Interior Alaska News

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) addressed the Senate floor on Wednesday, urging his colleagues to support the U.S.-Russian Federation Seafood Reciprocity Act of 2023. This bipartisan and bicameral legislation aims to close a loophole that allows Russian seafood, reprocessed in other countries, to enter the U.S. market despite an existing prohibition.

Senator Sullivan emphasized that the current ban is ineffective and harms American fishermen while benefiting Russian oligarchs and supporting forced labor practices in China. He criticized U.S.-based seafood companies for importing reprocessed Russian seafood and encouraged them to source from American fisheries instead.

"The authoritarian regimes of Putin and Xi Jinping are working together to avoid American sanctions," said Sen. Sullivan. "They take the Russian seafood caught in Russian waters, and they send it to China and have slave labor transform it, and then sell it to the United States."

Sullivan highlighted Alaska's significant role in America's seafood industry, stating that his state is responsible for over two-thirds of all fish harvested in the country. He pointed out that since 2014, Russia has banned American seafood imports while continuing to export its own products into the U.S., a situation he deems unfair.

The senator also referenced reports on human rights abuses within China's fishing industry, including forced labor involving Uyghur minorities. He cited articles from Politico and The New Yorker detailing these issues.

"My answer is: Come on, be patriotic. Stand with America. Stand with American fishermen," Sullivan urged his colleagues.

Sullivan plans to bring this issue back when Congress reconvenes next year, seeking broad support for what he calls a "no-brainer" piece of legislation designed to protect American interests and address global injustices in the seafood trade.