View Bill Status
View Bill Text
View Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact
HJM004.....................................................by STATE AFFAIRS CAFTA/FTAA - Stating findings of the Legislature and urging the federal government, in negotiating any national trade agreements, to recognize the economic impact of such trade agreements on the states and consider those impacts to maintain the viable economic health of agricultural industries, as well as all industries, with an emphasis on fair trade, rather than free trade; and further urging the federal government to renegotiate the provisions of CAFTA and the FTAA to limit exports from the involved foreign countries to fairly protect agricultural producers in the United States. 03/01 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing 03/02 Rpt prt - to Agric Aff 03/09 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg 03/10 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg 03/11 3rd rdg - ADOPTED - voice vote Floor Sponsor - Bolz Title apvd - to Senate 03/14 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Agric Aff 03/18 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 10th Ord 03/21 10th Ord - ADOPTED - voice vote Floor Sponsor - Corder Title apvd - to House 03/22 To enrol 03/23 Rpt enrol - Sp signed 03/24 Pres signed - To Secretary of State
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2005IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 4 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 1 A JOINT MEMORIAL 2 TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS 3 ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF 4 IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. 5 We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the 6 State of Idaho assembled in the First Regular Session of the Fifty-eighth 7 Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that: 8 WHEREAS, the state of Idaho is very diversified in its agricultural pro- 9 duction; and 10 WHEREAS, in January 2002, the federal government announced that it was 11 initiating negotiations on a free trade agreement involving the countries of 12 El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. These negotiations concluded 13 in December 2003. Negotiations with Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic were 14 subsequently completed and are now included in the agreement. Congress must 15 now decide whether to ratify the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA); 16 and 17 WHEREAS, the federal government is also negotiating the Free Trade Area of 18 the Americas (FTAA) agreement; and 19 WHEREAS, both CAFTA and the FTAA would allow these foreign countries to 20 export commodities to the United States, harming Idaho agricultural industry 21 in the process; and 22 WHEREAS, the agricultural producers of the United States cannot be 23 expected to compete with these foreign countries under free trade agreements 24 due to the labor practices, lack of environmental regulations and subsidized 25 agricultural production of these foreign countries; and 26 WHEREAS, sugar is an import-sensitive commodity which will be negatively 27 impacted by CAFTA. Idaho is our nation's second-largest producer of sugarbeets 28 and a recent University of Idaho study concludes that the demise of the sugar 29 industry in the state would also have a serious impact on market prices relat- 30 ing to other Idaho crops such as potatoes and onions which would be grown in 31 place of sugarbeets; and 32 WHEREAS, the CAFTA nations already enjoy preferential, duty-free access 33 into the United States market for 311,700 metric tons of sugar. The United 34 States is presently the world's fourth-largest net importer of sugar under 35 existing trade agreements and its sugar market is already oversupplied, 36 resulting in our region's sugarbeet processing company recently announcing the 37 temporary closure of one of its factories due to the existing low sugar mar- 38 keting allocations for United States producers; and 39 WHEREAS, the United States International Trade Commission in August 2004, 40 concluded that the Central American Free Trade Agreement would actually 41 increase the U.S. trade deficit with the region by $100 million a year to $2.4 42 billion a year; and 43 WHEREAS, concerns over free trade agreements face the agricultural indus- 44 try at a time when the domestic consumption of United States agricultural 2 1 products is declining, forcing domestic producers out of business; and 2 WHEREAS, the state of Idaho stands to lose thousands of jobs and millions 3 of dollars if these free trade agreements are implemented, potentially devas- 4 tating the state's agricultural industry, moving production into other supply- 5 sensitive crops, and severely harming the state's economy as a whole; and 6 WHEREAS, the economic impact of any trade agreement must be recognized and 7 considered to maintain viable economic health of agricultural industries, as 8 well as all industries, with an emphasis on fair trade, rather than free 9 trade; and 10 WHEREAS, the provisions of CAFTA and the FTAA should be renegotiated to 11 limit exports from foreign countries to a needs-based access, allowing the 12 United States agricultural policy to properly function and fairly treat agri- 13 cultural producers in the United States. 14 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session 15 of the Fifty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and the 16 Senate concurring therein, that in negotiating any national trade agreements, 17 the federal government is urged to recognize the economic impact of such trade 18 agreements on the states and consider those impacts in order to maintain the 19 viable economic health of agricultural industries, as well as all industries, 20 with an emphasis on fair trade, rather than free trade. 21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal government is urged to renegotiate 22 the provisions of CAFTA and the FTAA to limit exports from the involved for- 23 eign countries to fairly protect agricultural producers in the United States. 24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa- 25 tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this 26 Memorial to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Repre- 27 sentatives of Congress, and the congressional delegation representing the 28 State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RS 15067 The purpose of this House Joint Memorial is to convey to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and the Congressional delegation representing the State of Idaho that the Idaho Legislature desires that potential trade agreements recognize and consider economic impact. This consideration is to include the economic impact to all of the state's industries, including agriculture. Both the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) trade agreements will have economic impacts on Idaho's agricultural industry. Emphasis for trade agreements should be on "fair trade" rather than "free trade". FISCAL NOTE There is no fiscal impact on the general fund. Contact Name: Rep. Darrell Bolz Name: Rep. John A. Stevenson Phone: 208-332-1000 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE HJM 4