[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 284 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 284

 Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to funding for the 
                  Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 17, 1994

   Mr. Dreier (for himself, Mr. Gingrich, Mr. Armey, Mr. Archer, Mr. 
Crane, Mr. Kolbe, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Ewing, Ms. Dunn, and Mr. 
 Knollenberg) submitted the following concurrent resolution which was 
              referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to funding for the 
                  Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations.

Whereas reducing trade barriers that block exports and imports results in more 
        trade, greater economic efficiency, increased wealth, and higher living 
        standards;
Whereas the trade agreements resulting from the Uruguay Round of multilateral 
        trade negotiations under the auspices of the General Agreement on 
        Tariffs and Trade (hereafter referred to as ``GATT''), signed on April 
        15, 1994, in Marrakesh, Morocco by over 100 nations, are the most 
        comprehensive trade agreements in history;
Whereas GATT will reduce tariff levels globally by one-third and reduce or 
        eliminate many other nontariff barriers and distortions to world trade 
        in goods and services;
Whereas GATT, when fully implemented, should add as much as $100,000,000,000 to 
        $200,000,000,000 to the United States gross domestic product annually; 
        raise total United States employment by hundreds of thousands of jobs; 
        save the average United States consumer hundreds of dollars annually in 
        lower costs of products; and boost average labor productivity, real 
        wages, and living standards in the United States and around the world;
Whereas the existence and importance of the dynamic gains to the United States 
        economy are widely accepted by economists;
Whereas the implementation of GATT is estimated over 10 years to reduce United 
        States tariff revenues by $40,000,000,000, to reduce international 
        tariff revenues by an additional $704,000,000,000, to increase the 
        United States gross domestic product by $500,000,000,000 to 
        $1,100,000,000,000, and to increase general revenues to the United 
        States Treasury by $108,000,000,000 to $216,000,000,000; and
Whereas the deficit control rules adopted by the Congress in 1990 require that 
        Federal tariff revenue reductions which are the result of lower tariff 
        rates must be offset by revenue increases or spending cuts in Federal 
        programs, without fully considering the positive revenue effect of the 
        growth caused by the agreement reducing the tariff levels: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) trade agreements which promote free trade by reducing 
        trade barriers are free in that they do not exact a cost on 
        United States taxpayers by reducing net Federal revenues; and
            (2) budget rules which inaccurately calculate the revenue 
        impact of trade agreements by ignoring the United States growth 
        caused by tariff changes in other countries should not be 
        applied to the GATT implementing legislation in a way that 
        requires increased taxes or program reductions to ``offset'' 
        expected tariff revenue reductions.
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