Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
05/17/2021 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SJR16|| SJR17 | |
| SJR17|| SJR16 | |
| HB22 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SJR 16 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SJR 17 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 22 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SJR 16-END RUSSIA EMBARGO ON U.S. SEAFOOD
[Contains discussion of SJR 17.]
3:35:20 PM
CHAIR REVAK announced the consideration of SENATE JOINT
RESOLUTION NO. 16 Calling on President Biden to immediately seek
and secure an end to the embargo imposed by Russia on seafood
imports from abroad so that Alaska seafood producers' access to
the Russian domestic seafood market is fully restored.
3:35:36 PM
SENATOR GARY STEVENS, speaking as chair of the Senate Special
Committee on World Trade that sponsored SJR 16, stated that
Alaska's fisheries are a centerpiece of the state's economy and
anything that increases the value of Alaska seafood improves the
health of the state's economy. He reminded the committee that in
August 2014, Russia banned a broad range of food products from
the European Union (EU), the United States, Canada, Australia,
and Norway in retaliation to the Western sanctions to the
Ukraine crisis. The ban includes nearly all seafood products
from Alaska which makes it very difficult for Alaska seafood
processors to stay competitive in the world market. They need
help from the federal government.
SJR 16 reaches out and urges the federal government to restore
Alaska's seafood industry for fair market access to Russia.
3:37:11 PM
CHAIR REVAK announced invited testimony.
3:37:25 PM
STEPHANIE MADSEN, Executive Director, At-Sea Processors
Association (APA), Juneau, Alaska, stated that since most of the
committee members attended the earlier detailed informational
session, she would save time by speaking to both SJR 16 and SJR
17. She thanked the committee for its leadership on these
critical issues. She said seafood industry workers do not
typically discuss international trade rules on the dock, but it
is a critically important variable for these workers and seafood
processors.
She related that the majority of seafood produced in Alaska is
destined for export to markets in Japan, China, the EU, and the
United Kingdom, and if the U.S. were to become uncompetitive in
these markets, Alaska seafood markets would lose value. This
would translate to lower revenue, fewer jobs, and lower wages
and crew shares. She pointed out that Alaska often has been on
the losing end in recent years due to developments in
international trade policy, and this has always resulted in a
direct loss for Alaska's seafood industry.
MS. MADSEN cited Russia as an example. As Russian seafood
exports to the U.S. have boomed since 2014, this lucrative
market has been almost entirely closed to U.S. seafood exporters
and thus has imposed ongoing costs on the Alaska seafood
economy. She thanked the committee for focusing SJR 16 on
Russia's outrageous embargo in American seafood. Hopefully it
will help to end the embargo and restore fair access to Russia
for Alaska/American products, she said.
MS. MADSEN turned her attention to SJR 17, stating that China's
July 2018 retaliatory tariffs on U.S. seafood products have made
it nearly impossible for Alaska's seafood industry to compete.
She reported that the unprecedented growth wave of the Alaska
pollock industry in China has been devastated under the weight
of the tariffs. The value of these exports to China has fallen
55 percent since 2017. Despite the Phase I Trade Agreement,
there does not seem to be an end in sight. She noted the trade
press today confirmed that China has not met its seafood
purchase commitments.
MS. MADSEN said SJR 17 requests a level playing field, so
consumers globally have the option to buy Alaska's premium
seafood products. If the terms are fair, the industry will
thrive. She relayed the At-Sea Processors Association's fervent
hope that SJR 16 and SJR 17 will catalyze a renewed fairness in
seafood trade. If this is successful, she said Alaska seafood
workers and the broader Alaska economy will benefit.
SENATOR STEVENS emphasized that the industry is not asking for
an unfair advantage; it is simply asking for a level playing
field.
3:42:01 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI asked if the U.S. trade representative or the
Biden administration were working on these issues currently.
3:42:27 PM
MATT TINNING, Director of Sustainability and Public Affairs, At-
Sea Processors Association (APA), Washington, D.C., answered it
is early days in the Biden administration's trade agenda, but
APA has been encouraged that the new U.S. trade representative
(USTR), Katherine Tai, is committed to enforce the Phase I deal
and review trade relations with China. He offered his
perspective that SJR 16 and SJR 17 were coming at a critical
time to encourage the administration to move in the right
direction to help Alaska's seafood industry.
