Bill Text: HI HCR147 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-04-07 - (S) Referred to TIA/EDT. [HCR147 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2011-HCR147-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	147
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the united states congress to approve the united states-korea trade agreement.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the recent economic recession has resulted in a significant decline in the financial stability of families across the country, with increasing unemployment rates that have failed to rebound despite a tentative economic recovery; and

 

     WHEREAS, one of the primary factors that generates a sustainable economic recovery is job creation, which can be accomplished by seizing available opportunities to expand into receptive foreign markets; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the International Trade Administration, free trade agreements are arguably one of the best ways to open foreign markets to American exporters, often resulting in a much more favorable trade balance for the United States and a concomitant increase in job creation; and

 

     WHEREAS, on December 3, 2010, President Obama announced the successful resolution of outstanding issues with the United States-Korea Trade Agreement, originally signed between the United States and Republic of Korea on June 30, 2007; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States-Korea Trade Agreement would eliminate tariffs on over 95 percent of industrial and consumer goods, including agricultural products, within five years, which is expected to increase exports of American goods by $10 to $11 billion; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States is already the Republic of Korea's top supplier of agricultural products with many of those products originating with Hawaii's farmers and ranchers, and the United States-Korea Trade Agreement is expected to provide American agricultural producers with increased market access not only by eliminating tariffs charged when United States exports arrive in the Republic of Korea, but also by establishing a framework to tackle additional barriers to United States exports; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Republic of Korea has also agreed to match the high level of openness exhibited by the United States in a variety of service sectors, including energy and environmental services, where Hawaii-based businesses may exercise a competitive advantage; and

 

     WHEREAS, provisions in the United States-Korea Trade Agreement on cross-border services, telecommunications, and electronic commerce are expected to offer advantages to the United States information and communications technology service sector, which is expected to benefit small-and medium-sized American enterprises that currently lack the resources to establish an office in every market they serve; and

 

     WHEREAS, as the first United States free trade agreement with a North Asian partner, the United States-Korea Trade Agreement can serve as a model for trade agreements with other countries in the region and underscore the United States' commitment to, and engagement in, the Asia-Pacific Region; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, the Senate concurring, that the United States Congress is urged to approve the United States-Korea Trade Agreement; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Hawaii's congressional delegation, President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and United States Trade Representative.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement