| 1 | 1 | | 88S31312 BPG-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: LaMantia S.R. No. 78 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The shrimp industry plays a vital role in the |
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| 7 | 7 | | nation's economy and in the prosperity of Gulf Coast communities, |
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| 8 | 8 | | where domestic shrimp are harvested and processed; and |
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| 9 | 9 | | WHEREAS, In Texas, the industry supports more than 14,000 |
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| 10 | 10 | | jobs, generating approximately $850 million in economic value; |
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| 11 | 11 | | however, a glut of foreign shrimp imports threatens this industry |
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| 12 | 12 | | with collapse; and |
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| 13 | 13 | | WHEREAS, Imports of frozen warmwater shrimp nearly doubled |
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| 14 | 14 | | between 2013 and 2021, to an unprecedented 1.8 billion pounds; data |
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| 15 | 15 | | from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates |
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| 16 | 16 | | that Texas shrimpers harvested 6.8 million pounds of shrimp in the |
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| 17 | 17 | | first five months of 2023, compared to 800 million pounds of |
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| 18 | 18 | | imported shrimp in the first half of the year; and |
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| 19 | 19 | | WHEREAS, Much of the foreign shrimp is farm-raised and |
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| 20 | 20 | | subsidized in order to let producers sharply undercut the price of |
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| 21 | 21 | | domestic shrimp; the problem has been well documented since 2005, |
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| 22 | 22 | | when the International Trade Commission determined that imports |
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| 23 | 23 | | from certain countries were selling at less than fair value, and |
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| 24 | 24 | | this continues to occur, despite antidumping regulations; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | WHEREAS, While the influx of imported shrimp has driven |
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| 26 | 26 | | prices to record lows, Gulf Coast fishermen must contend with the |
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| 27 | 27 | | forces of inflation, including historically high fuel prices; it |
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| 28 | 28 | | typically costs a trawler tens of thousands of dollars to go out to |
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| 29 | 29 | | sea, so many remained tied up at the docks; a severe labor shortage |
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| 30 | 30 | | has exacerbated the crisis; and |
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| 31 | 31 | | WHEREAS, The sustainability of the domestic shrimp industry |
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| 32 | 32 | | is crucial to the survival of many small, family-owned businesses |
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| 33 | 33 | | and to the stability of Gulf Coast communities, but this important |
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| 34 | 34 | | economic engine is currently imperiled by unfair foreign |
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| 35 | 35 | | competition and other rising challenges; now, therefore, be it |
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| 36 | 36 | | RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature, 3rd |
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| 37 | 37 | | Called Session, hereby reaffirm an unwavering commitment to the |
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| 38 | 38 | | shrimping industry and urge the Secretary of the United States |
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| 39 | 39 | | Department of Commerce to issue a fishery resource disaster |
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| 40 | 40 | | determination for fisheries along the Gulf of Mexico; and, be it |
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| 41 | 41 | | further |
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| 42 | 42 | | RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Senate forward official |
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| 43 | 43 | | copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, to |
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| 44 | 44 | | the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and to the |
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| 45 | 45 | | Assistant Administrator for Fisheries National Oceanic and |
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| 46 | 46 | | Atmospheric Administration. |
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