3:43:37 PM
CHAIR REVAK opened public testimony on SJR 16.
3:44:01 PM
CHRIS BARROWS, President, Pacific Seafood Processors Association
(PSPA), Seattle, Washington, stated support of SJR 16 and SJR
17, calling attention to the unfair trade practices in Russia
and China that prevent Alaska seafood from competing on a level
playing field.
MR. BARROWS related that PSPA, which was founded in 1914, is
comprised of eight major seafood processing companies that
operate 25 facilities in 15 Alaskan coastal communities. These
companies purchase Alaska seafood from harvesters, process it
into various products, and distribute it to markets in the U.S.
and worldwide.
MR. BARROWS emphasized the critical importance of highlighting
that seafood is an important economic engine for the state. The
industry accounts for half of Alaskan exports, but the long-
standing and unfair trade conditions have made it increasingly
difficult to maintain and expand value for Alaska seafood
products. Federal trade policies and negotiations have
consistently failed to safeguard seafood producer interests,
while seafood imports overwhelmingly enter the U.S. duty free.
He said the biological success and importance of Alaska
fisheries has been a U.S. and Alaskan priority, but it is
equally important for the fisheries to be economically
successful. A robust U.S. seafood export economy directly shapes
the long-term health of Alaska's seafood processing sector,
including the ability to maintain and replace aging
infrastructure and obtain ongoing capital investment. It
supports Alaska fishermen, fishing communities, and related
economies that support seafood production.
MR. BARROWS thanked the committee for its support of SJR 16 and
SJR 17 to correct the long-standing injustices currently
embedded in the U.S. trade frameworks.
3:44:09 PM
SENATOR VON IMHOF joined the committee meeting.
3:46:51 PM
CHAIR REVAK discerned there was no one else who wished to
testify and closed public testimony on SJR 16. Finding no
committee comments or questions, he solicited a motion.
3:47:17 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE moved to report SJR 16, work order 32-LS0912\A,
from committee with individual recommendations and attached
fiscal note(s).
3:47:32 PM
CHAIR REVAK announced that without objection, SJR 16 moved from
the Senate Resources Standing Committee.
SJR 17-INCREASE SEAFOOD EXPORTS
[Contains discussion of SJR 16.]
3:49:22 PM
SENATOR REVAK reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 17 Requesting the
United States Trade Representative to bring a renewed focus on
the plight of producers of seafood in the state and the United
States and to compel China to comply with its commitment to
increase its imports of seafood products from the United States.
3:49:36 PM
SENATOR GARY STEVENS, speaking as chair of the Senate Special
Committee on World Trade that sponsored SJR 17, stated this
resolution has to do with retaliatory Chinese tariffs on U.S.
seafood products. According to the Alaska Seafood Marketing
Institute (ASMI), two-thirds of the seafood harvested in the
U.S. has traditionally come from Alaskan waters. Unfortunately,
market demand for Alaska seafood in China has been substantially
damaged since 2018 when China imposed tariffs on U.S. seafood
products. For example, the tariff on Alaska pollock is 500
percent higher than the same pollock that is called Russian
Alaska pollock. SJR 17 seeks to restore focus on negotiations
with China, ease the tariff war, and right the international
market in favor of Alaska seafood products
3:50:52 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE advised that SJR 17 and SJR 16 were the result
of a World Trade Committee meeting where several hours were
devoted to discussing the details of these issues.
CHAIR REVAK added it was a joint meeting with the Senate
Resources Committee, so the members are familiar with the
issues.
3:51:24 PM
CHAIR REVAK opened public testimony on SJR 17; finding none, he
closed public testimony.
SENATOR STEVENS thanked the committee for hearing the
resolutions and pointed out that testimony on the previous
resolution addressed both SJR 16 and SJR 17.
CHAIR REVAK found no further questions or comments and solicited
a motion.
3:52:13 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE moved to report SJR 17, work order 32-LS0913\A,
from committee with individual recommendations and attached
fiscal note(s).
3:52:29 PM
CHAIR REVAK announced that without objection SJR 17 moved from
the Senate Resources Standing Committee.