[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 183 (Monday, November 6, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H5462-H5463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS CONSISTENT WITH SECTION 8 OF THE FISHERMEN'S 
 PROTECTIVE ACT OF 1967, AS AMENDED (22 U.S.C. 1978)--MESSAGE FROM THE 
          PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 118-77)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Natural Resources and ordered to 
be printed:

To the Congress of the United States:
  On August 24, 2023, the Secretary of the Interior certified under 
section 8 of the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967, as amended (the 
``Pelly Amendment'') (22 U.S.C. 1978), that nationals of the People's 
Republic of China (PRC) are engaging in trade or taking of eight 
species of pangolin that diminishes the effectiveness of the Convention 
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 
(CITES). This letter constitutes my notification to the Congress 
consistent with subsection (b) of the Pelly Amendment.
  Pangolins, the world's only scaly mammal, are captured and trafficked 
at a higher rate annually than rhinoceroses, elephants, and tigers 
combined. Consumer demand for pangolin scales for traditional medicinal 
practices has pushed all eight pangolin species, originating from 
across Africa and Asia, toward extinction. Effective January 2, 2017, 
all species of pangolin were included in CITES Appendix I, which 
prohibits international trade for primarily commercial purposes. 
Despite this prohibition, the PRC remains the largest destination 
country for pangolin scales.
  The PRC has taken some steps to curtail pangolin trafficking at its 
international ports and has uplisted pangolins under its Wildlife 
Protection Law. Yet the PRC maintains a system that allows for the 
legal commercial trade of pangolin scales for medicinal use from its 
national stockpiles, thereby indirectly providing commercial avenues 
for selling illegal pangolin specimens through its domestic pangolin 
market. Provincial governments within the PRC are allowed to issue 
permits to designated pharmaceutical companies and other entities to 
acquire pangolin specimens from the PRC's national stockpiles for 
medicinal use.
  According to the United Nations, pangolin seizures have increased 
tenfold since 2014; moreover, based on data

[[Page H5463]]

collected between 2007 and 2018, 71 percent of seizures were destined 
for the PRC. The size of individual seizures has also increased; for 
example, in 2019 Malaysian authorities reported seizing a record-
setting 30 tons of pangolin products. My Administration therefore 
remains concerned that, despite assurances from the PRC regarding its 
anti-trafficking efforts, demand for pangolin scales appears to be 
growing. The PRC must do more to close domestic markets for pangolins 
and pangolin specimens that provide cover for the illegal market. 
Without these actions, it is likely that pangolin populations will 
continue to decline, bringing the species closer to extinction.
  Since the Secretary of the Interior's certification on August 24, 
2023, executive departments and agencies have outlined conservation and 
anti-trafficking conditions that must be met by the PRC to ameliorate 
United States concerns that the PRC is undermining pangolin 
conservation under CITES. Necessary actions by the PRC that would 
demonstrate its commitment to pangolin conservation and compliance with 
CITES directives include completely closing its domestic market for 
pangolins and pangolin parts, transparent accounting of domestic 
stockpiles, and fully removing pangolins and pangolin parts from the 
national list of approved medicines. The PRC has made some progress 
towards its international commitments, but given the complexity of the 
PRC's domestic pangolin market and its overlapping jurisdictions, more 
time is needed to ensure that the appropriate agencies from the PRC are 
implementing the necessary steps to protect pangolin species from 
possible extinction.
  That is why I have directed the Department of State and the 
Department of the Interior to continue their ongoing efforts and to 
report back to me on the outcome of the ongoing negotiations at the 
CITES Standing Committee meeting taking place in Geneva from November 
6-10, 2023. If significant commitments by the PRC to implement CITES-
directed measures to protect pangolin species have not been made by 
December 31, 2023, I plan to direct certain prohibitions on the 
importation of, and impose trade measures on, certain products from the 
PRC.
  The United States will take the steps necessary to end illegal trade 
in order to save pangolins from extinction, with the goal of 
demonstrating progress by the end of this year.
                                                 Joseph R. Biden, Jr.  
The White House, November 3, 2023.

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