Policy Alert: Executive Order on US Seafood Industry

Action: On April 17, the President issued an Executive Order aimed at promoting the competitiveness of the US seafood industry. The Order claims that overregulation and unfair trade practices have hindered the industry’s growth and competitiveness globally. It directs key Federal agencies including the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, the US Trade Representative (USTR), and others to review challenges hampering growth in the US seafood industry and take actions necessary to bolster its development. An industry group applauded this effort to establish the US as the “world’s dominant seafood leader”, which relies on a similar effort under the first Trump Administration, as the US seafood industry has lagged behind global competitors.

Key Insights

• The Order directs the Secretary of Commerce to review current industry regulations and consider “suspending, revising, or rescinding” those that are overly burdensome to fishers within 30 days (a schedule which would preclude operating through regular notice-and-comment regulations). It also mandates that the Secretary identify overregulated fisheries requiring action in collaboration with interagency partners, US Regional Fishery Management Councils, and public-private partnerships, and to take action to reduce compliance costs.
• The Order also seeks to provide new technology and employ modernization efforts toward improved fishery management and grants the National Marine Fisheries Service more reliable technology for monitoring and expanding fishing permits. The Secretary is directed to solicit direct public comments in this area, with a process yet to be announced.
• To address what it terms unfair trade practices, the Order directs USTR to develop a comprehensive seafood trade strategy that improves access to foreign markets. Within 60 days, USTR will examine major seafood-producing nations' practices regarding illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, forced labor, and non-tariff barriers, and pursue solutions through negotiations or enforcement authorities such as a potential Section 301 investigation.
• The Order specifically recognizes a goal to reduce the seafood trade deficit, which has doubled over the past decade to nearly $20 billion. With demand rising significantly during this period, the US remains a top importer of seafood products, primarily from Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam. US exports have remained stagnant at approximately $5 billion.
• The Administration believes that multilateral efforts at the WTO and enforcement measures under existing bilateral trade agreements remain insufficient to address such issues outlined in the Order. While seafood industry leaders have sought effective trade remedies and protections, recent tariff announcements have been met with skepticism.
• The Order directs the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture to develop and implement an “America First Seafood Strategy” to promote domestic production, marketing, sale, and export of relevant products and further strengthen domestic processing capacity.

• The Order also requests the Departments of Commerce and Interior to review existing marine national monuments, or Federally protected ocean areas, for potential openings to commercial fishing.  On the same day as the Order, the President issued a proclamation opening up the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM) to commercial fishing. President Bush established this protected ocean area in the central Pacific Ocean covering nearly 500,000 square miles in 2009; President Obama expanded it and in 2014. The move sparked criticism from conservation groups and marine scientists who support PRIMNM, which hosts several endangered species and deep sea coral reefs and is considered ancestral land for indigenous Pacific Islander groups.