HM 23D

1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States in support
3	of the establishment of Free Trade Agreements between the
4	United States and Peru, Colombia, and Panama.
5
6	WHEREAS, Florida, the United States' seventh-largest
7	exporter in 2006, with goods exports totaling $38.5 billion, has
8	a global reputation as a gateway to the Americas and a vital
9	stake in global markets, and
10	WHEREAS, Free Trade Agreements with Peru, Colombia, and
11	Panama offer valuable opportunities for the United States to
12	enhance its competitive edge in the global economy by lowering
13	the barriers that its own exporters face in these markets, and
14	WHEREAS, state and local officials around the United States
15	have signaled their support for Congressional approval of these
16	Free Trade Agreements, and
17	WHEREAS, during the last four economic quarters, exports
18	have accounted for 40 percent of economic growth in the United
19	States, and
20	WHEREAS, manufactured exports translate into the creation
21	of jobs for Florida workers, including 128,400 of them as of
22	2005, and
23	WHEREAS, goods exports from Florida increased by over 15
24	percent last year, leading to a gross domestic product growth of
25	4.2 percent, and totaled $38.5 billion, representing 5.4 percent
26	of Florida's gross domestic product, and
27	WHEREAS, agriculture exports, services exports, foreign
28	investment, and imports all contribute significantly to
29	Florida's economy and employment base, and
30	WHEREAS, according to the United States Department of
31	Agriculture, Florida's agricultural exports reached $1.7 billion
32	in 2006, maintaining 17,420 Florida jobs, both on and off the
33	farmlands, and
34	WHEREAS, Florida is the second-leading United States
35	exporter to each of its pending Latin American Free Trade
36	Agreement partners, Peru, Colombia, and Panama; and,
37	collectively, Florida exports to those three countries
38	constitute over 7 percent of all Florida exports, and
39	WHEREAS, in 2006, over 250,000 Colombians visited Miami and
40	contributed $321 million to Florida's economy, and
41	WHEREAS, the security situation in Colombia has improved
42	significantly since 2000, with kidnappings down by 76 percent,
43	terror attacks down by 61 percent, and homicides down by 40
44	percent, and
45	WHEREAS, approval of the United States-Colombia Trade
46	Promotion Agreement will ensure that Colombia continues to make
47	progress in reducing violence while improving economic
48	stability, NOW, THEREFORE,
49
50	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
51
52	That the Congress of the United States is urged to support
53	the establishment of Free Trade Agreements between the United
54	States and Peru, Colombia, and Panama.
55	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
56	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
57	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
58	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
59	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.