HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 44
(By Delegates Hall, Given, Kelley and Tillis)
Requesting the United States Trade Representative to negotiate
an immediate elimination of the tariff on purified
terephthalic acid (PTA).
Whereas, Shell Chemical Corporation employs 550 people at a
production facility located in Apple Grove, West Virginia, that
produces polyester resin from (PTA); and
Whereas, (PTA) is subject to a tariff imposed by the United
States government that keeps (PTA) prices charged in the United
States the highest in the world; and
Whereas, The United States Trade Representative is authorized
by federal law to negotiate the immediate elimination of tariffs
on (PTA) imported from Mexico; and
Whereas, The immediate elimination of the tariff on (PTA)
would remove a competitive disadvantage borne by Shell Chemical
Corporation at Apple Grove, West Virginia, and enable that plant
and its employees to better compete in the global marketplace;
therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the United States Trade Representative is requested to
negotiate an immediate elimination of the tariff on a commodity
commonly called purified terephthalic acid; and
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House shall,
immediately upon its adoption, transmit duly authenticated copies
of this resolution to the United States Trade Representative.