Sec. 301. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS

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## SEC. 301 FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS ###

(a)Findings Congress makes the following findings: ####

(1)According to the United States Chamber of Commerce, by 2030— #####

(A)66 percent of the global middle class population will be living in Asia; and #####

(B)59 percent of middle class consumption will take place in Asia. ####

(2)According to the Asian Development Bank— #####

(A)Asian countries have signed 140 bilateral or regional trade agreements; and #####

(B)75 more trade agreements with Asian countries are under negotiation or concluded and awaiting entry into force. ####

(3)Free trade agreements between the United States and 3 nations in the Indo-Pacific region (Australia, Singapore, and the Republic of Korea) have entered into force. ####

(4)The member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (referred to in this section as “ASEAN”), as a group— #####

(A)represent the fifth largest economy in the world; and #####

(B)have a combined gross domestic product of $2,400,000,000,000. ####

(5)The economy comprised of ASEAN member states grew by 66 percent between 2006 and 2015, and the total value of bilateral trade between the United States and ASEAN member states has increased by 78 percent since 2004. ####

(6)In 2015, the trade surplus of goods sold by companies in ASEAN member states to consumers in the United States was $77,000,000,000, while the United States 2015 trade surplus of services provided to consumers in ASEAN member states was $8,000,000,000. ####

(7)According to US-ASEAN Business Council, goods and services exported from the United States to ASEAN member states support 550,000 jobs in the United States. ####

(8)According to the Business Roundtable— #####

(A)the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam were responsible for a combined 40 percent of global gross domestic product in 2017; and #####

(B)United States bilateral trade with the other nations referred to in subparagraph

(A)supports 15,600,000 jobs in the United States. ####

(9)According to the United States National Security Strategy— #####

(A)ASEAN and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation “remain centerpieces of the Indo-Pacific’s regional architecture and platforms for promoting an order based on freedom”; and #####

(B)the United States will “work with partners to build a network of states dedicated to free markets and protected from forces that would subvert their sovereignty.”. ###

(b)Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that trade between the United States and the nations in the Indo-Pacific region is vitally important to the United States economy, United States exports, and jobs in the United States.