[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 109 (Thursday, June 22, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2205-S2207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       TAX CONVENTION WITH CHILE

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Bennet). Under the previous order, the 
Senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of 
treaty document No. 112-8, which the clerk will state.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       Treaty Document No. 112-8, Tax Convention with Chile.

  Pending:

       Schumer Amendment No. 136, to add an effective date.


                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 2011

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I rise this afternoon to bring forward, 
once again, my bill--the United States-Russian Federation Seafood 
Reciprocity Act.
  This is a really important bill for our fishermen throughout America. 
This is a really important bill as it relates to sanctions against 
Russia. It is a really important bill as it relates to not letting 
Russia and China evade sanctions that the President of the United 
States has put on them--the Russians, in particular.
  It should be a bipartisan bill with regard to unanimous consent. I 
tried to move it last year. It had an objection. We worked through the 
objection and amended the bill to address the objection, in working 
with the Biden administration, to try to fix this from an 
administrative standpoint, but we were not getting anywhere.
  Once I explain what is happening, I think every person watching--
every American watching--and every Alaskan, certainly, is going to go: 
What the heck? Why on Earth are we not passing Senator Sullivan's bill?
  What is the background?
  Well, here it is.
  You know, I often brag about the great State of Alaska as being the 
superpower of seafood as over 60 percent of all of the seafood 
harvested in America comes from Alaska's waters. We have the most 
sustainable fisheries and the best managed fisheries literally in the 
world. They feed Americans. They feed the whole world.
  So this bill is about that, certainly. But it is about all fishermen, 
including in Massachusetts. I guess my colleague from Massachusetts is 
going to come and object, which is a real disappointment. But this bill 
is also very much about geopolitics and going after the Russians, which 
is all what we think, collectively, we should be doing after their 
brutal invasion of Ukraine.
  So what is the background?
  Let me start with some explanation.
  In 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula, the 
United States imposed sanctions on Russia in a whole host of different 
areas. The Russians retaliated with their own sanctions, and one of 
those sanctions was that Russia banned the import of all American 
seafood into Russia. It is a big market. It is certainly a big market 
for my fishermen. But what was crazy about that is that the Russians 
had banned the importation of America's seafood into Russia in 2014. So 
what is that--8 years ago? 9 years ago? Yet we have kept our market 
open to Russian seafood.
  If you want to talk about an unlevel playing field, Russian seafood 
pours into the United States pretty much duty free, and American 
seafood--Alaskan seafood--going into Russia is banned. So that is just 
wrong. That is just wrong. Russian seafood imports into the United 
States have increased by close to 200 percent--200 percent.
  Russian seafood companies are largely owned by Russian oligarchs, who 
are supporting this war--Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine--and, of 
course, they have been stealing market share from American fishermen, 
undermining the markets for our U.S. fishermen that we have worked hard 
on in our own country.
  Does anyone in America think this makes sense? It doesn't. It 
doesn't.
  Much of this cash, the Russian imports--we are talking hundreds of 
millions, up 200 percent--go back to the Russian oligarchs, the Russian 
Government to help drive their war machine.
  So since I came to the Senate 8 years ago, I have been trying with 
every administration to stop this unlevel playing field. Again, Russia 
imports hundreds of millions of dollars of seafood into our market 
almost duty-free, going after American fishermen, and we can't export 
one fish to Russia. Who thinks that is fair? So I tried with President 
Obama--he wouldn't help; President Trump--he wouldn't help; and 
President Biden. Well, it took a war--literally, it took a war--to get 
some administration to try and fix this.
  President Biden--to his credit and at my urging--when he issued his 
Executive order targeting the Russians with sanctions, part of that 
order included a prohibition of Russian seafood coming into America. 
Great. That is what we needed. That is only fair. It goes after the 
Russian war-machine oligarchs. That was welcome news, intended to 
isolate the Russian economy. However--however--the Biden Executive 
order--which, again, we appreciated very much. It is about time. It 
took only 8 years for our own government to say: Wow. Look at this 
unlevel playing field between Russia and America with regard to our 
fishermen and our seafood. But the Biden Executive order has a 
loophole. It has got a massive loophole that, of course, the Russians 
are taking advantage of.
  The vast majority of Russian seafood is harvested and frozen in 
simple product forms and then--guess what--it is shipped to which 
country? That other great dictatorship in the world--I am joking when I 
say ``great''; it is a brutal dictatorship--China. So Russian fishermen 
now send all their fish to China to get it reprocessed--laundered, 
essentially. They fill it with phosphates. And guess where they ship it 
to. The United States. Hundreds of millions of dollars of Russian 
seafood now gets sent to China--another dictatorship--and they send it 
back to the United States almost duty-free. That is a giant loophole. 
It is happening every day. It is an outrage.
  By the way, it is really bad seafood. It turns Americans off from 
eating seafood. They fill it with phosphates, plump it up, nasty, and 
they send it back to the United States.
  So now Russia and China are colluding to avoid the Biden Executive 
order. It is hurting American fishermen, once again, and it is 
strengthening Russia: the oligarchs, the government, the Putin war 
machine.
  I have been working patiently--patiently--for a year with this 
administration. The Deputy Secretary of the Treasury is supposed to 
call me back today.
  You better call me, Mr. Secretary.
  The Secretary of Homeland Security, let's close this loophole. Let's 
close this loophole. It is only benefiting Russia and China, for 
goodness' sake, and it is hurting our fishermen. So I am not sure why 
this isn't happening.
  Again, I have been talking to the administration. The Secretary of 
Homeland Security said: Senator, we will take care of this. You are 
right. This is a loophole we can't abide by. CBP will enforce this. The 
Deputy Secretary of the Treasury: Senator, we will work with OFAC to 
close this loophole. That has been a year, and we are still waiting. 
And the Russian war machine benefits from this. The Chinese, of course, 
benefit from this. And American fishermen are getting screwed. Why 
isn't our government helping?
  Come on, Mr. Secretary. Come on, Mr. Deputy Secretary, call me today. 
Let's fix this.
  But we are not waiting. We are not waiting.

