Full Text of HR0195 99th General Assembly
HR0195 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Relations between the Republic of China (Taiwan) | 3 | | and the United States, in particular the State of Illinois, | 4 | | which shares sister-city and sister-state relationships, are | 5 | | marked by strong bilateral trade, educational and cultural | 6 | | exchanges, and tourism; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Taiwan, which is the world's 19th-largest | 8 | | economy, shares with the United States and the State of | 9 | | Illinois the common values of freedom, democracy, human rights, | 10 | | and a commitment to the rule of law; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, As of 2014, Taiwan is the United States' | 12 | | 10th-largest trading partner in the world, with bilateral trade | 13 | | worth US $67.4 billion, and is the United States' 14th-largest | 14 | | export market, with total U.S. exports worth US $26.8 billion, | 15 | | and its 12th-largest source of imports; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Taiwan and the State of Illinois have enjoyed a | 17 | | long and mutually beneficial relationship and anticipate | 18 | | continuing growth, as Illinois in 2014 continued to rank 5th | 19 | | among all U.S. states in the value of overall exports to | 20 | | Taiwan, worth US $940.13 billion, a 2% increase in value over | 21 | | its 2013 exports to Taiwan; Taiwan ranks as Illinois' | 22 | | 15th-largest export
market, its 6th-largest market in Asia, and |
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| 1 | | its 9th-largest source of
imports; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Taiwan has consistently imported between US $2.5 | 3 | | billion and US $3
billion of U.S. farm products annually and is | 4 | | the world's 2nd largest consumer per-capita of U.S. | 5 | | agricultural goods in 2013; the Illinois economy has greatly | 6 | | benefited from Taiwan's reliably large imports of Illinois farm | 7 | | products, which in 2014 were worth US $578.4 million for
| 8 | | agricultural products (US $532.4 million) and food | 9 | | manufactures (US $46
million) combined, together comprising | 10 | | 61.5% of Illinois' total exports
to Taiwan that year; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Taiwan, in order to contribute to greater regional | 12 | | integration in the Asia-Pacific region and to further promote | 13 | | bilateral investment and trade relations with the United | 14 | | States, Taiwan's 2nd-largest trading partner, seeks to join the | 15 | | Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the proposed 21st century | 16 | | trade agreement between the United States and currently 11 | 17 | | other Asia-Pacific Rim countries; the United States has | 18 | | announced its intention that membership in the TPP expand in | 19 | | the future to include other friendly countries, such as Taiwan; | 20 | | and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Taiwan is the 19th-largest economy, the | 22 | | 20th-largest exporter,
and the 18th-largest importer in the | 23 | | world, according to the 2013 World
Trade Organization report; |
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| 1 | | Taiwan also should be included in regional
economic integration | 2 | | due to its status as an important economic power,
a dynamic | 3 | | market economy, and leading supplier of high-tech products; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Taiwan ranks as the world's 14th-freest economy | 5 | | and the 8th
freest in the Asian Pacific, according to the 2015 | 6 | | Index of Economic
Freedom; Taiwan also ranks as the 13th-most | 7 | | competitive economy worldwide and the
6th most competitive in | 8 | | the Asian Pacific, according to the Swiss-based
International | 9 | | Institute for Management Development's 2014 report; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Taiwan's admission to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program | 11 | | in November
of 2012 has, as predicted, led to increased tourist | 12 | | and business travel from
Taiwan, increasing more than 29% in | 13 | | the 8 months after Taiwan joined the
Visa Waiver Program, | 14 | | according to the April 2014 testimony of U.S. State Department
| 15 | | Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel | 16 | | R. Russel,
who acknowledged the Department's pleasure with the | 17 | | result as "foreign
visitors to the United States generate | 18 | | stateside jobs"; moreover, travel
by Taiwanese visitors to the | 19 | | United States remains higher than in prior
years, having | 20 | | increased 33% in 2013 and 7% in the first half of 2014; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Negotiations for a bilateral investment agreement | 22 | | between Taiwan and the United States are an important step | 23 | | toward further strengthening bilateral trade and paving the way |
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| 1 | | for entering into a free trade agreement between our 2 | 2 | | countries, thereby increasing Illinois's exports to Taiwan and | 3 | | creating bilateral investment and technical collaboration | 4 | | through tariff reduction and other trade facilitation | 5 | | measures; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Taiwan, as a full-fledged democracy that shares | 7 | | the same values
of freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule | 8 | | of law, peace, and
prosperity with the United States and the | 9 | | State of Illinois, should be
allowed to participate | 10 | | appropriately in international organizations,
such as the | 11 | | United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
so as to | 12 | | advance the welfare of the 23 million people of Taiwan and | 13 | | further
contribute to the international community; therefore, | 14 | | be it
| 15 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 16 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 17 | | reaffirm our commitment to the strong and deepening sister-city | 18 | | and
sister-state relationships between Taiwan and the State of | 19 | | Illinois; and be it further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That we reaffirm our continued support for | 21 | | Taiwan's efforts
to secure entry to the Trans-Pacific | 22 | | Partnership to contribute to
greater regional integration; and | 23 | | be it further |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That we reaffirm our continued endorsement of the | 2 | | signing of
a bilateral investment agreement between Taiwan and | 3 | | the United States
to promote Taiwan's bilateral investment and | 4 | | trade relations with the
United States and facilitate its | 5 | | economic and other ties with Illinois
and the individual | 6 | | states; and be it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That we reaffirm our support for Taiwan's | 8 | | participation in international organizations, such as the | 9 | | United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, that | 10 | | impact the health, safety, and well-being of Taiwan; and be it | 11 | | further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 13 | | presented to United States Secretary of State John F. Kerry, | 14 | | United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change | 15 | | Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, and the Taipei | 16 | | Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago.
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