S-4465.1  _______________________________________________

                    SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 8028

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1998 Regular Session

By Senators Sellar, Rasmussen, Deccio, Newhouse, Prentice and Schow

Read first time 02/02/98.  Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

Petitioning for assistance to help remove the 101.1% import duty placed on apples by Mexico.

    TO THE HONORABLE WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE:

    We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

    WHEREAS, The apple industry is a vital component of Washington's economy, generating over one billion dollars in revenue annually, and constituting the number one agricultural commodity in the state; and

    WHEREAS, Over thirty-four percent of Washington's apple crop is exported to markets outside the United States; and

    WHEREAS, Mexico is the largest single export market for Washington and United States apple producers, representing between seventy-five and  one hundred million dollars in sales; and

    WHEREAS, Mexico imposed a 101.1 percent preliminary duty on United States red delicious and golden delicious apples on September 1, 1997, as a result of an antidumping petition filed by the Chihuahua Regional Agricultural Association of Fruit Producers; and

    WHEREAS, An additional ten percent import duty is levied on all apple varieties including red and golden delicious under the North American Free Trade Agreement; and

    WHEREAS, Numerous agricultural commodities that are produced and exported from Mexico have a ready and open access to markets in the United States, including Washington State; and

    WHEREAS, Previous and current Legislatures and Governors of Washington have forged long-term bonds of friendship and cooperation with Mexico, including numerous official exchange and joint assistance programs throughout our histories; and

    WHEREAS, It is the hope of the Washington State Legislature that our ties of cooperation will be strengthened through the removal of this economically devastating 101.1 percent preliminary duty, and that both nations may experience mutual expansion of our agricultural commodity trade;

     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the President, the Congress of the United States, and the United States trade representative take all necessary actions to ensure that the current 101.1 percent preliminary duty be removed and that Washington apples regain their competitive position in the markets of Mexico.

    BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable William J. Clinton, President of the United States, the United States Trade Representative, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the States of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

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