[[Page S2206]]

  What I am trying to do now with my legislation is close the loophole. 
It is going to broaden the application of the President's Executive 
order to encompass seafood products harvested in Russian waters or by 
Russian vessels. That is it. That is what my bill does. Who in America, 
who in the Senate would be against that?
  This will capture Russian-origin products, including those being 
laundered in China. That is it. That is all I want to do.
  With the U.S.-Russian Federation Seafood Reciprocity Act, every 
Republican is cleared on it. Pretty much every Democrat has cleared on 
it. And who wouldn't want to? Because if you are against this bill, you 
are for Russian oligarchs who are still avoiding sanctions on seafood. 
You are against the American fishermen, whether in Alaska or 
Massachusetts, because they are getting screwed by this uneven trade 
relationship, and you are helping the Chinese. I can't imagine anyone 
being against this.
  I am frustrated, as you can tell. My fishermen have been hurt by 
this. The Russian war machine keeps giving revenues. The Russian 
oligarchs who control these companies are getting richer. The Chinese 
are getting richer, and the American fishermen are getting poorer. By 
the way, American consumers are getting a pretty gross product from 
China, filled with Chinese additives and phosphates.
  So I told the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury: Hey, I have had 
enough. Come on, you guys have got to fix this. It is not hard. We do 
Russian origins--we do origins of seafood. Buyers know where this is 
coming from.
  I see my good friend--and he is my good friend--Senator Markey is on 
the floor and probably is going to object, which would be really 
disappointing. But even that, a year ago, when Senator Markey objected 
to this, I said: Well, let's work together, so we did. And one of the 
things we put in my bill is in this bill now; it has got a 90-day 
provision to enforce it. So if you are an American seafood company 
still importing Russian seafood--and you know it, by the way, so shame 
on you, shame on you--but you are like: Hey, boy, I know. I am kind of 
addicted to this Russian seafood that goes through China. I am going to 
need some time to get other seafood markets for my seafood processors 
in Massachusetts or New Hampshire. This bill says: OK. We will give you 
90 days.

