III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 218 

Encouraging the United States Trade Representative to establish and articulate a strategy for initiating negotiations for a free trade agreement 

between the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 29, 2011 

Mr. LUGAR (for himself and Mr. INHOFE) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Finance 

RESOLUTION 

Encouraging the United States Trade Representative to establish and articulate a strategy for initiating negotiations for a free trade agreement between the United 

States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. 

Whereas the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 

(ASEAN) was established in 1967, with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand being 

original members; 

Whereas ASEAN membership has now expanded and includes 10 countries; 

Whereas the United States supports the centrality of ASEAN 

within East Asia; 


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•SRES 218 IS 

Whereas the United States was the first country to appoint 

an Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian 

Nations and has now appointed a resident Ambassador to 

the ASEAN Secretariat; 

Whereas ASEAN significantly contributes to regional stability in East Asia; 

Whereas over 40,000 students from ASEAN are studying in 

the United States and an increasing number of Americans are studying in ASEAN countries; 

Whereas ASEAN partners with the United States Government to combat global terror; 

Whereas the United States acceded to the Treaty of Amity 

and Cooperation in 2009; 

Whereas ASEAN constitutes the fourth largest market for 

United States exports and, according to Department of 

Commerce figures, United States exports to ASEAN support over 450,000 jobs in the United States; 

Whereas ASEAN has a population of approximately 

600,000,000 persons; 

Whereas two-way, United States-ASEAN trade totals approximately $180,000,000,000 annually; 

Whereas the nations of ASEAN are working toward economic 

integration; 

Whereas ASEAN has entered into free trade agreements with 

India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New 

Zealand, covering nearly 50 percent of the world’s population; and 

Whereas the United States and ASEAN signed a Trade and 

Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) over five 


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•SRES 218 IS 

years ago, and the United States and ASEAN continue 

to work on trade-related initiatives: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) the United States Trade Representative, in 

3 consultation with other appropriate Federal agencies 

4 and interested stakeholders, should establish and ar5 ticulate a strategy for initiating negotiations for a 

6 free trade agreement between the United States and 

7 ASEAN; and 

8 (2) at the time of free trade agreement negotia9 tions, any pending bilateral issues between the 

10 United States and Burma, including economic sanc11 tions, investment prohibition, travel restrictions or 

12 otherwise, should not deter the United States from 

13 engaging with other ASEAN nations regarding a po14 tential free trade agreement, nor should the United 

15 States encourage trade with Burma, absent signifi16 cant reforms within that country. 

Æ 


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