I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 155

To support the domestic shrimping industry by eliminating taxpayer subsidies 

for certain competitors, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 7, 2003

Mr. PAUL (for himself and Mr. KINGSTON) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to 

the Committees on Resources and International Relations, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL

To support the domestic shrimping industry by eliminating 

taxpayer subsidies for certain competitors, and for other 

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Shrimp Importation 

5 Financing Fairness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) The United States domestic shrimping in2 dustry is a vital social and economic force for many 

3 coastal communities across the United States, af4 fecting not simply those who own and operate 

5 shrimp boats but entire community economies in6 cluding food processors, hoteliers and restaurateurs, 

7 grocery markets, and all those who work in and 

8 service these industries and others. 

9 (2) In addition to the economic importance of 

10 the domestic shrimping industry, the industry serves 

11 as a key source of safe domestic foods at a time 

12 when the nation is engaged in hostilities abroad. 

13 (3) Many nations have blocked the importation 

14 of shrimp from certain foreign countries because of 

15 their contamination with various substances, but the 

16 United States Government has yet to take any such 

17 action. 

18 (4) Existing international trade agreements are 

19 ostensibly designed to decrease not just government 

20 regulation of trade but also government trade sub21 sidies. 

22 (5) The domestic shrimping industry has been 

23 highly regulated by the Federal Government through 

24 Federal requirements of usage of items, such as by25 catch reduction devices and turtle excluder devices 
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1 (in this Act referred to as ‘‘TEDs’’), which result in 

2 a significant loss of product per trawl, hence dam3 aging the competitive position and market share of 

4 the domestic shrimping fishery. 

5 (6) Seven non-NAFTA foreign countries (Thai6 land, Vietnam, India, China, Ecuador, Indonesia, 

7 and Brazil) have taken advantage of this Govern8 ment-imposed reduction in competitiveness, by each 

9 exporting in excess of 20,000,000 pounds of shrimp 

10 to the United States in the first 6 months of 2002. 

11 (7) These foreign countries account for nearly 

12 70 percent of all shrimp consumed in the United 

13 States in the first 6 months of 2002 and nearly 80 

14 percent of all shrimp imported to this country in the 

15 same period. 

16 (8) Since 1999 our Government has provided 

17 more than $1,800,000,000 in financing and insur18 ance for these foreign countries through the Over19 seas Private Investment Corporation, and our Gov20 ernment’s current exposure relative to these coun21 tries through our Export-Import Bank totals some 

22 $14,800,000,000, bringing the total subsidy of these 

23 countries by the United States to over 

24 $16,500,000,000. 
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1 (9) Many of these countries are not market-ori2 ented, and hence their participation in United 

3 States-supported international finance regimes 

4 amounts to a direct subsidy by American taxpayers 

5 in the shrimping sector of their international com6 petitors. 

7 (10) In any case, any national economy that 

8 benefits directly from participation in these finance 

9 regimes indirectly grants benefits to our foreign 

10 shrimping competitors simply because of the 

11 fungibility of funds. 

12 (11) The level of imports of shrimp by the 

13 United States from these countries has compounded 

14 the anticompetitive affects of our current Federal 

15 regulatory regime in this sector, leading to a depres16 sion of the price of shrimp. 

17 (12) There is a crisis developing in the domestic 

18 shrimping industry, as evidenced by the fact that the 

19 National Marine Fisheries Service, the lead Federal 

20 agency in regulating the domestic shrimping fishery, 

21 held briefings with staff of the House of Representa22 tives and the Senate, and with industry representa23 tives, to discuss this crisis and seek solutions there24 to.
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1 (13) Despite this meeting, the National Marine 

2 Fisheries Service has not announced that it will fore3 go future regulatory encumbrances upon the domes4 tic shrimping industry such as previously proposed 

5 TEDs modifications that would further harm com6 petitiveness of the domestic shrimping fishery. 

7 SEC. 3. MORATORIUM ON RESTRICTIVE REGULATIONS ON 

8 DOMESTIC SHRIMPING INDUSTRY. 

9 The Secretary of Commerce shall not impose any new 

10 restrictive regulations on the domestic shrimping industry 

11 within the area that is under the jurisdiction of the Gulf 

12 of Mexico Fishery Management Council, including the pro13 posed regulations modifying requirements relating to tur14 tle excluder devices published on October 2, 2001, except 

15 as authorized by a law enacted after the date of enactment 

16 of this Act. 

