By Christian                                          H.C.R. No. 98
         77R3758 NBH-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, Lumber is an important natural resource and a vital
 1-2     industry for both the United States and Texas; the U.S. and Texas
 1-3     timber industries' ability to compete in a global economy, however,
 1-4     is hampered by the continuing influx of Canadian lumber which is
 1-5     heavily subsidized by the provincial governments; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, Canadian softwood lumber producers obtain most of
 1-7     their timber supply from government-owned forests, and the
 1-8     provinces subsidize lumber production by selling timber to Canadian
 1-9     lumber companies at noncompetitive prices for a fraction of the
1-10     timber's market value; and
1-11           WHEREAS, Artificially low provincial timber prices, minimum
1-12     harvesting restrictions, and other practices that encourage
1-13     over-harvesting and over-production have helped Canadian imports
1-14     gain a 36 percent share of the U.S. softwood lumber market; and
1-15           WHEREAS, Highly subsidized Canadian lumber imports unfairly
1-16     compete with U.S. lumber companies, jeopardizing thousands of jobs
1-17     and driving down the market value of U.S. forest lands; and
1-18           WHEREAS, U.S. industry and labor groups, U.S. and Canadian
1-19     environmental organizations, and Native American groups have called
1-20     for an end to these subsidies in order to establish fair trade
1-21     practices; and
1-22           WHEREAS, The United States must fully enforce trade laws to
1-23     offset the subsidies and mitigate injury to the U.S. softwood
1-24     lumber industry if the Canadian subsidies are not discontinued; and
 2-1           WHEREAS, The only protection for U.S. timber growers against
 2-2     these unfair market conditions is the current United States-Canada
 2-3     Softwood Lumber Agreement, which is scheduled to expire on the last
 2-4     day of March 2001; now, therefore, be it
 2-5           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
 2-6     hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
 2-7     extend the United States-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement and
 2-8     encourage open and competitive timber sales in Canada at fair
 2-9     market prices; and, be it further
2-10           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
2-11     copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
2-12     the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of
2-13     the senate of the United States Congress, and to all members of the
2-14     Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
2-15     resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to
2-16     the Congress of the United States of America.