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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Since 1960, the relationship between the United |
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States and Cuba has been one of tension and conflict, most notably |
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marked by the longest-standing trade embargo in modern history; but |
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with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the recent resignation of |
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Fidel Castro, Cuba today is far less a threat than a potentially |
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significant trade partner for American businesses; and |
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WHEREAS, According to the United States International Trade |
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Commission (USITC), Cuba imports up to two-thirds of its |
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agricultural staples, much of it from the United States; even with |
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current trade restrictions, United States agriculture accounts for |
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24 percent of Cuba's imported rice, 65 percent of its imported |
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poultry, 42 percent of its imported pork, and 100 percent of its |
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imported soybeans; however, while Cuba is the largest single grain |
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market in the Caribbean, annually importing an estimated 2.5 |
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million metric tons of corn, rice, and wheat, much of this imported |
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grain comes from producing countries other than the United States; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Despite clear advantages to trading with the United |
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States, such as lower freight costs and better shipping schedules, |
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the trade embargo has forced Cuba to import many of the products it |
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needs from other sources; in recent years, the European Union has |
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supplied Cuba with virtually all of the country's wheat and |
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wheat-based products while Vietnam delivered the majority of Cuba's |
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rice, and Cuba's trade with China doubled in only one year, between |
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2005 and 2006; and |
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WHEREAS, The likely outcome of unfettered trade with Cuba is |
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evidenced by the dramatic increase in exports from American |
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agricultural producers after congress adopted the Trade Sanctions |
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Reform and Export Enhancement Act in 2000 to expand the list of |
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products eligible to be sold to the island nation; since the act |
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took effect in February 2001, Cuba has moved from the bottom 20th |
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percentile to the top 20th percentile of United States grain export |
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markets; and |
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WHEREAS, In fact, in the seven years since the changes in law |
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took effect, Cuba consistently has ranked among the top 10 export |
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markets for United States soybean oil, dry peas, lentils, dry |
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beans, powdered milk, and poultry meat; moreover, between 2004 and |
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2006, United States agricultural exports to Cuba averaged more than |
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$350 million, and the USITC estimates that American agricultural |
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sales to Cuba would double if the embargo were lifted; and |
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WHEREAS, Even under the current rules, the Lone Star State |
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already has factored significantly in the increased trade between |
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the United States and Cuba with more than $90 million in |
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agricultural goods shipping from Texas and through Texas ports in |
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2007; clearly, the State of Texas would profit greatly from |
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unrestricted trade with Cuba; and |
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WHEREAS, Agriculture is the second-largest resource-based |
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industry in Texas, employing one of every seven working Texans, and |
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the food, fiber, and horticulture industry generates approximately |
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$103 billion for the state's economy; Texas also ranks second in the |
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nation for market value of agricultural products sold, according to |
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the 2007 United States Department of Agriculture Census of |
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Agriculture; and |
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WHEREAS, Indeed, before the trade embargo took effect, Texas |
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was the lead exporter of rice to Cuba; seeking to renew that |
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economic partnership, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples |
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recently led a 24-member delegation of ranchers, farmers, port |
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officials, and entrepreneurs to Cuba to discuss contracts with |
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Texas producers; and |
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WHEREAS, While the trade embargo may have once been a |
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political and security necessity, it now serves only to drive Cuba |
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to trade with competitors in countries that have no such |
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restrictions and hinder American businesses from gaining access to |
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a lucrative market; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to |
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prioritize diplomatic relations with Cuba leading to an end of the |
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embargo and normalized trade relations; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the |
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senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the |
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Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this |
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resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |