Paul Patton on Free Trade Former Democratic KY Governor

Enforce trade law against subsidized Canadian lumber imports.

• Whereas, the US Department of Commerce has determined that the Canadian provinces subsidize lumber production by selling timber to Canadian lumber companies at non-competitive prices for a fraction of the timber’s market value, and imposed an import duty of 19.3%;
• Whereas, artificially low provincial timber prices, minimum harvesting restrictions and other practices encourage over-harvesting and over-production in Canada to the detriment of US industry, forest land owners, workers and the environment;
• Whereas, these unfair subsidy practices have helped Canadian imports gain an increasing share of the US softwood lumber market, rising 15% from the first to second quarter of 2001;
• Whereas, highly subsidized Canadian lumber imports unfairly compete with US lumber companies and affect thousands of US jobs, and drive down the value of US forest land; Whereas an agreement between the United States and Canada on lumber trade expired in March 2001; now, therefore, be it
• Resolved, That the Southern Governor’s Association urges the Administration to continue to enforce fully the current United States trading laws and to encourage open and competitive sales of timber in Canada.

Ease Canadian border-crossing rules.

• WHEREAS, the United States and Canada share the longest undefended border in the world; and
• WHEREAS, the United States and Canada have the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world, exceeding $1 billion every day; and
• WHEREAS, the rate of cross-border traffic is steadily increasing, with billions of dollars worth of goods and tens of millions of American and Canadian citizens crossing the land border each year; and
• WHEREAS, Section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 requires the U.S. Attorney General to develop an automated entry-exit control system to register “all aliens” entering and departing the United States; and
• WHEREAS, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service has indicated that it cannot meet the September 30, 1998 deadline for implementing the entry and exit tracking system and that it does not have the appropriation necessary to put the system in place; and
• WHEREAS, this system will place an unmanageable requirement on border-crossing services, impose serious delays at the Canada-U.S. land border and result in unintended negative consequences for international trade, tourism, and the economies in our region; and
• WHEREAS, reports about serious congestion at the Canada - U.S. border have generated concern and uncertainty in the business community; now therefore be it
• RESOLVED, that the Midwestern Governors’ Conference calls on Congress and the President to work to enact legislation this year that suspends implementation of Section 110 until they can ensure that any entry-exit control system, if deemed necessary, does not distrupt trade, tourism or other legitimate cross border traffic at land border points of entry.

Grant fast-track authority to the President.

• WHEREAS, The Midwestern Governors’ Conference (MGC) has recognized that agriculture producers are primarily family-owned farms and cannot compete against trade barriers such as prohibitive tariffs, excessive requirements for food items unrelated to the safety of the product, and the continued existence of state trading enterprises; and
• WHEREAS, Markets such as Europe are not approving US agricultural technology rapidly enough to allow for US products to stay competitive; now therefore be it
• RESOLVED, The MGC is committed to ensuring US agricultural exports are able to move freely in all foreign markets in order to strengthen the economic situation of the agriculture industry;
• RESOLVED, That because the Seattle Ministerial is seen as a unique opportunity to highlight American agricultural products to the WTO delegates and to insure that agriculture trade issues are not left unresolved as in previous international trade negotiations, the MGC urge US negotiators to refrain from finalizing any sector agreements, until all sector agreements are successfully negotiated;
• RESOLVED, That the MGC call upon Congress to support fast-track authority to be granted to the President;
• RESOLVED, That the MGC call for the elimination of foreign export subsidies, dumping activities, and unjustified import quotas and include these issues in negotiations with the WTO;
• RESOLVED, That the MGC urge that the United States Trade Representative focus WTO agricultural negotiations on gaining approval for new US agricultural products and technology in other markets; and
• RESOLVED, That the MGC call for the establishment of a speedy resolution process within the WTO for addressing the issues of non-tariff barriers.