Panetta, Steel Urge Investigation of Forced Labor in Seafood Supply Chains

Monterey, CA – United States Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) and Michelle Steel (CA-45) led a bipartisan group of lawmakers to urge the Biden Administration to investigate allegations of forced labor in seafood supply chains with China.  In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Troy Miller, the Members emphasize the importance of action ahead of fishing subsidies negotiations at the upcoming World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Ministerial (MC13).  The letter was signed by 12 Members of Congress.

Despite ongoing issues in the Chinese fishing sector, the WTO’s Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies still does not include a ban on subsidies for fishing activities that use forced labor.  The Ocean Outlaw Project (OOP), a non-profit journalism organization that produces investigative stories about human rights, labor, and environmental concerns, recently provided evidence of several fishing companies working with the Chinese government and Chinese provincial governments to recruit and utilize Uyghur forced labor. 

“Congress has made clear that it is our shared responsibility to combat human trafficking by curbing imports produced with forced labor and sanctioning the companies and individuals responsible,” said the Members. “China’s seafood industry has been a clear source of forced labor, and recent reporting by the OOP has drawn much needed attention to the sector.  Given the evidence before us, we have a duty to investigate allegations of forced labor both on the high seas and in seafood processing, especially when it is part of a CCP-sponsored effort to subjugate the minority Uyghur population.”

Additional signers include; Reps. Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Darin LaHood (IL-16), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Greg Steube (FL-17), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Terri Sewell (AL-07), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Dan Kildee (MI-08), Brad Schneider (IL-10), and Jimmy Gomez (CA-34).

The full letter can be found here and below.

Dear Secretary Blinken, Ambassador Tai, and Acting Commissioner Miller:

As Members of the Ways and Means Committee, we urge you to investigate allegations of forced labor in seafood supply chains associated with China and promptly take appropriate action to address these deplorable practices.  Action by the administration would complement ongoing multilateral efforts to reduce unfair practices in the global fishing sector in the lead-up to the World Trade Organization’s 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13).

In the coming weeks, countries will meet at MC13, where a critical topic will be addressing harmful fisheries subsidies. WTO members will discuss urgent work toward entry into force of the 2022 WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, while also considering expansion of the current agreement to address a broader range of harmful subsidies in this sector.  Nearly 90 percent of the planet’s fish stocks are fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted.  As a result of state intervention—of which China is by far the worst offender—the world faces an ecological and food security threat.

Fisheries subsidies are a human rights threat as well. The current Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies does not explicitly address a number of unfair practices, including the use of forced labor in seafood supply chains. To complement the negotiations and demonstrate the commitment of the United States to combatting unfair fishing practices more broadly, the United States should take available unilateral action to address identified instances of unfair fishing practices, such as forced labor.

For example, there is mounting evidence that Chinese seafood companies—allegedly including Yantai Sanko Fisheries, Yantai Longwin Foods, the Chishan Group, Shandong Meijia Group, Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Foodstuffs, and the Rongsense Group, —are complicit in, or directly responsible for, forced labor by Uyghurs or other minority populations from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. While the pattern of forced labor by the Chinese government, in Xinjiang and beyond, is known, there is evidence of these companies working with China’s national and provincial governments to recruit and utilize forced labor. We are concerned that such abuses may taint U.S. seafood supply chains, as we are aware of serious allegations that seafood produced with forced labor supplies food service companies, grocers, and restaurants around the world, including in the United States.  

Therefore, we urge you to consider, and when appropriate, use available tools that Congress has provided to combat these practices. Sanctions, including those pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, could be a powerful tool to hold individuals accountable who are involved in the trade of seafood made with forced labor and send a message to the global industry that forced labor will not be tolerated. Given the specific allegations of forced labor in the context of both fishing vessels and processing, Customs and Border Protection should also consider potential Withhold Release Orders to effectuate the forced labor prohibition in Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as well as the application of the rebuttable presumption set forth in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.  

Effective deployment of these tools sends a strong message to our trading partners that the United States takes unfair fisheries practices seriously. Driving a hard bargain at MC13 for an outcome that effectively disciplines distortive fishing subsidies and stepping up to challenge forced labor in seafood supply chains are complementary actions that demonstrate U.S. leadership on an issue of economic, ecological, and human rights significance.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

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