IV

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 317

To express the sense of Congress that the President, the United States

Trade Representative, the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary

of Commerce must take all appropriate and necessary steps to eliminate,

through international agreements or otherwise, restrictive foreign shipping practices which restrain or prevent United States flag vessels from

fair and equitable participation in the transportation of motor vehicles

into the United States.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 7, 1994

Mr. LIPINSKI (for himself and Mr. FIELDS of Texas) submitted the following

concurrent resolution; which was referred jointly to the Committees on

Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Foreign Affairs, and Ways and Means

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

To express the sense of Congress that the President, the

United States Trade Representative, the Secretary of

Transportation and the Secretary of Commerce must

take all appropriate and necessary steps to eliminate,

through international agreements or otherwise, restrictive

foreign shipping practices which restrain or prevent

United States flag vessels from fair and equitable participation in the transportation of motor vehicles into the

United States.

Whereas a strong and healthy United States-flag merchant

marine has been encouraged by this Nation for two hun-
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HCON 317 IH

dred years in order to assist the strategic defense of the

United States, as well as to create jobs and promote our

commerce in foreign markets;

Whereas it is necessary for this Nation’s defense and development of its foreign and domestic commerce that the

United States have a merchant marine sufficient to carry

its domestic waterborne export and import foreign commerce and to provide shipping services essential for maintaining the flow of such domestic and foreign waterborne

commerce at all times;

Whereas it is necessary for the national defense and development of its foreign and domestic commerce that the

United States have a merchant marine composed of the

best-equipped, safest, and most suitable types of vessels,

crewed with trained and efficient personnel who are

United States citizens;

Whereas each year millions of motor vehicles are imported

into the United States from foreign nations and almost

all of those imported motor vehicles have been, and continue to be, transported in the foreign commerce of the

United States by foreign flag vessels owned, operated or

controlled by foreign motor vehicle manufacturers for

whom they provide transportation, and said vessels are

crewed by foreign seafarers;

Whereas these foreign shipping practices which adversely impact the United States’ balance of payments and balance

of trade are fostered and facilitated by foreign governments which benefit therefrom;

Whereas these foreign shipping practices restrain and adversely affect the ability of United States-flag carriers

and United States seafarers to participate fairly and eq-
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HCON 317 IH

uitably in the ocean transportation of imported motor vehicles in the foreign commerce of the United States; and

Whereas these foreign shipping practices adversely affect the

ability of the United States to obtain, through the privately-owned United States-flag merchant fleet, the rollon roll-off motor vehicle carrier vessels it needs to meet

vitally important military sealift requirements during

wars and other national emergencies; Now, therefore, be

it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress strongly urges the Presi3 dent, the United States Trade Representative, the Sec4 retary of Transportation, and the Secretary of Commerce

5 to take all appropriate and necessary steps to eliminate,

6 through international agreements or otherwise, restrictive

7 foreign shipping practices, policies and arrangements

8 which restrain or prevent United States-flag carriers and

9 seafarers from fair and equitable participation in the

10 ocean transportation of imported motor vehicles into the

11 United States from countries that annually export more

12 than 50,000 motor vehicles to the United States, and to

13 take such other steps that will result in the equitable in14 creased population of United States-flag vessels owned

15 and operated by citizens of the United States, as defined

16 in section 2 of the Shipping Act of 1916, (46 U.S.C. 802),

17 in the transportation of imported motor vehicles in the for18 eign commerce of the United States; and be it further
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1 Resolved, That the President, the United States

2 Trade Representative, the Secretary of Transportation,

3 and the Secretary of Commerce shall each submit a report

4 to Congress no later than February 1, 1995 setting forth

5 the steps taken on this matter by the administration and

6 the progress, if any, made in the elimination of the unfair

7 foreign shipping practices described in this concurrent res8 olution.

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