Bill Text: TX HCR33 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Urging Congress to consider the removal of trade, financial, and travel restrictions relating to Cuba.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-04-18 - Left pending in committee [HCR33 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HCR33-Introduced.html
  85R2261 BPG-D
 
  By: Anchia H.C.R. No. 33
 
 
 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
         WHEREAS, After more than five decades of diplomatic tensions,
  the United States and Cuba began to normalize relations in December
  2014, and this process is opening the way for economic opportunity
  and other advancements benefiting our state and nation; and
         WHEREAS, Economists, government officials, business leaders,
  and scholars all recognize that U.S. and Cuban markets are
  complementary, with natural trade ties; in fact, Cuba was once a
  major trading partner, and before the imposition of initial
  U.S. restrictions in 1960, it ranked as our nation's
  seventh-largest export market; and
         WHEREAS, A 2016 report by the United States International
  Trade Commission found that restrictions on trade with Cuba and
  travel to the country had shut U.S. suppliers out of a very valuable
  market; although Cuban imports of goods totaled $9.3 billion in
  2014, imports from the U.S. were valued at a mere $299 million;
  Fortune magazine in 2015 provided a conservative estimate that the
  embargo policy was costing the U.S. $1.2 billion annually, and that
  lifting the embargo would add 6,000 new U.S. jobs; and
         WHEREAS, According to the USITC, the agricultural sector
  stands to recognize enormous gains from the removal of
  U.S. restrictions on Cuban trade, with exports of wheat alone,
  projected to increase by almost $170 million as a result of
  moderately reduced trade costs; other significant beneficiaries
  would include the chemicals and chemical products industry,
  encompassing a wide array of products, from fertilizers and
  pesticides to paint, soap, and detergents, as well as smaller
  industries, such as paper products and office and computing
  machinery; overall, the USITC anticipates that U.S. manufactured
  goods exports to Cuba could increase to more than $1.2 billion; and
         WHEREAS, The end of trade restrictions would not only
  strengthen the economy and boost job creation, but it also would
  allow U.S. residents to access certain medical advances available
  in Cuba, including breakthroughs in oncology and new medications
  such as Heberprot-P, which aids in the treatment of
  diabetes-related conditions; and
         WHEREAS, The United States and Cuba reopened their embassies
  in each other's capitals in 2015, signaling the restoration of full
  diplomatic ties; in August 2016, commercial airlines began offering
  service between the U.S. and Cuba for the first time in over a half
  century, and new rules now permit a variety of economic activity,
  including banking transactions, investment by U.S. companies in
  some small businesses, and shipment of building materials to
  private Cuban firms; Congress has not yet lifted other economic
  sanctions, however, and delays in the full renewal of trade
  relations are permitting other countries to reap the benefits of
  doing business in Cuba; and
         WHEREAS, The lifting of the trade embargo against Cuba will
  reopen an important market less than 100 miles from our shores and
  create tremendous economic opportunities for American citizens;
  now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
  hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to consider the
  removal of trade, financial, and travel restrictions relating to
  Cuba; 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.
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