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 ship-
ping 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 partici-
pation 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-
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 develop-
ment of its foreign and domestic commerce that the
United States have a merchant marine sufficient to carry
its domestic waterborne export and import foreign com-
merce and to provide shipping services essential for main-
taining the flow of such domestic and foreign waterborne
commerce at all times;
Whereas it is necessary for the national defense and develop-
ment 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 con-
tinue 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 im-
pact the United States’ balance of payments and balance
of trade are fostered and facilitated by foreign govern-
ments which benefit therefrom;
Whereas these foreign shipping practices restrain and ad-
versely affect the ability of United States-flag carriers
and United States seafarers to participate fairly and eq-
HCON 317 IH
uitably in the ocean transportation of imported motor ve-
hicles 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 pri-
vately-owned United States-flag merchant fleet, the roll-
on 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
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress strongly urges the Presi-
dent, the United States Trade Representative, the Sec-
retary of Transportation, and the Secretary of Commerce
to take all appropriate and necessary steps to eliminate,
through international agreements or otherwise, restrictive
foreign shipping practices, policies and arrangements
which restrain or prevent United States-flag carriers and
seafarers from fair and equitable participation in the
ocean transportation of imported motor vehicles into the
United States from countries that annually export more
than 50,000 motor vehicles to the United States, and to
take such other steps that will result in the equitable in-
creased population of United States-flag vessels owned
and operated by citizens of the United States, as defined
in section 2 of the Shipping Act of 1916, (46 U.S.C. 802),
in the transportation of imported motor vehicles in the for-
eign commerce of the United States; and be it further
HCON 317 IH
Resolved, That the President, the United States
Trade Representative, the Secretary of Transportation,
and the Secretary of Commerce shall each submit a report
to Congress no later than February 1, 1995 setting forth
the steps taken on this matter by the administration and
the progress, if any, made in the elimination of the unfair
foreign shipping practices described in this concurrent res-
olution.
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