[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 117 (Thursday, August 2, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5988-S5989]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN:
  S. 3518. A bill to make it a principal negotiating objective of the 
United States in trade negotiations to eliminate government fisheries 
subsidies, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Fair Trade in 
Seafood Act.
  Right now, our country is proud to be a world leader in the fishing 
and seafood processing industries. We rank among the world's top five 
exporters of seafood, and its largest importer. However, the U.S. 
seafood industry faces many challenges on the global stage from unfair 
competition. The Congress should be doing everything it can to make 
sure we retain our status as global leader. That is why I am 
introducing the Fair Trade in Seafood Act. This bill will establish 
this issue as a Principal Negotiating Objective of the United States in 
the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership and World Trade Organization 
talks.
  Why is this bill important? According to the United Nations Food and 
Agricultural Organization, 85 percent of the world's fisheries are 
fully exploited, overexploited, depleted, or recovering from 
depletion--the highest percentage since the Food and Agricultural 
Organization began keeping records.
  Many governments continue to provide significant subsidies that push 
their fleets to fish longer, more intensively, and farther away than 
otherwise would be possible. These destructive fisheries subsidies are 
estimated to be at least $16 billion annually, an amount equivalent to 
approximately 20 percent of the value of the world catch. The 
detrimental effects of these illegal subsidies are so significant that 
eliminating them is the single greatest action that can be taken to 
protect the world's oceans.
  In contrast to these nefarious actors, the U.S. does not just talk 
about the importance of sustainable fishing practices and marine 
conservation. We are practicing what we preach. That means enforcing 
regulations and changing old, counterproductive, destructive habits. 
Our seafood industry is stronger because of it. At the same time, our 
market is open. In my view, this is the way every country ought to run 
its seafood industry. Our foreign trading partners, as I mentioned, 
often support practices that can cause long-term harm to marine 
habitat. In addition, our trading partners put up trade barriers that 
prevent sustainably caught U.S. seafood from reaching foreign 
consumers. These are practices that skew the playing field in a 
competitive marketplace. They skew the playing field against American 
fishers and give foreign competitors a huge advantage in an industry 
that depends on global trade. Forty percent of global fishery products 
are traded internationally, and seafood is more globally sourced than 
coffee, rice, and tea combined.
  These harmful foreign trade barriers and practices that encourage 
overfishing are top priorities that need to be addressed. These foreign 
trade barriers harm our country's ability to create good-paying jobs. 
Preserving the wealth of the world's marine environment is of paramount 
importance. The U.S. seafood industry represents a major portion of our 
economy, employing over 1.5 million workers in the commercial sector 
alone. The commercial seafood industry has a significant presence in 
over 23 States and is an industry and, in fact, a way of life, a way of 
life that binds communities and stitches together the regions of our 
country. The seafood sector employs more people than the mining or oil 
industries.
  It is also a foundation of our economy because, without fish, there 
are no jobs. Preserving the wealth of our oceans and rivers is an 
economic imperative as much as a moral one. That is why I urge my 
colleagues to cosponsor the Fair Trade in Seafood Act.
  In short, this Act will codify an official trade negotiating 
objective of the United States with respect to government fisheries 
subsidies. More specifically, the negotiating objective will be to 
eliminate fisheries subsidies provided by governments that unfairly 
destroy markets to the detriment of the United States commercial 
fishing interests and that perpetuate unsustainable fishing practices. 
The bill aims to ensure that any commitments with respect to such 
subsidies are enforceable under appropriate trade laws. This 
negotiating objective will apply to any trade agreement that includes 
any negotiations relating to the elimination or reduction of government 
fisheries subsidies.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3518

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

[[Page S5989]]