  By the way, I have talked to Alaska fishermen. They say like, hey, 
you need fish? Get it from us. Get it from America. Get it from Alaska. 
Why are you getting it from the Russians and the Chinese? For goodness' 
sake. Who the hell is for that? Who can be for that?
  Our importers know how to trace, so that is not a good excuse.
  This isn't about lost jobs. Like I said, we can supply the seafood 
from Americans--great Alaskan and Massachusetts fishermen.
  I am down here frustrated. The Biden administration won't close a 
loophole that they promised me they would. It is not that hard. Come 
on, guys. Really? You are OK with a loophole and the President's own 
sanctions that provide hundreds of millions of dollars to the Russian 
Government and oligarchs because you are cheating and going through 
China? You don't want to close that loophole? I doubt if someone told 
President Biden about this; he would want to close that loophole.
  I am here on the floor, and I am going to ask unanimous consent for 
my U.S.-Russian Seafood Reciprocity Act. It is the right thing to do. 
Everybody knows it. Everybody knows it.
  I hope my colleague Senator Markey is down here on the floor to say: 
I support this bill because it is the right thing to do for fishermen 
in Alaska and Massachusetts, and it is certainly the right thing to do 
to keep the screws tightened on the Russian war machine.
  So, Mr. President, as in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent 
that the Finance Committee be discharged from further consideration of 
S. 2011 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. I 
further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, 
and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the 
table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Ossoff). Is there objection?
  The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I 
vigorously oppose Putin's illegal and unjust invasion of Ukraine, and I 
have supported American aid to help Ukraine defend itself. Putin's war 
of aggression cannot stand. And I am perfectly willing to push back on 
Russia, but we have to do it the right way.
  I sincerely respect the Senator from Alaska's concerns about Russian 
seafood imports. I believe it is unfair and improper that Russia has 
banned American seafood imports since 2014. And I appreciate the 
Senator's willingness to work with me on his proposal last year that 
would have created an immediate disruption to the seafood supply chain 
and to instead provide more time for our processors who purchase more 
than 80 percent of their seafood from Alaska to be able to meet demand 
with supplies from other markets. However, the bill Senator Sullivan is 
trying to pass through live by unanimous consent today--which has not 
yet been considered in the Senate Finance Committee to which it was 
referred--has raised other questions from seafood processors and from 
my colleagues in New England in terms of workability.
  The Senator was able to work with my staff to resolve the issues in 
his proposal last year, and I thank him for that. But this new proposal 
has new provisions that will need some time for us to work out.
  We actually succeeded last year, but now we need the time to do the 
same thing, and we have to make sure that it has workability for New 
England.
  The bill would block the import of Russian seafood that has been 
substantially transformed in another country. It is unclear if U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection has the full capacity to determine and 
enforce where seafood comes from before it has been substantially 
transformed, since this new proposal would go against how seafood 
origin has been considered under longstanding U.S. law and defined 
through the U.S. Treasury Department.
  So, as a result, while Customs and Border Protection attempts this 
difficult enforcement task, processors could see major disruption. 
Workers could lose their jobs. Consumer goods costs for Americans could 
rise significantly.
  With that in mind, and with a sincere message that I want to send to 
the Senator from Alaska with regard to not only mine but our entire New 
England delegation's willingness to work with him, I object to the 
passage of this bill at this time, and I ask the Senator to continue to 
have a willingness to work with us so that we can resolve the new 
issues that are raised in this proposal.
  So at this time, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I certainly will continue to work with 
my friend from Massachusetts--and he is my friend, and I have a lot of 
respect for him. He and I work together on a number of things, but with 
all due respect, that was a bit of a rope-a-dope tapdance you just 
witnessed here on the Senate floor because he pretty much made the same 
arguments 16 months ago--16 months ago; the same arguments, right here, 
the two of us. Let me address a couple of these.
  The issue of this tough on CBP to do this, it is not that tough. I 
have talked to the head of CBP. Heck, I have talked to the Secretary of 
Homeland Security. They can do this. The U.S. market demands a high 
level of scrutiny on seafood supply chains. We already have 
certification systems in place that require the kind of information 
needed to enforce my legislation. Any seafood supplier who is serious 
about their job knows that they have this information.
  By the way, most seafood suppliers are getting off Russian seafood 
because they know what is happening. They don't want to support this 
Russian war machine.
  Unfortunately, we are seeing some certification efforts, such as the 
Marine Stewardship Council--shame on them--allowing themselves to be 
pulled into a profit-driven mindset that is focused on one thing: money 
and benefiting Russia. What do I mean by that?
  You can hardly believe it. When I heard the MSC--supposedly, an 
organization with a good reputation--the Marine Stewardship Council has 
recently

[[Page S2207]]

certified Russian fisheries as sustainable, this is a joke. It is 
ridiculous. Shame on you, MSC, helping fund the Putin war machine.

