RESOLUTION 76-9

A RESOLUTION EXPRESSING CONCERN OVER THE FUTURE
OF THE PANAMA CANAL AND ANY NEW PROPOSED TOLLS
AT THE PANAMA CANAL

WHEREAS, much attention has been given to efforts attributed to the United States' Department of State to renegotiate the position of the United States with respect to the Panama Canal; and

WHEREAS, the Panama Canal is one of the Major maritime gateways of the world serving some 14,000 ships a year of which some 8,000 visit and serve United States' ports, with well over 500 of these ships carrying some 12,400,000 tons of cargo from and to Virginia's ports via the Panama Canal in 1975; and

WHEREAS, the Panama Canal permits the United States to maintain its naval responsibilities with fewer ships; and

WHEREAS, the Congress should establish the policy necessary to guide any renegotiations of the Treaty with Panama; and

WHEREAS, the continued availability of the Canal to the United States and its allies at tolls competitive with alternate methods of cargo movement is essential.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the Board of Commissioners of the Virginia Port Authority in regular meeting assembled at Norfolk, Virginia, this 26th day of May, 1976, as follows:.

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The Virginia Port Authority additionally requests
that recently proposed toll increases be denied as
further increases in tolls for passage through the Panama
Canal will create unnatural diversions of maritime cargo

ATTEST:

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to the detriment of the ports of the Commonwealth
of Virginia and will impede greatly this nation's and
the free world's ability to compete in world shipping.

"VIRGINIAN PILOT"

Oct. 5, 1977

Port Panel Registers Concern on Canal Use

HARRISONBURG (AP)-The Virginia Port Authorlty's Executive Committee drafted a resolution Tuesday expressing what a spokesman called “strong concern over the need to protect the continued use of the Panama Canal by Free World shipping."

The committee spokesman, Dick Culbreath, said the resolution will be submitted to the VPA Board of Commissioners at its Oct. 12 meeting in Richmond.

A copy also will be sent to members of Virginia's congressional delegation to inform them, Culbreath said, that reasonable toll rates must be maintained so Virginia ports may stay competitive with ports on the West Coast.

Last year, Culbreath said, Virginia ports handled 10.7 'million tons of cargo valued at $1.6 billion, which passed through the Panama Canal.

Virginia's industries, agricultural products, and coal mines contributed about 2.1 million tons of cargo valued at $320 million that used the canal, he said.

Higher rates for cargo passing through the canal, Culbreath said, would directly affect 22,500 port dependents and port-related jobs in the state, and additional losses could be felt in the $100 million spent annually to handle the cargo and the $6 million generated in direct taxes to the state.

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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 51

Offered February 13, 1974

3 Expressing the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia relative to the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903.

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6 Patrons-Messrs. Barnes, Campbell, Manns, Willey, Hopkins, Aldhizer, Buchanan, Canada, Burruss, Truban, Anderson, Thornton, Goode, Townsend, Warren, Parkerson and Michael

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Referred to the Committee on Rules

Whereas, in nineteen hundred and three, the United States of 13 America was granted sovereignty over the Panama Canal Zone in 14 perpetuity; and

15 Whereas, the Panama Canal is essential to the defense and na16 tional security of the United States of America; and

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Whereas, the Panama Canal is of vital importance to the econ18 omy and interoceanic commerce of the United States of America 19 and the remainder of the free world; and

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Whereas, valuable exports from Virginia go through the Pan21 ama Canal to distant reaches of the globe; and

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Whereas, under the sovereign control of the United States of 23 America, the Panama Canal has provided uninterrupted peacetime 24 transit to all nations; and

25 Whereas, the traditionally unstable nature of Panamanian polit26 ics and government poses an implicit threat to the security of the in27 terests of the United States of America served by the Panama Ca28 nal; and

29 Whereas, the Republic of Panama possesses neither the 30 technical and managerial expertise to effectively operate and main31 tain the Canal nor the capability to meet the growing demands 32 placed upon the Canal; and

33 Whereas, the Canal represents a five billion dollar investment 34 on the part of the people of the United States of America; now, 35 therefore, be it

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Resolved by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, 37 That the General Assembly of Virginia requests that the Congress of

1 the United States reject any encroachment upon the sovereignty of 2 the United States of America over the Panama Canal and insist that 3 the terms of the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903 as subsequently 4 amended be adhered to and retained; and

5 Be it further resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate send copies 6 of this resolution to Richard M. Nixon, President of the United 7 States; Gerald R. Ford, Vice President of the United States; Henry 8 A. Kissinger, Secretary of State; Carl Albert, Speaker of the House; 9 J. William Fulbright, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Commit10 tee; and to each member of the Virginia Delegation to the Congress 11 of the United States.