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Trade in Seafood Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of 
     the United Nations, 85 percent of the world's fisheries are 
     overexploited, fully exploited, significantly depleted, or 
     recovering from overexploitation, the highest percentage ever 
     on record.
       (2) A primary reason for the global fisheries crisis is 
     government subsidies that create perverse incentives for 
     continued fishing in the face of declining catches.
       (3) Despite the dire conditions of the world's marine 
     resources, some of the countries that engage in the most 
     fishing continue to provide significant subsidies to their 
     fishing fleets.
       (4) Fisheries subsidies are estimated to be approximately 
     20 percent of the value of the world catch and have helped 
     create a global fishing fleet that is up to 250 percent 
     larger than that needed to fish sustainably.
       (5) Many long-range foreign fleets are supported by 
     government subsidies for fuel, other operational expenses, 
     and vessel construction that allow their fleets to fish 
     longer, at greater distances, and more intensively than is 
     commercially or environmentally warranted. Those fleets would 
     not be viable without the support of government subsidies.
       (6) Many developing countries are particularly affected by 
     fisheries subsidies provided by other governments because the 
     developing countries are unable to compete against subsidized 
     industrial fleets.
       (7) Fisheries subsidies offered by the governments of other 
     countries give the fleets of those countries an unfair 
     advantage over United States fishermen by reducing the costs 
     of operations and increasing the number, size, and power of 
     vessels competing for fish. Foreign fisheries subsidies also 
     undermine opportunities for United States fishermen in 
     potential export markets.
       (8) Without committed global leadership to reduce 
     ``overfishing subsidies'', there is a significant risk that 
     the oceans will become too depleted to fish, resulting in a 
     catastrophic blow to the world economy and environment.
       (9) As one of the world's largest importers of seafood and 
     one of the top five exporters of seafood, the United States 
     has a particular responsibility to lead trade negotiations to 
     address fisheries subsidies and make the establishment of 
     strong new rules on fisheries subsidies a core priority in 
     United States trade negotiations.
       (10) Paragraphs 28 and 31 of the Ministerial Declaration of 
     the World Trade Organization adopted at Doha November 14, 
     2001, which launched the Doha Development Agenda, called for 
     negotiations to clarify and improve disciplines on trade-
     distorting government fisheries subsidies.
       (11) Paragraphs 9 through 11 of Annex D of the Ministerial 
     Declaration of the World Trade Organization adopted at Hong 
     Kong December 18, 2005, reinforced the Doha fisheries 
     subsidies mandate, noting that ``there is broad agreement 
     that the Group should strengthen disciplines on subsidies in 
     the fisheries sector, including through the prohibition of 
     certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to 
     overcapacity and over-fishing'' and calling on ``Participants 
     promptly to undertake further detailed work to, inter alia, 
     establish the nature and extent of those disciplines, 
     including transparency and enforceability''.
       (12) The negotiations on fisheries subsidies in the World 
     Trade Organization and negotiations for the Trans-Pacific 
     Partnership Agreement are two of the most important, and 
     promising, international efforts to stop global overfishing 
     and represent meaningful efforts to directly address a key 
     environmental issue that directly impacts international 
     trade.
       (13) On November 12, 2011, the leaders of the 9 countries 
     in negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement--
     Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, 
     Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States--announced 
     the achievement of the broad outlines of an ambitious, 21st-
     century agreement. According to a statement released by those 
     leaders, the agreed outline calls for ``[a] meaningful 
     outcome on environment [that] will ensure that the agreement 
     appropriately addresses important trade and environment 
     challenges and enhances the mutual supportiveness of trade 
     and environment. The TPP countries share the view that the 
     environment text should include effective provisions on 
     trade-related issues that would help to reinforce 
     environmental protection and are discussing an effective 
     institutional arrangement to oversee implementation and a 
     specific cooperation framework for addressing capacity 
     building needs.''. Various proposals, including a proposal by 
     the United States, to bring disciplines to government-
     subsidized fishing are under active discussion as part of the 
     negotiations on the environment chapter of the Trans-Pacific 
     Partnership Agreement.
       (14) The United States continues to make achievement of an 
     agreement on disciplines on government fisheries subsidies a 
     priority in negotiations in the World Trade Organization and 
     for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. On December 16, 
     2011, at the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade 
     Organization in Geneva, the United States Trade 
     Representative issued a statement urging ``continued work 
     toward an ambitious outcome on fisheries subsidies under the 
     WTO''. Noting the acute impact of declining catches on 
     developing countries, the Trade Representative further 
     stated, ``We stand ready to explore new negotiating 
     approaches that can move us towards the elimination of 
     harmful subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and 
     overfishing. . . . WTO Members have a duty to address one of 
     the root causes of overfishing and overcapacity--the 
     fisheries subsidies that encourage fishing enterprises to 
     fish longer, harder, and farther than would otherwise be 
     sustainable without subsidy aid. . . . The United States is 
     ready to continue this work in the WTO and in other 
     appropriate fora--including free trade agreements such as the 
     Trans-Pacific Partnership and other bilateral, regional and 
     multilateral initiatives.''.
       (15) A strong fisheries subsidies agreement by the World 
     Trade Organization and in the Trans-Pacific Partnership 
     Agreement would set an historic precedent by showing that 
     international trade can directly benefit the environment 
     while promoting exports and open markets.

     SEC. 3. TRADE NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES OF THE UNITED STATES 
                   WITH RESPECT TO GOVERNMENT FISHERIES SUBSIDIES.

       It shall be a principal negotiating objective of the United 
     States in negotiations for a trade agreement--
       (1) to eliminate fisheries subsidies provided by 
     governments that unfairly distort markets to the detriment of 
     United States commercial fishing interests and that 
     perpetuate unsustainable fishing practices; and
       (2) to ensure that any commitments with respect to such 
     subsidies are enforceable under appropriate trade laws.

     SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This Act takes effect on the date of the enactment of this 
     Act and applies with respect to negotiations for a trade 
     agreement that--
       (1) include any negotiations relating to the elimination or 
     reduction of government fisheries subsidies; and
       (2) are entered into--
       (A) on or after such date of enactment; or
       (B) before such date of enactment if the negotiations 
     continue on or after such date of enactment.

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