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