International Business Policy Issues

 

Partnership Issues

Global Sourcing Free Trade Agreements
Immigration Reform U.S./China Trade Relations
U.S./European Union Trade Relations Trade Promotion Authority
Section 911, Internal Revenue Code Unilateral Economic Sanctions
Export Assistance  

 

GLOBAL SOURCING
“The Greater Houston Partnership opposes legislative or regulatory measures that discourage or curtail the practice of worldwide sourcing in order to maintain and increase the competitiveness of American firms in the world markets.” (Resolution issued by the Board of Directors on April 6, 2005)

FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS
The board adopted a resolution (1992) in support of NAFTA and the Partnership actively advocated for ratification of the CAFTA/DR agreement; however, there is currently no standing resolution on free trade agreements. The Partnership also advocated for ratification of the recently implemented US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement.

IMMIGRATION REFORM
Immigration/Guest Worker Reform
“The Greater Houston Partnership supports comprehensive immigration reform legislation that creates an efficient temporary worker program which allows employers to recruit skilled and unskilled immigrant workers when there is a shortage of domestic workers and provides legal status for qualified, screened undocumented migrants now in the country.

The following principles were adopted by the Partnership board of directors in July 2004 and serve as core values for evaluating immigration/guest worker legislation:

  • Serve the economy by matching willing workers with willing employers;
  • Provide for the first workable temporary workers program;
  • Provide incentives for return to home country;
  • Permit undocumented workers already in the United States to apply for temporary work visa status;
  • Permit application by semi- and low-skilled individuals abroad for entry under temporary work visa status; and
  • Require immigration pursuant to current immigration law and seek improvements as needed.”
    (Resolution issued by the Board of Directors on March 1, 2006)

Immigration/Employment Verification Worker Reform
“The Greater Houston Partnership supports comprehensive immigration reform legislation that includes measures that will secure our borders, while creating an employment verification system that is fast and reliable.  New laws that only impose increased civil and criminal penalties on employers, without providing viable legal options for hiring skilled and semi skilled workers, is not workable.” (Resolution proposed)

Medical Visas
“The Greater Houston Partnership supports the creation of a medical visa by the United States Congress in order to prioritize and expedite the security clearance for international patients seeking medical care from institutions in the Texas Medical Center.” (Resolution issued by the Board of Directors on February 5, 2003)

U.S.-CHINA TRADE RELATIONS
“The Board of Directors supports strengthening commercial ties with China based on compliance with World Trade Organization commitments, including important areas such as agriculture, government procurement, distribution and trading rights, intellectual property rights, and standards. The Board of Directors opposes punitive legislative efforts that would undermine United States trade relations with China.” (Resolution issued by the Board of Directors on July 6, 2005)

U.S./E.U Trade Relations
“Support initiatives to expand cooperation between the U.S. and the European Union to remove regulatory barriers that hinder two-way trade and financial services by harmonizing U.S. and E.U. regulatory systems and procedures for meeting health, safety, environmental, consumer and security requirements.” (Resolution issued by the Board of Directors on November 2, 2005)

TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY
“The Greater Houston Partnership supports renewal of the President of the Untied States’ Trade Promotion Authority (formerly Fast Track Authority) for a period of two years beginning on June 1, 2005. Trade Promotion Authority enables the President to conduct trade negotiations essential to the elimination of non-tariff barriers and lowering tariffs.” (Resolution issued by the Board of Directors on July 6, 2005)

SECTION 911, INTERNAL REVENUE CODE
“The Board of Directors opposes the curtailment of the foreign-earned income exclusion of Section 911 of the Internal Revenue Code in order to protect U.S. companies’ ability to recruit American workers to live and work abroad.” (Resolution issued by the Board of Directors on April 6, 2005)

UNILATERAL ECONOMIC SANCTIONS
“Unilateral economic sanctions are currently being used around the globe by the United States government for a variety of reasons ranging from human rights violations to ‘dumping violations.’ Numerous studies have shown that these sanctions are not effective in the world markets in that they create both negative costs and competitive disadvantages for U.S. companies operating in those countries or competing markets in the region where the sanction is imposed.

Those sanctions are causing a loss of American jobs to foreign competitors and are imposing great costs on the U.S. companies prevented from doing business by the imposition of these sanctions.

The Greater Houston Partnership and its 2,400 member companies urge the government to give full consideration to the negative costs and the loss of American jobs of unilateral economic sanctions to American businesses and to weigh those factors against their use before imposing them. Additionally, we would urge the use of those unilateral sanctions only to counter direct threats to the physical security or territorial integrity of the United States.” (Resolution issued by the Board of Directors on July 7, 1998)

EXPORT FUNDING
U.S. Export Assistance Centers
“Supporting an increase of two Trade Specialists (TS) in the Commerce Department’s Houston U.S. Export Assistance Center (Houston USEAC). Whereas the office had four TS in the early 90s, there were only two TS personnel in 2001, which severely impacted its capabilities to serve the international business community in the Houston region.” (Resolution issued by the Board of Directors in July 2001)