  Regardless, I am 100-percent certain that any companies in America 
now laundering Russian product--and you know who you are--companies 
which, unfortunately, I worry my colleague from Massachusetts is 
defending--they absolutely have the ability to trace and certify 
exactly where the products are coming from. That is a fact. So this 
argument, which was made 16 months ago, still doesn't work.
  On the job loss issue, we put into this bill a 90-day provision to 
prevent the disruption. U.S. harvests of seafood are largely from U.S. 
citizens, including thousands of independent owners and operators of 
fishing vessels and small businesses in coastal communities in Alaska, 
in Massachusetts, and all over this great country. And they are being 
hurt by this.
  There are Massachusetts fishermen right now who want my bill to be 
passed--100 percent. We know that. Certainly, thousands of Alaskan 
fishermen. But if you want to compare jobs, let's go. Commercial 
fishing is the top employer in terms of jobs in my State, and it is a 
big employer in Massachusetts.
  So to my colleague from Massachusetts, what I offered last year I 
still offer now. Let Alaskan fishermen send their fish to you guys. Or, 
heck, Massachusetts fishermen, don't rely on Russian fishermen 
laundered through the communist Chinese economy to go to a few 
processors in Massachusetts. That is why you are blocking this. No 
offense, but that is why you are blocking this.
  So, look, I know you are vigorously supporting Ukraine and so am I, 
but this is a chink in the armor here. On this issue, you are not. And 
we can solve this right now if you change your vote, my colleague, and 
say: You know what, I am not going to object. Senator Sullivan is 
right. My fishermen need this. Alaskan fishermen need this. Let's clamp 
down on the Russian war machine.
  Sixteen months ago my colleague from Massachusetts made these same 
arguments--16 months ago. It is outrageous. I will continue to work 
with him, but the rope-a-dope tap dance isn't convincing. We need to 
move on this, Mr. President. How you could be down on the floor of the 
U.S. Senate defending this laundering and undermining of President 
Biden's Russian sanctions is beyond me. I will keep working it.
  Maybe the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Deputy Secretary of the 
Treasury, or maybe the White House--Jake Sullivan, you should care 
about this. But for goodness' sake, let's not come on the Senate floor 
and make the same arguments that were made 16 months ago that we 
addressed in the bill that I just brought to the floor.
  The only benefit, right now, of this objection--the only benefit--is 
the Putin--the Russian war machine, the oligarchs who own the Russian 
fishing industry, and the Chinese Communist Party leaders who are part 
of the laundering process in China.
  Every American fisherman loses right now. So I am going to keep 
working this. And I am disappointed in my colleague, who made these 
same arguments 16 months ago and is still not convinced.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, again, the Senator from Alaska and I are 
friends. His father is a Sullivan. My mother is a Sullivan. Sullivans 
are very intelligent people, by the way.
  So, last year, Senator Sullivan brought a bill out onto the floor. We 
had concerns coming from the Massachusetts fishing community--New 
Bedford, Gloucester, famous fishing ports, still today competing with 
Alaska for the title in the United States for the largest in the 
country. And there were some concerns. So I objected. We called a time-
out on the field, and we worked out all of those issues. That was round 
1.
  Now, yesterday, the Senator from Alaska has a new bill with new 
provisions in it. In addition to the provisions from last year that we 
worked out, there are all new provisions. And it is not a rope-a-dope--
though, obviously, anything that uses a Muhammad Ali-created concept is 
a great honor to have attached to us, but we don't see this as rope-a-
dope. This is more just round 2. We finished round 1. Now we are on 
round 2.
  A whole new bill, new language, and, again, the same thing. We are 
willing to work with you, but we can't solve it in 24 hours. My staff 
and yours, sitting down with other members of the New England 
delegation, we can get together and find a commonsense pathway through 
it. But, right now, Gorton's of Gloucester is very concerned about this 
bill. One firm has 450 workers, another has 350 workers, and we have 
dozens of other companies up in Massachusetts with employees that are 
potentially jeopardized by this bill.
  So I am objecting. But I am objecting and inviting the Senator from 
Alaska to, again, engage once again in a good-faith negotiation, and we 
are willing to do so. Then, at the completion of that, we can again 
agree and move forward.
  But I am objecting mainly because of this cascade of concerns that 
are coming from the food processing industry, the seafood processing 
industry, in Massachusetts, all across New England, led by Gorton's of 
Gloucester but many, many others who don't have the same kind of 
national and international reputation but who feel greatly jeopardized 
by the language in this bill. And that is the reason that I am 
objecting while simultaneously saying: It is not a rope-a-dope. Let's 
sit down. Let's try to work out the differences.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I will take my colleague and friend from 
Massachusetts up on his offer. Round 1; 16 months later, round 2. That 
is a lot of people hurting, including Massachusetts fishermen, by this 
unfair trading that we have with Russia--completely unfair. Again, they 
can import all they want into the United States now through China. We 
can't import at all there.
  So I will work with him. The new provisions, by the way, are meant to 
enhance the ability to trace the Russian seafood being laundered. So 
that helps. It still has the 90 days to help Gorton's of Gloucester and 
others to address this.
  But at least my colleague is being honest, right? This is about 
Gorton's of Gloucester. That is kind of what we knew. By the way, to 
Gorton's of Gloucester, here is my message to you: Continuing to import 
Russian seafood is a bad business idea. It is a bad business idea. 
Funding the Putin war machine is a bad business idea. Most American 
business companies have realized that.
  So, Gorton's of Gloucester, here is my idea for you: Buy more Alaskan 
seafood. Buy more Massachusetts seafood. Get off your addiction to 
Russian war-machine seafood that is laundered through China. It is an 
unsustainable business model, and at some point, even your U.S. Senator 
is not going to be able to defend you.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, to my friend, again, from Alaska, we are 
not engaging in a rope-a-dope at all. At the same time, we don't want 
to be a punching bag. We don't want the Massachusetts fishing industry, 
through this processing industry, to get sucker-punched with a bill on 
only 24 hours' notice.
  We are more than willing, again, to work with you in order to resolve 
these issues, and my friend knows that over the years, that is what we 
have done on issue after issue.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.