BILL NUMBER: SR 20 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senators Emmerson, Berryhill, DeSaulnier, Liu,
Steinberg, Walters, and Wright
SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
Relative to trade relations with Europe.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST
WHEREAS, The United States and the European Union are each other's
largest trading and investment partners. The United States and
European Union economies combined account for nearly one-half of the
entire world's gross domestic product (GDP) and for nearly one-third
of the world's trade flows. The United States possesses 21.6 percent
of the world's GDP and the European Union possesses 25.1 percent of
the world's GDP; and
WHEREAS, The transatlantic relationship between the United States
and European Union also defines the shape of the global economy as a
whole. Either the United States or the European Union is the largest
trade and investment partner for almost all other countries in the
global economy; and
WHEREAS, Each day, goods and services worth $2.7 billion are
traded between the United States and European Union, promoting
economic growth and supporting millions of jobs in both economies.
The United States and European Union have directly invested more than
$3.7 trillion on both sides of the Atlantic; and
WHEREAS, The United States is comprised of 315 million
inhabitants, and the European Union is comprised of 508 million
inhabitants; and
WHEREAS, Total United States investment in the European Union is
three times higher than in all of Asia, while European Union
investment in the United States is around eight times the amount of
European Union investment in India and China together; and
WHEREAS, A successfully negotiated Transatlantic Trade and
Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement would boost economic growth
in both the United States and European Union and would greatly add to
the over 13 million American and European jobs already supported by
transatlantic trade and investment; and
WHEREAS, Estimates predict that a landmark TTIP agreement between
the United States and European Union could have enormous benefits,
with up to 2 percent or $650 billion of additional GDP on both sides.
Early findings indicate that the TTIP agreement would increase
California exports to the European Union by up to 25 percent and
create 65,000 new California jobs; and
WHEREAS, Ratification of the TTIP agreement would benefit the
United States and European Union trade relationship by doing all of
the following:
(a) Further opening markets to grow the $459 billion in United
States goods and services exports to the European Union, the largest
export market for the United States.
(b) Strengthening rules-based investment to grow the world's
largest investment relationship.
(c) Seeking to both eliminate all tariffs on trade, and tackle
costly nontariff barriers that impede the flow of goods and services
trade.
(d) Seeking to significantly cut the cost of differences in
regulation and standards by promoting greater compatibility,
transparency, and cooperation.
(e) Promoting the global competitiveness of small- and
medium-sized enterprises; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate
urges the President of the United States and the United States
Senate to respectively negotiate and ratify the Transatlantic Trade
and Investment Partnership agreement with the European Union; and be
it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, to each Senator
from California in the United States Senate, and to the author for
appropriate distribution.