[Senate Treaty Document 107-2]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



107th Congress                                              Treaty Doc.
                                SENATE                     
 1st Session                                                   107-2
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



 
  PROTOCOL AMENDING 1949 CONVENTION OF INTER-AMERICAN TROPICAL TUNA 
                              COMMISSION

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

PROTOCOL TO AMEND THE 1949 CONVENTION ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTER-
  AMERICAN TROPICAL TUNA COMMISSION, DONE AT GUAYAQUIL, JUNE 11, 1999, 
  AND SIGNED BY THE UNITED STATES, SUBJECT TO RATIFICATION, IN 
  GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR, ON THE SAME DATE




 January 8, 2001.--The Protocol was read the first time, and together 
  with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations and ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate
                               __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
89-118                     WASHINGTON : 2001

                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                  The White House, January 8, 2001.
To the Senate of the United States:
    With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the 
Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith the Protocol to 
Amend the 1949 Convention on the Establishment of an Inter-
American Tropical Tuna Commission, done at Guayaquil, June 11, 
1999, and signed by the United States, subject to ratification, 
in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on the same date. In addition, I 
transmit, for the information of the Senate, the report of the 
Department of State with respect to the Protocol. The Protocol 
will not require implementing legislation.
    The Protocol amends the Convention for the Establishment of 
an Inter-American Tropical Commission, done at Washington May 
31, 1949, and entered into force March 3, 1950 (the 
``Convention''), to allow the European Union to become a member 
of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) created 
under the Convention. Presently, the Convention is only open to 
governments of states. The Protocol will, upon entry into 
force, allow regional economic integration organizations like 
the European Union to become a party to the Convention and a 
full member of the IATTC provided all parties to the Convention 
give their consent to such adherence. The Protocol also 
provides that the Member States of any regional economic 
integration organization that is allowed to adhere to the 
Protocol are barred from joining or continuing as a party to 
the Convention except with respect to the Member States' 
territories that are outside the territorial scope of the 
treaty establishing the regional economic integration 
organization.
    Allowing the European Union to accede to the Convention is 
important to the United States because it would mean that the 
vessels operating under the jurisdiction of the European Union 
and its Member States would be bound by the conservation and 
management measures adopted by the IATTC for the fishery 
resources of the eastern Pacific Ocean.
    I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable 
consideration to the Protocol and give its advice and consent 
to ratification.

                                                William J. Clinton.
                          LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                       Department of State,
                                         Washington, July 25, 2000.
The President,
The White House.
    The President: I have the honor to submit to you the 
Protocol to Amend the 1949 convention on the Establishment of 
an Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (``the Protocol''), 
done at Guayaquil, June 11, 1999. The United States signed the 
protocol, subject to ratification, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on 
the same date. I recommend that the Protocol be transmitted to 
the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification.
    The Protocol amends the Convention for the Establishment of 
an Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, done at Washington 
May 31, 1949 and entered into force March 3, 1950 (``the 
Convention'') to allow the European Union to become a member of 
the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) created 
under the Convention. Over the last 50 years, the IATTC has 
grown in importance and membership. Today it is the principal 
international organization addressing the conservation and 
management of highly migratory fish stocks in the eastern 
Pacific Ocean. The IATTC currently has 11 members: Costa Rica, 
Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, 
the United States, Vanuatu and Venezuela.
     Spain, a member of the European Union (EU), has vessels 
fishing in the eastern Pacific Ocean (currently the only EU 
member with vessels fishing in the region). Like all members of 
the EU, Spain has transferred competence for fisheries matters 
to the European Commission pursuant to the Common Fisheries 
Policy adopted by the EU in 1983, including the authority to 
enter into international agreements with respect to those 
matters.
    The European Union (through the European Community, the 
juridical entity with the capacity to enter into international 
agreements) now wishes to adhere to the 1949 Convention and 
become a full member of the IATTC on behalf of its Member 
States fishing in the region. However, Article V(3) of the 
Convention currently limits membership in the IATTC to 
governments whose nationals participate in the fisheries 
covered by the Convention. It does not provide for membership 
by regional economic integration organizations such as the 
European Union. Thus, for the European Union to become a party 
to the Convention (and a member of the IATTC) the Convention 
must be amended. The United States generally supports regional 
economic integration organizations (``REIOs'') such as the 
European Union becoming party to treaties in which they have 
exclusive or shared competence in the treaties' subject matter, 
provided the rights and obligations of the REIO and its Member 
States under the treaty do not give rise to conflicting 
obligations or create a situation where the REIO and its Member 
States together receive greater rights than other states party 
to the treaty that are not members of a REIO.
    In this case, the European Union has exclusive competency 
over the fishing fleets of its Member States. Thus, the 
Department supports the desire of the European Union to 
participate as a member of the IATTC so that the vessels 
operating under the jurisdiction of the European Union will be 
bound by the conversation and management measures adopted by 
the Commission for the fishery resources of the eastern Pacific 
Ocean. (Despite the transfer of competence on fisheries matters 
to the EU, France has remained a member of the IATTC, primarily 
due to the fact that France participates in the IATTC in 
respect of certain Pacific territories over which the EU does 
not exercise competence.)
    Last year, the members of the IATTC negotiated a Protocol 
to amend the Convention so as to allow REIOs such as the 
European Union to become a party to the Convention and a full 
member of the IATTC. The Protocol consists of two articles, 
which are discussed in detail below.
    Article I of the Protocol contains the proposed changes to 
the text of the Convention. Paragraphs 1 through 6 and 
paragraph 8 of Article 1 contain conforming changes to the 
Convention to modify references to ``governments,'' ``national 
sections,'' ``nationals'' and ``legislation'' to accommodate 
participation by REIOs such as the European Union.
    Article I paragraph 7 is the operative section of the 
Protocol, amending the membership clause (Article V(3)) of the 
Convention. Paragraph 7 provides that governments and REIOs 
(defined as an organization constituted by states that have 
transferred to such organization both competence over matters 
within the purview of the Convention and the capacity to enter 
into international agreements with respect to such matters) 
which have jurisdiction over nationals engaged in fishing 
covered by the Convention, may express a desire to adhere to 
the Convention. The paragraph requires the unanimous consent of 
all parties to the Convention in order for such government or 
REIO to adhere to the Convention. Furthermore, this paragraph 
also specifies that when a REIO adheres to the Convention, each 
of its Member States is barred from becoming a party, or 
continuing to be a party, to the Convention except in respect 
of territories not covered by the treaty establishing the REIO, 
in which case such Member State's participation under the 
Convention is limited to representing the interests of those 
territories. Thus, should the EU eventually join the IATTC, 
France would continue to be a party to the Convention in 
respect of its Pacific territories of Clipperton Island and 
French Polynesia, which do not fall with the geographic scope 
of the treaty establishing the European Union.
    Article II to the Protocol contains provisions relating to 
the signature, ratification, entry into force, and other 
technical matters relating to the operation of the Protocol. In 
particular, it specifies that the Protocol will enter into 
force thirty days after all of the parties to the Convention 
have indicated their consent to be bound by the Protocol.
    The Protocol contains no provisions that require new 
legislation or other authority before it can be implemented by 
the United States.
    Accordingly, I recommend that the Protocol be transmitted 
to the Senate as soon as possible for its early and favorable 
advice and consent to ratification.
    Respectfully submitted.
                                               Thomas R. Pickering.


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