17 SEC. 4. BAN ON OPIC FINANCING AND INSURANCE TO 

18 COUNTRIES EXPORTING EXCESSIVE 

19 AMOUNTS OF SHRIMP. 

20 The Overseas Private Investment Corporation may 

21 not issue any contract of insurance or reinsurance or any 

22 guaranty, or enter into any agreement to provide financ23 ing, in connection with a project undertaken or to be un24 dertaken in a country which exported more than 

25 20,000,000 pounds of shrimp to the United States in the 
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1 first 6 months of calendar year 2002, until 3 months after 

2 the foreign country has reduced its shrimp exports to the 

3 United States to less than 3,000,000 pounds per month 

4 for a period of 3 consecutive months. 

5 SEC. 5. UNITED STATES OPPOSITION TO IMF ASSISTANCE 

6 TO COUNTRIES EXPORTING EXCESSIVE 

7 AMOUNTS OF SHRIMP TO THE UNITED 

8 STATES IN THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF 2002. 

9 The Bretton Woods Agreements Act (12 U.S.C. 

10 635(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 64. OPPOSITION TO IMF ASSISTANCE TO COUNTRIES 

12 EXPORTING EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF 

13 SHRIMP TO THE UNITED STATES IN THE 

14 FIRST 6 MONTHS OF 2002. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

16 shall instruct the United States Executive Director at the 

17 Fund to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United 

18 States to oppose the provision by the Fund of assistance 

19 in any form to any foreign country which exported to the 

20 United States more than 20,000,000 pounds of shrimp in 

21 the first 6 months of calendar year 2002, until 3 months 

22 after the foreign country has reduced its shrimp exports 

23 to the United States to less than 3,000,000 pounds per 

24 month for a period of 3 consecutive months. 
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1 ‘‘(b) REDUCTION OF UNITED STATES CONTRIBU2 TIONS.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, during the first 3-month 

4 period referred to in subsection (a), the Fund pro5 vides assistance in any form to a foreign country re6 ferred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

7 Treasury shall reduce the amount otherwise author8 ized to be contributed by the United States to the 

9 Fund in the first fiscal year that begins after the 

10 provision of the assistance by a percentage equal 

11 to—

12 ‘‘(A) the amount contributed by the United 

13 States to the Fund in the fiscal year in which 

14 the assistance is so provided, divided by the 

15 total of the amounts contributed to the Fund 

16 by all member countries in the fiscal year in 

17 which the assistance is so provided; multiplied 

18 by 

19 ‘‘(B) the total amount of assistance pro20 vided by the Fund to the foreign country in the 

21 fiscal year referred to in subparagraph (A), di22 vided by the total amount of assistance pro23 vided by the Fund to all countries in the fiscal 

24 year referred to in subparagraph (A). 
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1 ‘‘(2) CONTINUATION OF REDUCTIONS IF NEC2 ESSARY TO RECOVER FULL AMOUNT OF OPPOSED

3 ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall continue to re4 duce the amount otherwise authorized to be contrib5 uted by the United States to the Fund for suc6 ceeding fiscal years until the total amount of the re7 ductions under paragraph (1) with respect to the 

8 foreign country equals the amount of the assistance 

9 referred to in paragraph (1) with respect to the for10 eign country. 

11 ‘‘(c) NOTICE TO THE CONGRESS OF AMOUNT OF IM12 PENDING REDUCTION.—Within 60 legislative days after 

13 the Fund, during the first 3-month period referred to in 

14 subsection (a), provides assistance in any form to a foreign 

15 country referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

16 Treasury shall—

17 ‘‘(1) determine the amount by which the United 

18 States contribution to the Fund is required to be re19 duced under subsection (b); and 

20 ‘‘(2) notify the Committee on Financial Services 

21 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

22 on Foreign Relations of the Senate of the amount of 

23 the required reduction.’’. 
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1 SEC. 6. BAN ON EXPORT-IMPORT BANK ASSISTANCE TO 

2 COUNTRIES EXPORTING EXCESSIVE 

3 AMOUNTS OF SHRIMP TO THE UNITED 

4 STATES IN THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF 2002. 

5 Section 2(b) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 

6 (12 U.S.C. 635(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(13) The Bank may not guarantee, insure, or 

9 extend (or participate in the extension of) credit in 

10 connection with the export of any good or service to 

11 any foreign country which exported to the United 

12 States more than 20,000,000 pounds of shrimp in 

13 the first 6 months of calendar year 2002, until 3 

14 months after the foreign country has reduced its 

15 shrimp exports to the United States to less than 

16 3,000,000 pounds per month for a period of 3 con17 secutive months.’’.

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