[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5454 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5454

  To amend the African Elephant Conservation Act to provide for trade 
 sanctions against countries involved in illegal ivory trade, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 11, 2014

 Mr. DeFazio introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the African Elephant Conservation Act to provide for trade 
 sanctions against countries involved in illegal ivory trade, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Targeted Use of Sanctions for 
Killing Elephants in Their Range Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) poaching of African elephants has increased 
        dramatically since 2006, and has reached levels that threaten 
        the continued existence of many elephant populations;
            (2) poaching of African elephants is being driven by 
        increased demand for ivory in Asia, which has caused ivory 
        prices to rise exponentially in recent years;
            (3) high ivory prices have drawn organized criminal 
        elements into the illegal ivory trade, and it is widely 
        recognized that transnational crime rings involved in 
        trafficking in drugs, guns, and humans are also responsible for 
        trafficking in large quantities of poached ivory from Africa to 
        Asia;
            (4) there is significant evidence that terrorist and 
        insurgent groups in Africa, including groups with ties to al-
        Qaeda, are financing their operations through the sale of 
        illegal ivory;
            (5) the elephant poaching crisis has become so severe, and 
        the tactics of poachers so sophisticated, that traditional 
        approaches to conservation law enforcement intended to protect 
        elephants in their habitat in Africa are failing;
            (6) a number of countries that serve as major source, 
        transit, or destination points for illegal ivory have proven 
        unable or unwilling to stop the product from coming across 
        their borders; and
            (7) strategies to reduce demand for ivory through education 
        and other nonbinding means are necessary, but not sufficient, 
        to conserve African elephant populations.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide a means by 
which the United States can affect demand for and illegal trafficking 
of African elephant ivory in other countries by requiring those 
countries to enter into consultations with the United States to end the 
illegal ivory trade, as a condition of continued access to United 
States markets for other natural resource products.

SEC. 3. ILLEGAL IVORY TRADE DEFINED.

    Section 2305 of the African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
4244) is amended by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (13) as 
paragraphs (6) through (14), respectively, and by inserting after 
paragraph (4) the following:
            ``(5) Illegal ivory trade.--The term `illegal ivory trade' 
        means any sale, purchase, barter, transit, or exchange of raw 
        ivory or worked ivory that was taken in violation of the laws 
        of an ivory producing country or of international wildlife 
        trade agreements, including CITES.''.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO FINDINGS IN AFRICAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION ACT.

    Section 2003 of the African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
4202) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) Poaching and trafficking of wildlife has become a 
        global crisis, funding organized criminal syndicates and 
        terrorist organizations and harming elephant populations and 
        local communities. African elephant ivory is at the center of 
        this crisis, and immediate action is necessary to eliminate the 
        demand for ivory and the profit incentive for poachers and 
        traffickers.''.

SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    Section 2004 of the African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
4203) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon at the end of 
        paragraph (1);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and 
        by inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) to prevent additional African elephant ivory from 
        entering global commerce, and to reduce demand for ivory that 
        is driving elephant poaching by limiting natural resources-
        related trade with countries whose nationals are engaged in 
        illegal ivory trade.''.

SEC. 6. CERTIFICATION UNDER FISHERMEN'S PROTECTIVE ACT OF 1967.

    Section 2202 of the African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
4222) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Certification.--Identification of a country by the CITES 
Standing Committee as a country of primary concern because it is a 
significant source or transit or destination point for illegal ivory 
trade is deemed to be a certification with respect to the country for 
the purposes of section 8(a) of the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 
(22 U.S.C. 1978(a)).''.

SEC. 7. CONSULTATION AND SANCTION.

    (a) In General.--Part II of the African Elephant Conservation Act 
(16 U.S.C. 4221 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 2206. CONSULTATION AND SANCTION.

    ``(a) Consultation.--Not later than 30 days after a certification 
with respect to the country under section 2202(g), the President shall 
seek to enter into consultations with the government of the country for 
the purpose of obtaining an agreement that will immediately terminate 
all illegal ivory trade into, out of, or within that country.
    ``(b) Prohibition on Trade in Related Natural Resources.--
            ``(1) In general.--If consultations with a government under 
        subsection (a) are not satisfactorily concluded within 90 days 
        or if a government refuses to enter into consultations, the 
        President shall direct the Secretary to prohibit the 
        importation into the United States of products of wildlife, 
        fish, and plants from that country until the earlier of--
                    ``(A) the date an agreement with the country under 
                subsection (a) is finalized; or
                    ``(B) the date the CITES Standing Committee finds 
                that the country is no longer a significant source or 
                transit or destination point for illegal ivory trade.
            ``(2) Public notice.--The Secretary shall publish public 
        notice of any prohibition under this subsection not later than 
        30 days before the effective date of the prohibition.
    ``(c) Determination of Effectiveness of Sanctions.--Not later than 
180 days after the effective date of a prohibition under subsection 
(b), the Secretary shall determine and report to Congress whether--
            ``(1) the prohibition is sufficient to cause the country to 
        terminate illegal ivory trade into, out of, or within that 
        country; and
            ``(2) that country has retaliated against the United States 
        as a result of that prohibition.''.
    (b) Countries Identified Before Enactment.--In the case of a 
country that before the date of the enactment of this Act was 
identified by the CITES Standing Committee as a country of primary 
concern because it is a significant source or transit or destination 
point for illegal ivory trade and that the CITES Standing Committee 
continues to identify as such on the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the President shall seek to enter into consultations under the 
amendment made by subsection (a) by not later than 30 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
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