Ranking Natural Resources Dem Asks Biden to Ban Import of Chinese Fish
Because China is undermining the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) with its domestic market for pangolins and pangolin products, the White House should ban the import of "associated fish and wildlife" from China, Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., ranking member on the House Select committee on China, argue.
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"If the PRC refuses to close its domestic market for pangolins and pangolin products, it will continue to incentivize and provide cover for the illegal importation of the species in violation of international agreements and CITES," they wrote in a Dec. 7 letter to the president. PRC stands for the People's Republic of China.
The Interior Department certified China under the Pelly Amendment for its weakening of CITES due to trade in pangolins, and that gives the administration the authorization to ban fish, wildlife or other imports from China, the letter noted.
"We encourage your Administration to maintain the position that the PRC must: (1) completely close its domestic market for pangolins and pangolin parts, (2) transparently account for its domestic stockpiles, and (3) fully remove pangolins from its national list of approved medicines. We urge your Administration to direct certain prohibitions on the importation of, and impose trade measures on, certain products from the PRC if significant commitments by the PRC to implement CITES-directed measures to protect pangolin species have not been made by December 31, 2023, as you outlined in your Message to the Congress," they said.
Other players have argued for the ban of Chinese seafood on forced labor grounds, such as Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who introduced a bill along those lines earlier this week (see 2312060036)
Kristen Abrams, the senior director for combating human trafficking at the McCain Institute, also penned an opinion piece published in Fast Company this week arguing that Chinese use of forced labor in the industry means the administration needs to act more forcefully to stop fish from that country entering the U.S.
"Much of the world eats seafood from China, including in the U.S. where seafood caught by Chinese ships or processed in Chinese factories accounts for the largest portion of imported seafood. Much of this seafood had been certified by audits that gave the impression that it was more humanely and sustainably caught or processed," she wrote. But, she noted, the Outlaw Ocean Project's uncovering of both North Korean labor and transferred Uyghur labor in processing houses happened at facilities that had been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.
"Other industries have had their moment of reckoning," she wrote, mentioning the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh's apparel industry. "Now, that time has come for seafood."