Vermont SR 11: Senate resolution relating to temporarily amending the rules of the Senate to include rules during Declared Emergencies

Bill Text

State of Vermont
Senate Chamber
Montpelier, Vermont
Senate Resolution
Offered by Senators Baruth, Beck, Bongartz, Brennan, Brock, Chittenden, Clarkson, Collamore, Cummings,
Douglass, Gulick, Hardy, Harrison, Hart, Hashim, Heffernan, Lyons, Major, Mattos, Norris, Perchlik, Plunkett, Ram
Hinsdale, Vyhovsky, Watson, Westman and White,
S.R. 11. Senate resolution relating to supporting warm and cooperative relations on the part of both the United
States and the State of Vermont with Canada and urging President Trump to remove all tariffs that he has imposed
against Canadian imports and to refrain from subsequently imposing any new tariffs against Canadian imports.
Senate resolution honoring the historic, integrated, and productive relations on the part of both the United States
and the State of Vermont with Canada and the Province of Quebec; urging that Congress reassert its role in the
crafting of international trade policy, including the imposition of tariffs; and urging that President Trump remove all
tariffs he has imposed on Canada since January 20, 2025, including those outside the United States-Mexico-Canada
Agreement (USMCA).
Whereas, the United States and Canada have been military and diplomatic allies and economic partners, even
though episodes of commercial disagreement, since Canadian confederation in 1867, and
Whereas, perhaps no American state has a closer and more active two-way relationship with our northern neighbor
than the State of Vermont, and
Whereas, these ties entail personal, cultural, and economic relationships, and
Whereas, many Vermonters enjoy travel to Montreal and Quebec City while Canadians, especially Quebecers,
reciprocate with journeys to Vermont to take advantage of the State’s outstanding outdoor recreational opportunities,
and
Whereas, on the economic front, for 2023, the Canadian Consulate in Boston reported that Vermont exported $680
million in goods and $165 million in services to Canada, and that same year, Vermont imported $2.6 billion in goods
from Canada, and Canadian investments in the State supported over 17,000 Vermont jobs, and
Whereas, according to the Department of Public Service, in 2023, 24 percent of Vermont’s electric supply
portfolio was served by Hydro-Québec, aside from any renewable energy credits, and Vermont Gas Systems receives
100 percent of its gas from Canada, and
Whereas, in recent years, Governor Philip Scott has repeatedly traveled to Montreal on trade missions and has
strived to enhance Vermont-Quebec trade ties, and
Whereas, on the national level, according to TD Bank, during the first three quarters of 2024, approximately $683
billion in combined goods and services was shipped in both directions across the United States-Canada border, and
Whereas, the same report also noted that Canada is the United States’ number one export market, and significant
elements of this trade are integrated commerce, especially in the automobile manufacturing sector, and
Whereas, Governor Philip Scott has established an interagency task force to prepare for the implementation of
tariffs on Canadian goods, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate:
That the Senate of the State of Vermont supports warm and cooperative relations on the part of both the United
States and the State of Vermont with Canada and urges President Trump to remove all tariffs that he has imposed
against Canadian imports and to refrain from subsequently imposing any new tariffs against Canadian imports, and be
it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to President Donald J. Trump,
Governor Philip B. Scott, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Quebec Premier François Legault, and the Vermont
Congressional Delegation.

Whereas, the United States and Canada have been military and diplomatic allies and economic partners, even
through episodes of commercial disagreement, since Canadian confederation in 1867, and
Whereas, perhaps no American state has a closer and more active two-way relationship with our northern
neighbor than the State of Vermont, and
Whereas, these ties entail cultural, economic, familial, and personal relationships, and
Whereas, many Vermonters and Canadians have enjoyed mutually seamless travel between our countries, and
Whereas, in recent years, Vermont State officials repeatedly traveled to Montreal on trade missions and have
strived to enhance Vermont-Quebec trade ties, and
Whereas, the importance of this relationship is epitomized in the Agency of Commerce and Community
Development’s maintenance of a trade office in Canada to work continuously with federal, provincial, and local
officials and the private sector to maximize opportunities for a vibrant two-way trading relationship between Vermont
and our northern neighbor, and
Whereas, on the economic front, for 2023, the Canadian Consulate in Boston reported that Vermont exported $680
million in goods and $165 million in services to Canada, and, that same year, Vermont impo