; Whereas Australia and the United States share strategic interests in the Indo-Asia Pacific region and globally, and have worked together to promote these shared goals and objectives; Whereas the United States and Australia have been free trade agreement partners since 2005, and the United States has a positive trade balance with Australia; Whereas robust United States-Australia defense cooperation contributes not only to the mutual defense of the two countries but also to American jobs; Whereas more than 300,000 U.S. jobs are supported by United States exports to Australia and nearly 9,000 Australian companies sell or operate in the United States; Whereas the United States and Australia work closely in the numerous global and regional fora, including the World Trade Organization and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum; Whereas Australia shares many of the United States concerns in the struggle against Islamist militancy in Southeast Asia and beyond, and is part of the global coalition to defeat the so-called Islamic State (IS) ; and Whereas the United States and Australia have enjoyed a close relationship over many successive Republican and Democratic administrations: Now, therefore, be it