00                       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 29                                                                     
01 Supporting the extension of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 14024;                                   
02 supporting the continued national prohibition on Russian seafood imports effected by                                    
03 Executive Orders 14024, 14066, and 14068; and urging the President of the United                                        
04 States, federal agencies, and the United States Congress to maintain and strengthen                                     
05 federal measures that ensure fair trade, protect the state's seafood industry, and                                      
06 promote sustainable and ethical seafood production.                                                                     
07 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
08 WHEREAS the state's seafood industry contributes over $5,000,000,000 annually to                                      
09 the economy of the state, $125,000,000 in state, municipal, and federal taxes, and                                      
10 $7,300,000,000 in total United States economic activity; and                                                            
11       WHEREAS the state's seafood industry produces over 60 percent of the wild seafood                               
12 commercially harvested in the United States; and                                                                        
13       WHEREAS the state's seafood industry brought in an annual average of                                            
14 $1,500,000,000 in ex-vessel value in 2023 and 2024 and employed over 19,000 commercial                                  
01 fishermen, 58 percent of whom were state residents; and                                                                 
02       WHEREAS the state's seafood industry accounts for 62 percent of all state residents                             
03 employed in manufacturing, which is over 21,000 workers; and                                                            
04 WHEREAS the state's seafood industry faces an existential and global threat in the                                    
05 form of unfair trade and market practices by Russian seafood producers that drive down the                              
06 cost of seafood around the world and prevent seafood companies in the state from competing                              
07 on fair terms; and                                                                                                      
08       WHEREAS Russia exported 70,000 metric tons of Russian-origin cod, pollock, and                                  
09 salmon into the United States in 2022, at a value of over $452,000,000; and                                             
10 WHEREAS Russia has dramatically increased seafood production since 2022,                                              
11 removing key sustainability sideboards from Russia's fisheries management; and                                          
12 WHEREAS the state's seafood industry abides by strict state and national laws and                                     
13 prioritizes the ethical treatment and fair compensation of workers; and                                                 
14 WHEREAS Russia has banned the importation of the state's seafood products since                                       
15 2014; and                                                                                                               
16 WHEREAS the United States is the largest market for the state's seafood products,                                     
17 accounting for approximately one-third of total annual sales of the state's seafood; and                                
18 WHEREAS the removal of Russian products from the United States domestic market                                        
19 is a reasonable response to the closure of the Russian market to United States seafood,                                 
20 provides a fair opportunity for domestic seafood producers to balance sales and recover lost                            
21 profits, and ensures that consumers in the United States receive the highest quality seafood;                           
22 and                                                                                                                     
23 WHEREAS the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that                                                
24 declines in the state's seafood industry in 2022 and 2023 resulted in more than 38,000 job                              
25 losses nationwide and a $4,300,000,000 loss in United States gross domestic product; and                                
26 WHEREAS, on April 15, 2021, Executive Order 14024, establishing a national                                            
27 emergency to address threats posed by Russia, prohibited the direct import of Russian seafood                           
28 products into the United States; and                                                                                    
29 WHEREAS Executive Orders 14066 and 14068, issued on March 8 and March 11,                                             
30 2022, respectively, broadened the scope of that prohibition, banning the import of Russian                              
31 seafood products entering the United States through third-party countries; and                                          
01       WHEREAS the executive orders were extended for an additional year on April 10,                                  
02 2025, and are scheduled to expire April 15, 2026;                                                                       
03       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly supports the extension                                
04 and further enforcement of the executive orders that prohibit the importation of Russian                                
05 seafood products into the United States; and be it                                                                      
06 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges President Trump,                                             
07 federal agencies, the Alaska Congressional delegation, and the entirety of the United States                            
08 Congress to maintain and strengthen measures that ensure fair trade, protect the state's                                
09 seafood industry, and promote sustainable and ethical seafood production.                                               
10 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President                                   
11 of the United States; the Honorable JD Vance, Vice President of the United States and                                   
12 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of                                  
13 Representatives; the Honorable John Thune, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the                                      
14 Honorable Howard Lutnick, United States Secretary of Commerce; and the Honorable Lisa                                   
15 Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Nicholas                                     
16 Begich, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.