IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 349
Encouraging the consumption of Fair Trade Certified coffee. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2003
Mr. STARK (for himself, Ms. LEE, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. 
FARR, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 
BROWN of Ohio, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. SABO, 
Mr. FILNER, and Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform, 
and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Encouraging the consumption of Fair Trade Certified coffee.
Whereas in the context of the global economy, consumer 
choices and institutional purchases affect communities 
and the environment throughout the world; 
Whereas since 1997 the price of coffee has declined nearly 70 
percent on the world market and has recently reached its 
lowest level in a century; 
Whereas the collapse of coffee prices has resulted in a wide-
spread humanitarian crisis for 25 million coffee growers 
in more than 50 developing countries where coffee is a
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critical source of rural employment and foreign exchange 
earnings; 
Whereas coffee accounts for approximately 80 percent of ex-
port revenues for Burundi, 54 percent of export revenues 
for Ethiopia, 34 percent of export revenues for Uganda, 
31 percent of export revenues for Rwanda, 30 percent of 
export revenues for Nicaragua, 26 percent of export reve-
nues for El Salvador, and 25 percent of export revenues 
for Honduras; 
Whereas according to the International Coffee Organization, 
coffee producing countries are now only earning $5.5 bil-
lion in revenue from a $70 billion global coffee industry, 
while in 1989, coffee producing countries earned $12 bil-
lion in revenue from a $30 billion global coffee industry; 
Whereas the International Coffee Organization reports that 
in Guatemala, the coffee harvest labor force has been cut 
in half to 250,000, while in Columbia the coffee harvest 
labor force has decreased by 200,000 jobs; 
Whereas the World Bank reports that 600,000 permanent 
and temporary coffee workers in Central America have 
been left unemployed in the last two years; 
Whereas the World Food Program estimates that low inter-
national coffee prices have created 150,000 refugees, 
hundreds of whom have died while thousands have ille-
gally immigrated to the United States in search of work; 
Whereas small-scale coffee farmers who receive local market 
prices for their harvests cannot meet their costs of pro-
duction and are therefore forced into a cycle of poverty, 
unemployment, debt, and migration; 
Whereas The Washington Post, The New York Times, and 
The Wall Street Journal report that coffee farmers are
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switching to cultivating illegal crops, such as coca and 
opium poppy, because these crops are more profitable in 
light of low international coffee prices in traditional cof-
fee-growing countries; 
Whereas the Office of National Drug Control Policy reports 
that illegal drug usage has cost the United States over 
$160 billion dollars; 
Whereas Fair Trade Certification is a solution that ensures 
a minimum price per pound of coffee of $1.26 for pro-
ducers and grants them access to credit; 
Whereas Fair Trade Certification requires the implementa-
tion of sustainable environmental management plans and 
encourages the cultivation of organic and shade grown 
coffee, which eliminates the use of harmful chemicals and 
preserves the critical biodiversity and habitat for migra-
tory birds and other animals; 
Whereas coffee is a cash crop and the income earned through 
the sale of Fair Trade Certified coffee enables coffee 
farmers and their cooperatives to invest in community de-
velopment programs, such as health care and education, 
and in environmentally sound technologies that save 
water, protect soils, and conserve biodiversity; 
Whereas Fair Trade Certification enables small-scale farmers 
to support their families and invest in their farms and 
communities, thereby maintaining economic and social 
stability in rural areas and increasing overall foreign ex-
change earnings for their countries; 
Whereas Fair Trade Certified coffee markets provide a crit-
ical economic alternative for more than 675,000 coffee 
farmers and their families in 23 countries around the 
world who are able to bypass exploitative middlemen and
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sell their coffee directly to markets in North America and 
Europe; 
Whereas the Fair Trade Certified coffee market is growing 
at a rapid rate of more than 50 percent a year, and more 
than 160 companies, including Starbucks, Dunkin’ 
Donuts, Seattle’s Best, Green Mountain, and Sara Lee, 
now offer Fair Trade Certified coffee; 
Whereas Fair Trade Certified coffee is now served in dining 
halls, cafes, and at catered events on more than 200 col-
lege campuses nationwide, including Harvard University, 
the University of California at Berkeley, the University 
of California at Santa Cruz, the University of Michigan, 
Duke University, Oklahoma State University, Georgetown 
University, and the University of Iowa; 
Whereas there is an independent market for Fair Trade Cer-
tified coffee, but the overall supply of Fair Trade Cer-
tified coffee far exceeds current market demand by at 
least 130 million pounds; 
Whereas the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment supports several Fair Trade farmer cooperatives in 
developing countries; 
Whereas Fair Trade Certified coffee is already served in sev-
eral locations in the House of Representatives and the 
Senate, in all dining and cafe´ venues in the World Bank, 
and in many European government agencies, including 
the European Parliament, the British House of Com-
mons, the British Departments of Trade and Industry 
and International Development, and in the Foreign and 
Commonwealth Offices; 
Whereas Fair Trade Certified coffee is of a comparable price 
and taste to other high-quality coffees and has been rec-
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ognized as such by independent, internationally respected 
coffee tasting experts; and 
Whereas support for Fair Trade Certified coffee furthers 
United States foreign policy goals by stemming the wave 
of illegal immigrants from coffee-growing regions, pro-
viding critical economic alternatives to the planting of il-
legal crops, and helping to promote economic and social 
stability and community development in rural areas: 
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that—
(1) the legislative and executive branches of the 
Federal government have a responsibility to set a 
high standard of ethics with regard to their eco-
nomic activities, and should therefore ensure that 
the goods and services they purchase and use are 
produced in the fairest manner possible; 
(2) Fair Trade Certified coffee should be made 
available at all events and food service locations in 
the legislative and executive branches of the Federal 
government, including through indirect purchases by 
food service providers; and 
(3) information should be made available to the 
public and to State and local governments about the 
importance of Fair Trade Certified coffee.
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