[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 76 (Tuesday, April 22, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 16993-16995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-07062]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90 , No. 76 / Tuesday, April 22, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 16993]]
Executive Order 14276 of April 17, 2025
Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Background. The United States controls one
of the largest and most abundant ocean resources in the
world, with over 4 million square miles of prime
fishing grounds. With this vast resource and centuries
of hard work from American fishermen, our Nation has
the greatest seafood in the world.
Most American fish stocks are healthy and have viable
markets. Despite these opportunities, seafood is one of
the most heavily regulated sectors in the United
States. Federal overregulation has restricted fishermen
from productively harvesting American seafood including
through restrictive catch limits, selling our fishing
grounds to foreign offshore wind companies, inaccurate
and outdated fisheries data, and delayed adoption of
modern technology.
The United States should be the world's dominant
seafood leader. But in addition to overregulation,
unfair trade practices have put our seafood markets at
a competitive disadvantage. Nearly 90 percent of
seafood on our shelves is now imported, and the seafood
trade deficit stands at over $20 billion. The erosion
of American seafood competitiveness at the hands of
unfair foreign trade practices must end.
Sec. 2. Purpose. The United States must address unfair
trade practices, eliminate unsafe imports, level the
unfair playing field that has benefited foreign fishing
companies, promote ethical sourcing, reduce regulatory
burdens, and ensure the integrity of the seafood supply
chain. Previously, I signed Executive Order 13921 of
May 7, 2020 (Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness
and Economic Growth). That successful order--which
remains in effect--enhanced the competitiveness of
United States seafood, streamlined regulations,
supported maritime jobs and coastal economies, and
improved data collection. During the past 4 years, our
fishermen were once again crushed under the pressure of
unnecessary regulations and unfavorable policies. It is
vital that we now build upon our previous hard work
with new, additional measures to promote domestic
fishing.
Sec. 3. Policy. It is the policy of the United States
to promote the productive harvest of our seafood
resources; unburden our commercial fishermen from
costly and inefficient regulation; combat illegal,
unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; and protect
our seafood markets from the unfair trade practices of
foreign nations.
Sec. 4. A New Era of Seafood Policy. (a) The Secretary
of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of
Health and Human Services and with input from the
United States fishing industry, shall immediately
consider suspending, revising, or rescinding
regulations that overly burden America's commercial
fishing, aquaculture, and fish processing industries at
the fishery-specific level. Within 30 days of the date
of this order, the Secretary of Commerce shall identify
the most heavily overregulated fisheries requiring
action and take appropriate action to reduce the
regulatory burden on them, in cooperation with the
Regional Fishery Management Councils, interagency
partners, and through public-private partnerships, as
appropriate. This process shall include the following
actions:
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(i) The Secretary of Commerce shall request that each Regional Fishery
Management Council, within 180 days of the date of this order, provide the
Secretary of Commerce with updates to their recommendations submitted
pursuant to Executive Order 13921, to reduce burdens on domestic fishing
and to increase production. Building upon the earlier goals, identified
actions should stabilize markets, improve access, enhance economic
profitability, and prevent closures. The Regional Fishery Management
Councils will commit to a work plan and a schedule for implementation to
ensure these actions are prioritized.
(ii) The Secretary of Commerce shall solicit direct public comments,
including from fishing industry members, technology experts, marine
scientists, and other relevant parties, for innovative ideas to improve
fisheries management and science within the requirements of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.);
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.); and other applicable laws.
(iii) The Secretary of Commerce shall pursue additional direct public
engagement to ensure executive departments and agencies (agencies) are
focusing core fisheries management and science functions to directly
support priority needs that strengthen our Nation's seafood supply chain.
(b) Upon completion of the process described in
subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of
Commerce shall consider updating the Department of
Commerce's contribution to the Unified Regulatory
Agenda. The Secretary of Commerce shall resume
submission of annual reports to the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget, the Assistant to the
President for Economic Policy, the Assistant to the
President for Domestic Policy, and the Chairman of the
Council on Environmental Quality pursuant to these
activities as described in Executive Order 13921.
(c) The Secretary of Commerce shall direct the
National Marine Fisheries Service to incorporate less
expensive and more reliable technologies and
cooperative research programs into fishery assessments
conducted pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 1867. As soon as
practicable, the Secretary of Commerce shall expand
exempted fishing permit programs to promote fishing
opportunities nationwide. Further, the Secretary of
Commerce shall take all appropriate action to modernize
data collection and analytical practices that will
improve the responsiveness of fisheries management to
real-time ocean conditions.
(d) The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with
the Secretary of Agriculture, shall develop and
implement an America First Seafood Strategy to promote
production, marketing, sale, and export of United
States fishery and aquaculture products and strengthen
domestic processing capacity. This program shall
accelerate the Department of Agriculture's efforts to
educate American consumers about the health benefits of
seafood and increase seafood purchases in nutrition
programs.
(e) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the
Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade
Representative, in consultation with members of the
Interagency Seafood Trade Task Force, shall assess
seafood competitiveness issues and jointly develop a
comprehensive seafood trade strategy. The strategy
shall be based upon the Seafood Trade Strategy of
November 3, 2020, that improves access to foreign
markets and addresses unfair trade practices--including
IUU fishing and unjustified non-tariff barriers--while
ensuring a fair and competitive domestic market for
United States seafood producers.
(f) The United States Trade Representative shall
examine the relevant trade practices of major seafood-
producing nations, including with regard to IUU fishing
and the use of forced labor in the seafood supply
chain, and consider appropriate responses, including
pursuing solutions through negotiations or trade
enforcement authorities, such as under section 301 of
the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411).
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(g) The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, and other relevant
agencies, shall immediately consider revising or
rescinding recent expansions of the Seafood Import
Monitoring Program to unnecessary species and further
improve the program to more effectively target high-
risk shipments from nations that routinely violate
international fishery regulations. The Secretary of
Commerce, the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall use cost
savings to improve thorough checks at United States
ports to prevent IUU seafood from entering the market.
The Secretary of Commerce shall further consider
options to use improved technology to identify foreign
fishery-related violations.
(h) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the
Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the
Secretary of the Interior, shall review all existing
marine national monuments and provide recommendations
to the President of any that should be opened to
commercial fishing. In making these recommendations,
the Secretary of Commerce will consider whether the
opening of the monuments to commercial fishing would be
consistent with the preservation of the historic
landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and
other objects of historic or scientific interest
originally identified in the proclamations establishing
the marine national monuments.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
April 17, 2025.
[FR Doc. 2025-07062
Filed 4-21-25; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P