Replies

Spiffed it up a bit:

Urging the Congress of the United States to place a moratorium on new free trade agreements, to investigate and review current free trade agreements and policies of the United States, to investigate and review participation of the United States with international trade organizations and to ensure that such agreements, policies and participation are in the best interests of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States.

WHEREAS, Since 1990 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has lost 228,300 manufacturing jobs, half of them between 2001 and 2003; and

WHEREAS, Manufacturing has a spin-off effect of three to seven jobs created for each manufacturing job; and

WHEREAS, Free trade agreements and policies of the United States with other nations have severely impacted American manufacturing industries and the workers they employ; and

WHEREAS, Participation by the United States in international trade organizations may imperil the success of American manufacturing; and

WHEREAS, Foreign nations, such as China, have engaged in a 3 wide range of unfair trading practices, including the manipulation of currency, subsidizing industries and dumping 5 below-cost subsidized products into the United States market; and

WHEREAS, United States manufacturers cannot compete with foreign companies who pay a small fraction of the salaries paid to United States manufacturing employees, provide no health benefits to their workers, do not have to comply with any
governmental requirements for the safety of their employees or for the protection of the environment, pay no pensions and are government subsidized; and

WHEREAS, The citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are being harmfully impacted by trade agreements and policies
between the United States and foreign nations, resulting in the closing of many of our manufacturing industries, negatively impacting our families, our communities and the Commonwealth at large when thousands of workers lose their jobs; therefore be it

RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the
United States to place a moratorium on all new trade agreements, to investigate and review all current free trade agreements and policies of the United States, to investigate and review participation of the United States in international trade organizations, and to ensure that such agreements, policies and participation are in the best interests of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President and Congress of the United States, to the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from Pennsylvania.

Bill Information
Regular Session 2003-2004
House Resolution 703