Today, trade with Mexico directly and indirectly
35	35	generates over 382,000 jobs in Texas and almost 5 million across the
36	36	United States, according to the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico
37	37	Institute; although some border factory jobs disappeared
38	38	immediately following the signing of NAFTA, border cities adapted
39	39	to the change by enhancing their industry mixes, and investment by
40	40	foreign companies created new jobs as well; hiring in other sectors
41	41	has more than compensated for early job losses, both in numbers and
42	42	in quality, and the unemployment rate has fallen in border cities as
43	43	per capita income has risen; and
44	44	WHEREAS, Consumers have also enjoyed lower prices thanks to
45	45	NAFTA on a wide range of products, from automobiles to foods;
46	46	notably, oil imports from Mexico are cheaper under NAFTA,
47	47	decreasing our energy reliance on the Middle East; and
48	48	WHEREAS, NAFTA has greatly enhanced our economic
49	49	relationship with Mexico, contributing significantly to the
50	50	prosperity of Texas while boosting U.S. employment, strengthening
51	51	the competitiveness of American firms, and generating cost savings
52	52	for American families; now, therefore, be it
53	53	RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
54	54	hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to continue to
55	55	support the North American Free Trade Agreement; and, be it further
56	56	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
57	57	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
58	58	the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
59	59	Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
60	60	members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
61	61	this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
62	62	memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.