[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 5752]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petition or memorial was laid before the Senate and was 
referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-291. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Washington relative to international trade; to the 
     Committee on Finance.

                  Engrossed Senate Joint Memorial 8019

       We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of 
     Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative 
     session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as 
     follows:
       Whereas, The trade liberalization efforts of the early 
     1990s and trade agreements such as the North American Free 
     Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization Uruguay 
     Round agreements have increased the role of state 
     policymakers in international trade decisions; and
       Whereas, Trade liberalization has transformed the 
     historical state-federal division of power and taxed state 
     agency resources in dealing with the world marketplace; and
       Whereas, Recent trade agreements have proceeded beyond 
     discussion of tariffs and quotas and now address government 
     regulation, taxation, procurement, and economic development 
     policies that are implemented at state and local levels; and
       Whereas, States often lack a clearly defined institutional 
     trade policy structure, making it difficult to handle 
     requests from trading partners and federal agencies and to 
     articulate a unified state stance on trade issues; and
       Whereas, International lawsuits may be brought against 
     states and governments found to be in violation of trade 
     agreements; and
       Whereas, There is a need for a stronger federal-state trade 
     policy consultation mechanism; and
       Whereas, Many state and local executive, legislative, and 
     judicial branch officials have voiced the need for an 
     informed, nonpartisan trade policy dialogue on a national 
     level; and
       Whereas, Federal-state communication and cooperation in the 
     implementation of trade agreements is needed now more than 
     ever before; and
       Whereas, In August 2004, the Intergovernmental Policy 
     Advisory Committee, a state-appointed advisory committee to 
     the United States Trade Representative, recommended that a 
     Federal-State International Trade Policy Commission would be 
     an ideal resource for objective trade policy analysis and 
     would foster communication among federal and state trade 
     policy officials; and
       Whereas, The creation of a federal-state trade policy 
     infrastructure would assist states in understanding the scope 
     of federal trade efforts and would assist federal agencies in 
     understanding the various state trade processes: Now 
     therefore,
       Your Memorialists respectfully request that the United 
     States Trade Representative create a Federal-State 
     International Trade Policy Commission with membership to be 
     drawn from federal and state trade policy officials; and be 
     it
       Resolved, That copies of this Memorial be immediately 
     transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the 
     United States, the Ambassador Rob Portman, United States 
     Trade Representative, the President of the United States 
     Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each 
     member of Congress from the State of Washington.

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