[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 136 (Thursday, October 11, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H6683-H6684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




DUTY-FREE STATUS OF CANNED TUNA PRODUCTS FOR ANDEAN COUNTRIES SHOULD BE 
                                OPPOSED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from America Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, the entire United States tuna 
industry, with the exception of StarKist, opposes granting duty-free 
status to capped tuna products from Andean countries as contemplated in 
the Andean Trade Preference Agreement. Shame on Charlie the Tuna. Shame 
on StarKist for threatening an American industry, American consumers, 
and even American workers.
  Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is there is enough tuna 
production capacity in Ecuador to supply the entire U.S. market with 
canned tuna. Put another way, there is enough production capacity in 
Ecuador to wipe out the U.S. brands of tuna that our Nation has come to 
love and trust. No more Chicken of the Sea. No more Bumble Bee. If 
canned tuna is not exempted from the Andean trade agreement, the only 
thing America consumers will know is private-label tuna packed in 
Ecuador and other Andean countries.
  How safe is it? Consider this: Ecuador and Colombia incurred more 
than 706 fishing violations in the years 1998 and 1999 and still 
counting. Of those violations, only three actions were taken. In other 
words, Ecuador goes unchecked. Ecuador keeps fishing beyond the closure 
of the fisheries, past the quota, and breaks the rules; but America 
lives by the rules, Mr. Speaker.
  Our U.S. purse seining fleet, which conducts tuna fishing operations, 
also plays by the rules, our rules. Chicken of the Sea lives by the 
rules. Bumble Bee lives by the rules, but StarKist wants us to ignore 
the rules. I say to Charlie the Tuna, sorry, rules are important.
  The Andean pact countries are not up to the same standards utilized 
by the U.S. canned tuna processors. How safe will canned tuna be if 
Ecuador is allowed to dump its products in the United States? What does 
this mean for the American consumer?
  The fact of the matter is that canned tuna represents the third 
fastest moving product category in the entire U.S. grocery business. 
Canned tuna provides a high-quality affordable source of protein for 96 
percent of U.S. families. Shame on Charlie the Tuna. Shame on StarKist 
and H.J. Heinz for putting the American consumers at risk and for 
putting Americans out of work.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish to reiterate that the entire U.S. tuna industry 
with the exception of Heinz and its subsidiary, StarKist, is opposed to 
the inclusion of canned tuna in the Andean trade agreement. Every U.S. 
processor, with the exception of StarKist, is about the business of 
protecting America's tuna industry. I also wish to note that Bumble Bee 
is the only American company that has invested in the Andean pact 
region. Yet despite its presence in Ecuador, Bumble Bee does not 
support the inclusion of canned tuna in the Andean trade agreement. 
Chicken of the Sea does not support the inclusion of canned tuna in the 
Andean trade agreement. The U.S. fishing fleet does not support the 
inclusion of canned tuna in the Andean trade agreement.
  Today, the Andean pact nations have the largest fleet in the eastern 
Pacific region controlling more than 35 percent of the total catch, 
growing from about 20 obsolete fishing vessels now to 87 large fishing 
vessels.
  Mr. Speaker, Ecuador and others fail to adequately cooperate with 
international conservation and abide by the Inter-American Tuna 
Commission regulations. Elimination of duties will result in product 
dumping, threatening American consumers and American industry. The U.S. 
International Trade Commission conducted studies of the tuna industry 
for 5 years, verifying canned tuna is an import-sensitive product.

[[Page H6684]]

  Mr. Speaker, if Ecuador is allowed to send its tuna into America duty 
free, canned tuna will become a foreign-controlled commodity instead of 
a branded product U.S. consumers have trusted for over 95 years. If 
Ecuador is allowed to send its tuna into the U.S. duty free, U.S. tuna 
operations in California, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa will be 
forced to close. I am talking about American workers losing 10,000 jobs 
if this industry closes.
  Mr. Speaker, I say respectfully shame on Charlie the Tuna. Shame on 
StarKist. Shame on H.J. Heinz for threatening an American industry in a 
time of national crisis.

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