[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 98 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 98

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to 
free trade negotiations that could adversely impact the sugar industry 
                         of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 15, 2005

Mr. Kildee (for himself, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Case, 
  Mr. Filner, Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. Stupak, Mr. Melancon, Mr. Hastings of 
    Florida, and Mr. Peterson of Minnesota) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to 
free trade negotiations that could adversely impact the sugar industry 
                         of the United States.

Whereas the President concluded negotiations with Costa Rica, El Salvador, 
        Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua to form a Central American Free Trade 
        Agreement (referred to in this resolution as ``CAFTA''), and the 
        Dominican Republic joined the agreement in August of 2004;
Whereas CAFTA seeks to provide those countries with increased access to the 
        United States sugar market;
Whereas simultaneously, the Administration has embarked on a multitude of free 
        trade agreements with major sugar producing nations such as members of 
        the South Africa Customs Union, Thailand, nations of the Western 
        Hemisphere, and others, and has made it clear that access to the United 
        States sugar market is on the negotiating table;
Whereas the United States sugar market is already oversupplied, with declining 
        consumption forcing domestic sugar producers to store extremely high 
        quantities of sugar;
Whereas significant increases in sugar imports under CAFTA and other trade 
        agreements currently under negotiation could render inoperable basic 
        elements of the United States sugar program enacted under the Farm 
        Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-171);
Whereas effects on the United States sugar program would wreak havoc in the 
        United States sugar industry, and result in the loss of thousands of 
        jobs and farms involved in sugar production in 19 States across the 
        country; and
Whereas any constructive effort to address distortion in the world sugar market 
        should be handled multilaterally through the World Trade Organization, 
        in a manner that addresses comprehensively and simultaneously the sugar 
        subsidy programs of all major world producers, and should not be handled 
        through bilateral or regional agreements: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the President should renegotiate provisions of CAFTA 
        relating to access to the United States sugar market, so as to 
        grant no greater access to the United States sugar market than 
        is currently enjoyed by the signatories to the agreement; and
            (2) the President should not include sugar as an element of 
        negotiations in any bilateral or regional free trade agreement.
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