[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 331 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 331

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the President should seek to 
       enter into a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 19, 2003

  Mr. Souder submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the President should seek to 
       enter into a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom.

Whereas a close, unique economic, cultural, and strategic relationship exists 
        between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
        Northern Ireland; law, language, literature, common conceptions of what 
        is right and decent, a marked regard for fair play, especially to the 
        weak and poor, a stern sentiment of impartial justice, and above all the 
        love of personal freedom are common conceptions on both sides of the 
        ocean among the English-speaking peoples;
Whereas the United States and the United Kingdom have the largest and the fourth 
        largest economies in the world, respectively; direct foreign investment 
        flowing between the United States and the United Kingdom totals nearly 
        $400,000,000,000; this relationship, the largest in the world, helps to 
        sustain more than 1,000,000 American jobs;
Whereas economic growth in the United States has been considerably enhanced by 
        bilateral agreements to lower barriers for United States exports; a 
        report by the International Trade Commission estimates that the 
        elimination of tariffs between the United States and the United Kingdom 
        would result in an 11 to 16 percent increase in exports from the United 
        States to the United Kingdom;
Whereas the purpose of a free trade area should be to facilitate trade between 
        constituent territories and not to raise trade barriers against others; 
        trade barriers, by increasing the final price of imported goods to 
        consumers or limiting their availability in other ways, can directly 
        inhibit consumer freedom and reduce consumer welfare;
Whereas countries that open their domestic markets, remove barriers to foreign 
        direct investment, and promote free enterprise empower their citizens to 
        alleviate poverty; both the United States and the United Kingdom have 
        sought to expand the idea of free trade through bilateral and 
        multilateral agreements and international organizations;
Whereas the United States and the United Kingdom are both members of the World 
        Trade Organization (WTO) and its predecessor the General Agreement on 
        Tariffs and Trade (GATT), whose agreements and documents guarantee the 
        right of countries to enter into free trade agreements with other 
        countries;
Whereas on August 6, 2002, the President signed into law H.R. 3009 (Public Law 
        107-210), the Trade Act of 2002, which provides for an expedited 
        procedure for congressional consideration of international trade 
        agreements; and
Whereas the United States Senate has previously expressed its support for a free 
        trade agreement with the United Kingdom: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that the President should take the 
necessary steps to conclude a free trade agreement between the United 
States and the United Kingdom.
                                 <all>