Hi All,

Good morning! We are seeking NGO signatures for an updated letter of support for the IUU fishing and forced labor provisions in the House and Senate versions of H.R. 4521, variously known as America COMPETES Act and USICA.

Congress has formed a conference committee to reconcile the two versions of this bill, currently being referred to as the “Bipartisan Innovation Act.”

Thank you very much to previous signers, apologies for cross-postings, and we ask that you review the updated version and sign again by COB Tuesday, May 24th. We have updated the letter (attached and in the Google sign-on form) to include two new sections:

A paragraph on the ban on Russian seafood, and why traceability is necessary to implement that ban effectively.
A paragraph in support of the provision in the Senate version of the bill, Section 71002, requiring Customs and Border Protection (the “Customs” part of CBP) to take action on IUU fishing and forced labor in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce.

Here is the new paragraph regarding the Senate provision:

As noted above, the Senate bill (USICA) also contains a valuable provision that would combat forced labor in global seafood supply chains. Section 71002 directs Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to issue regulations to verify that no seafood is imported into the U.S. that is harvested or produced using forced labor, since import of goods derived from forced labor is illegal under Section 307 of the Tariff Act. The provision directs CBP to coordinate with the Secretary of Commerce and the Coast Guard to develop a strategy to use SIMP data to identify seafood imports at risk of violation.

We request your sign-on using this linked Google form by COB Tuesday, May 24. The letter is also attached.

Thank you for taking a look. Let me (llevison@oceana.org) or Max Valentine (mvalentine@oceana.org) know if you have any questions.

Best,

Lara