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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION 765
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| 2 | | WHEREAS, Agricultural productivity in the United States is |
| 3 | | growing faster than domestic
demand; and
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| 4 | | WHEREAS, U.S. farmers and agricultural firms rely heavily |
| 5 | | on export markets to sustain
adequate prices for agricultural |
| 6 | | products with as much as one in three bushels of U.S. corn
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| 7 | | exported in some form and as much as one in two bushels of |
| 8 | | soybeans exported in some
form; and
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| 9 | | WHEREAS, A large amount of the corn and soybeans grown in |
| 10 | | Illinois is destined for the export markets, making those |
| 11 | | markets a critical factor in the economic success of Illinois |
| 12 | | soybean and corn farmers; and
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| 13 | | WHEREAS, As much as 20 percent of Illinois farmland is |
| 14 | | planted with crops destined to feed Canada, Mexico, and the |
| 15 | | North American market; this farmland is crucial to Illinois |
| 16 | | producers and is aided by the North American Free Trade |
| 17 | | Agreement (NAFTA); and
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| 18 | | WHEREAS, Illinois is the largest exporting state in the |
| 19 | | Midwest and the fifth largest exporting state in the nation; |
| 20 | | and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The North American market is especially crucial to |
| 2 | | corn and soybean exports, with Mexico taking over 534 million |
| 3 | | bushels of US corn worth $2.5 billion and over 195 million |
| 4 | | bushels of US soy, also worth $2.5 billion last marketing year; |
| 5 | | and
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| 6 | | WHEREAS, Canada is the top export market for US ethanol, |
| 7 | | which is corn based; it is the third largest export market for |
| 8 | | US soybean meal, and it is the fourth market for US pork, which |
| 9 | | consumes 25 percent of US corn and soybean meal; and
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| 10 | | WHEREAS, Mexico is a top destination for |
| 11 | | Illinois-produced, dried distillers' grains, a high-value |
| 12 | | livestock feed and co-product of Illinois ethanol production; |
| 13 | | and
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| 14 | | WHEREAS, The US exports of agricultural products, and many |
| 15 | | Illinois agricultural products, are greatly aided by the North |
| 16 | | American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); and
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| 17 | | WHEREAS, Mexico and Canada represent more than a third of |
| 18 | | US pork exports and the loss of NAFTA would amount to a loss of |
| 19 | | five percent of US pork production; and
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| 20 | | WHEREAS, The Trump Administration is currently in |
| 21 | | negotiations to redraft NAFTA and make changes to the |
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| 1 | | agreement; therefore be it;
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| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE ILLINOIS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
| 3 | | 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge |
| 4 | | our Congressional delegation to work to ensure that any |
| 5 | | modifications made to NAFTA do not endanger or harm the strong |
| 6 | | export market that Illinois enjoys with our neighbors to the |
| 7 | | North and South; and be it further
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| 8 | | RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be provided to |
| 9 | | members of the Illinois
Congressional Delegation.
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