[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 21, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3003-S3004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and 
were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-61. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Michigan urging the United 
     States Congress to speedily approve the recently negotiated 
     United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement; to the Committee on 
     Finance.

                        House Resolution No. 81

       Whereas, The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is 
     a close tri-lateral relationship between the United States, 
     Canada, and Mexico. For more than 25 years, NAFTA has been 
     economically, culturally and strategically important for all 
     parties; and
       Whereas, NAFTA is significant for the American economy. 
     Trade with Canada and Mexico supports nearly 12 million 
     American jobs, and nearly 5 million of those jobs are 
     supported by increased NAFTA trade. Since the agreement began 
     in 1994, trade with Canada and Mexico has nearly quadrupled 
     to $1.3 trillion, and the two countries buy more than one-
     third of U.S. merchandise exports. U.S. service exports to 
     Canada and Mexico have also tripled, rising from $27.5 
     billion in 1993 to $91.3 billion in 2017, thanks to the trade 
     agreement's new market access and clearer rules; and
       Whereas, Trade with Canada and Mexico is significant to 
     U.S. states. For 43 states, our contiguous international 
     neighbors represent

[[Page S3004]]

     the first or second largest export market, and all but one 
     state counts Canada or Mexico as a top three trading partner. 
     Canada is Michigan's largest export market, and Mexico is 
     Michigan's third largest export market. NAFTA has also 
     contributed to a 300 percent increase in Michigan's 
     agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico; and
       Whereas, Small and medium-sized enterprises in the United 
     States rely on trade with Canada and Mexico to support and 
     grow their business. Canada and Mexico are the top two export 
     destinations for U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises, 
     more than 125,000 of which sold their goods and services in 
     Canada and Mexico in 2014; and
       Whereas, Trade among our North American trading partners is 
     made up predominantly of intellectual property (IP)-intensive 
     goods and services that employ millions of Americans in high 
     paying jobs and generate billions of dollars in economic 
     output. However, many of the IP-intensive goods, services, 
     and exchanges through which trade is facilitated did not 
     exist when the agreement was drafted. This situation has 
     resulted in uneven and weak IP enforcement. Stronger 
     enforcement of IP rights will encourage more foreign direct 
     investment and increase gross domestic product; and
       Whereas, The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) 
     creates a 21st Century trade agreement for North America. The 
     renegotiated USMCA has provisions favorable to U.S. 
     autoworkers that would help level the playing field between 
     U.S. and Mexican autoworkers. The updated agreement is also 
     more beneficial to the agricultural sector than NAFTA and 
     will offer a higher degree of certainty and stability to 
     Michigan farmers. The new IP provisions are the most 
     comprehensive of any multilateral U.S. trade agreement and 
     are vastly superior to those included in NAFTA; and
       Whereas, A seamless transition between NAFTA and the USMCA 
     will ensure that none of the benefits in trade accomplished 
     by the integration of the three North American economies will 
     be lost: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the 
     Congress of the United States to speedily approve the 
     recently negotiated United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, and the members of 
     the Michigan congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-62. A resolution adopted by the Commissioner's Court of 
     Grayson County, Texas, urging the United States Congress to 
     designate the Butterfield Overland Trail as a National 
     Historic Trail; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources.

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