85R9285 BPG-D

By: Hinojosa, et al. S.C.R. No. 38

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The economy of Texas depends on access to world markets, and the state has greatly benefited by the North American Free Trade Agreement; and

WHEREAS, Negotiated by President George H. W. Bush and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, NAFTA created the world's largest free trade zone; it eliminated most tariffs between the United States, Mexico, and Canada and made it easier to do business across the continent; and

WHEREAS, In 1991, the year before President Bush agreed to the terms of NAFTA, the Lone Star State exported $15.5 billion in goods to Mexico, according to the Texas Center's Institute for International Trade; that figure increased to almost $92.5 billion in 2015, and Mexico ranks as the state's top export market; and

WHEREAS, NAFTA has also facilitated cross-border manufacturing operations and distribution centers that allow companies to price goods effectively for worldwide markets; supply chains that snake back and forth across international boundaries have become important components of corporate strategies, and by combining their comparative advantages, the United States and Mexico have developed an ultra-competitive regional system that improves North America's global trade standing; and

WHEREAS, The Texas business community relies heavily on exports for its continued success; as of 2014, nearly 42,000 companies exported from Texas locations, including 39,000 small- and medium-sized goods exporters; moreover, the Texas Railroad Commission predicts that Mexican demand for natural gas, the state's biggest export, will increase in the next few years, from 2.1 billion cubic feet per day in 2015 to 3.4 billion in 2020; and

WHEREAS, Today, trade with Mexico directly and indirectly generates over 382,000 jobs in Texas and almost 5 million across the United States, according to the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute; although some border factory jobs disappeared immediately following the signing of NAFTA, border cities adapted to the change by enhancing their industry mixes, and investment by foreign companies created new jobs as well; hiring in other sectors has more than compensated for early job losses, both in numbers and in quality, and the unemployment rate has fallen in border cities as per capita income has risen; and

WHEREAS, Consumers have also enjoyed lower prices thanks to NAFTA on a wide range of products, from automobiles to foods; notably, oil imports from Mexico are cheaper under NAFTA, decreasing our energy reliance on the Middle East; and

WHEREAS, NAFTA has greatly enhanced our economic relationship with Mexico, contributing significantly to the prosperity of Texas while boosting U.S. employment, strengthening the competitiveness of American firms, and generating cost savings for American families; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to continue to support the North American Free Trade Agreement; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.