[Senate Treaty Document 115-3]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Treaty Doc.
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-3
_______________________________________________________________________
AMENDMENTS TO THE TREATY ON FISHERIES BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF
CERTAIN PACIFIC ISLAND STATES AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA
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MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
AMENDMENTS TO THE TREATY ON FISHERIES BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF
CERTAIN PACIFIC ISLAND STATES AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA
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August 28, 2018.--Treaty was read the first time, and together with the
accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations and
order to be printed for the use of the Senate
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
79-118 WASHINGTON : 2018
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
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The White House, August 28, 2018.
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 Amendments to
the Treaty on Fisheries between the Governments of Certain
Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States
of America, done at Port Moresby April 2, 1987, as amended (the
``Treaty''), done at Nadi, Fiji, December 3, 2016. I also
transmit, for the information of the Senate, the amendments to
the Annexes to the Treaty and report of the Department of State
with respect to the Treaty and a Memorandum of Understanding
reflecting the parties' intent to provisionally apply certain
amendments.
The objective of the Treaty is to provide United States
purse seine vessels with fishing access to waters under the
jurisdiction of 16 Pacific Island parties, and to provide a
platform for broader cooperation between the parties. The
Amendments update the Treaty's terms and conditions to promote
more effective cooperation between parties and United States
private-sector stakeholders. The Senate gave its advice and
consent to prior amendments to the Treaty in 2003, but those
amendments never entered into force. The Amendments my
Administration is now submitting include some of those prior
amendments.
The Treaty and its Amendments serve United States
diplomatic and economic interests by promoting positive
relations with the Pacific Island parties and allowing for the
continued operation of the United States-flagged fishing fleet
in the region. The Amendments are supported by both Pacific
Island parties and United States industry stakeholders.
The recommended changes to the Treaty's implementing
legislation, the South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988, to reflect the
Amendments to the Treaty and its Annexes, will be submitted
separately to the Congress.
I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable
consideration to the Amendments to this Treaty, and give its
advice and consent to ratification.
Donald J. Trump.
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL
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Department of State,
Washington, July 26, 2017.
The President,
The White House.
The President: I have the honor to submit to you, with a
view to its transmission to the Senate for advice and consent
to ratification, Amendments to the 1987 Treaty on Fisheries
between the Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and
the Government of the United States of America, as amended (the
``Treaty''), done at Nadi on December 3, 2016. The Treaty was
ratified by the United States on December 21, 1987, and entered
into force on June 15, 1988. It was later amended May 14, 1992.
Further amendments were submitted to the President on December
28, 2002, and transmitted to the Senate on February 11, 2003,
but those amendments never entered into force.
The Treaty has been a cornerstone of our relations with the
Pacific Island region for approximately three decades, and is
often referred to domestically as the South Pacific Tuna
Treaty. It provides fishing access for U.S. purse seine vessels
to the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of 16 Pacific Island
parties (PIPs), and promotes broader cooperation between the
parties and relevant stakeholders.
The United States and the PIPs had been renegotiating the
Treaty and its Annexes since 2009 to update the text and extend
the terms of fishing access for U.S. vessels. In June 2016,
after the U.S. notified that it planned to withdraw from the
Treaty, the parties agreed in principle on a revised ``business
model'' under the Treaty. The Annexes include the terms and
conditions for a more viable framework for U.S. industry
fishing access through 2022. The parties formally adopted the
agreed amendments to the Treaty and its Annexes on December 3,
2016, in Nadi, Fiji.
The agreement reached to amend the Treaty is consistent
with the Administration's foreign policy objectives to ensure
the United States engages in international negotiations to
support commercial, as well as diplomatic interests. The Treaty
supports significant economic activity; according to previous
estimates, the value of tuna caught by vessels operating under
the Treaty could approach $500 million annually. It is
especially important to the economy of American Samoa, which is
heavily dependent on the operation of fishing vessels and an
associated tuna cannery.
An overview of the Treaty Amendments, including a detailed
article-by-article analysis, is enclosed with this report. Also
included, for the information of the Senate, are the amendments
to the Annexes to the Treaty, which do not require advice and
consent, and a Memorandum of Understanding stating the parties'
intent to implement certain amendments provisionally as of
January 1, 2017. The Memorandum of Understanding has allowed
U.S. fishing vessels to continue operating in the region
without interruption. Recommended amendments to the South
Pacific Tuna Act of 1988, the implementing legislation for the
Treaty, will be submitted separately to Congress.
The relevant U.S. fishing industry supports the Amendments.
The Treaty Amendments are also strongly supported by the
Government of American Samoa. The U.S. Department of Commerce
and the U.S. Coast Guard join the Department of State in
recommending that the proposed Agreement be transmitted to the
Senate as soon as possible for its advice and consent to
ratification.
Respectfully submitted,
Rex W. Tillerson.
Enclosures: As stated.
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