IV

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 284

Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to funding for the Uruguay

Round of GATT negotiations.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 17, 1994

Mr. DREIER (for himself, Mr. GINGRICH, Mr. ARMEY, Mr. ARCHER, Mr.

CRANE, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. EWING, Ms. DUNN,

and Mr. KNOLLENBERG) submitted the following concurrent resolution

which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to funding

for the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations.

Whereas reducing trade barriers that block exports and imports results in more trade, greater economic efficiency,

increased wealth, and higher living standards;

Whereas the trade agreements resulting from the Uruguay

Round of multilateral trade negotiations under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

(hereafter referred to as ‘‘GATT’’), signed on April 15,

1994, in Marrakesh, Morocco by over 100 nations, are

the most comprehensive trade agreements in history;
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Whereas GATT will reduce tariff levels globally by one-third

and reduce or eliminate many other nontariff barriers

and distortions to world trade in goods and services;

Whereas GATT, when fully implemented, should add as much

as $100,000,000,000 to $200,000,000,000 to the United

States gross domestic product annually; raise total

United States employment by hundreds of thousands of

jobs; save the average United States consumer hundreds

of dollars annually in lower costs of products; and boost

average labor productivity, real wages, and living standards in the United States and around the world;

Whereas the existence and importance of the dynamic gains

to the United States economy are widely accepted by

economists;

Whereas the implementation of GATT is estimated over 10

years to reduce United States tariff revenues by

$40,000,000,000, to reduce international tariff revenues

by an additional $704,000,000,000, to increase the

United States gross domestic product by

$500,000,000,000 to $1,100,000,000,000, and to increase general revenues to the United States Treasury by

$108,000,000,000 to $216,000,000,000; and

Whereas the deficit control rules adopted by the Congress in

1990 require that Federal tariff revenue reductions which

are the result of lower tariff rates must be offset by revenue increases or spending cuts in Federal programs,

without fully considering the positive revenue effect of the

growth caused by the agreement reducing the tariff levels: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
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1 (1) trade agreements which promote free trade

2 by reducing trade barriers are free in that they do

3 not exact a cost on United States taxpayers by re4 ducing net Federal revenues; and

5 (2) budget rules which inaccurately calculate

6 the revenue impact of trade agreements by ignoring

7 the United States growth caused by tariff changes in

8 other countries should not be applied to the GATT

9 implementing legislation in a way that requires in10 creased taxes or program reductions to ‘‘offset’’ ex11 pected tariff revenue reductions.

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