WEEK ENDING MARCH 10, 2000

AIADA lobbies for estate tax relief. In a letter delivered to each House member prior to the vote, AIADA and other members of the Family Business Estate Tax Coalition encouraged Congress to pass H.R. 3832 including estate tax relief. According to the letter, "estate tax provisions included in H.R. 3832 represent a significant step toward eliminating the onerous death tax . . . We urge you to seize this opportunity to reduce this onerous burden on America's businesses." Elimination of the estate tax remains a top legislative priority for AIADA.

House resolution introduced requiring U.S. withdrawal from WTO. U.S. trade law provides for a "review of U.S. participation in the WTO every five years" and states that Congress "may vote on a joint resolution disapproving the continued participation of the U.S. in the WTO." The U.S. included this report on the WTO as part of its annual trade report submitted to Congress last week. On Monday, March 6, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced House Joint Resolution 90 requiring the U.S. to withdraw from the WTO. The following members have co-sponsored the resolution: Reps. Helen Chenoweth-Hage (R-WY), John Duncan, Jr. (R-TN), Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Jack Metcalf (R-WA), Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA), and Gene Taylor (D-MS). The House has 90 legislative days to act on the resolution. A similar resolution has not been introduced in the Senate.

AIADA opposes WTO withdrawal resolution. As free trade proponents and supporters of a global, rules-based trading system, AIADA opposes the Paul resolution to withdraw from the WTO and will work to ensure its defeat.