SJR 8-U.S.-MEXICO-CANADA AGREEMENT ON TRADE  1:38:06 PM CHAIR REINBOLD reconvened the meeting and announced that the next order of business would be SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 8, Supporting the ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade; encouraging the federal Administration to remove the steel and aluminum tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico; and urging the United States Congress and the federal Administration to call on Canada and Mexico to remove retaliatory tariffs on all goods and services exported from the United States. 1:38:21 PM ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, Intern, Senator Mia Costello, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, presented SJR 8 on behalf of the sponsor. She reported that Congressman Don Young said that he did not have an official position, but he would be listening to Alaskans. Thus, passage of SJR 8 would inform him of Alaskans' stance on trade, she said. 1:39:00 PM MATT MORRISON, Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER), Seattle, stated that Alaska is a founding PNWER member and has been PNWER's partner since 1991. He said that trade and cooperation with Canada is important and essential to Alaska especially since Alaska connects to the Lower 48 through Canada. He said the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has provided an important framework for trade. In 2017, Canada bought $700 million in exports from Alaska, he said. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) negotiations would provide an updated agreement for NAFTA. The Congress needs to hear from the states that it is important to ratify the USMCA agreement, he said. He stated that SJR 8 seeks to accomplish two things. First, it expresses to the Congress that ratification of the USMCA is important. Second, it would call on the administration, Canada and Mexico to remove the tariffs that adversely impact the region. He reported that Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, in particular, affect Alaska. At last week's hearing, he mentioned that U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski estimated that the cost of steel represented 10 - 20 percent of the cost to construct and operate an oil field. Certainly, it would be a major cost in pipeline construction, he said. The tariffs on steel and aluminum could increase any pipeline construction costs by three to five percent. For example, these increased tariffs would cost an additional $75 million for a 280-mile project. This could also increase the cost of the proposed natural gas pipeline by up to $500 million, he said. MR. MORRISON related that the second part of the resolution requests a waiver on Canada and Mexico for the steel and aluminum tariffs and requests those countries remove the retaliatory tariffs on U.S. producers. He said that PNWER has considered this agreement from many perspectives and has found that most states are considering similar resolutions. He reported that a resolution has passed in the Idaho Senate and the Montana Senate. A resolution has also been introduced in Oregon, as well. He said that PNWER believes that the USMCA will be good for the region. He has met with members of the Congressional delegation and delegation members were anxious to hear from the states. He reiterated that SJR 8 seeks to officially recognize the importance of the USMCA to Alaska. 1:43:23 PM CHAIR REINBOLD closed public testimony on SJR 8. 1:44:12 PM CHAIR REINBOLD asked to have the objection removed. SENATOR BISHOP removed his objection. 1:44:24 PM SENATOR COSTELLO moved to report SJR 8, work order 31-LS0488\A, Version A, from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). There being no objection, SJR 8 was reported from the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.