WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, welcomed the inclusion of language in the recent Group of Seven (G7) Leaders’ Communique opposing Russia’s “environmentally unsustainable and unfair trading practices regarding fish and seafood products.” Because of the devastating impacts Russia’s seafood dumping has had on Alaska and the larger U.S. seafood industry, Sen. Sullivan and his team worked relentlessly with senior Biden administration officials to draft and include this policy statement. Sullivan envisions the G7 statement as a major first step toward America’s allies implementing comprehensive sanctions on Russian seafood imports, in light of Russia’s unfair seafood trade practices and brutal invasion of Ukraine. In December 2023, Sullivan worked to secure a new Executive Order to close a loophole that allowed Russian-origin seafood to bypass an earlier Executive Order banning its import into the United States.

“The Putin regime is engaged in an all-out price war against America’s fishermen and seafood industry—an economic retaliatory attack against America and our allies for standing against the brutal invasion of Ukraine,” said Sen. Sullivan. “The Russians have calculated that, employing recklessly unsustainable fisheries practices, they can drive prices low enough for long enough to force American fishermen and processors out of business. Now, facing the worst market conditions in decades, Alaska’s fishing and community leaders and I have been sounding the alarm on this Great Depression-level crisis. We met last month with Secretary Raimondo and other senior administration officials and urged them to develop a strategy across the federal government to meet these unprecedented threats to our seafood economy and coastal communities. Securing this language in the G7 Communique was a critical first step my team and I worked relentlessly to achieve. The key now is follow-through—ensuring our allies enact comprehensive sanctions on Russian seafood consistent with this G7 statement, which will end this race to the bottom, support our fishermen, and weaken the dictators in Moscow and Beijing.”

Below is a timeline of Sen. Sullivan’s recent efforts to secure this language and fight back against the Russian Federation’s seafood trade war:

• On December 22, 2023, Sen. Sullivan worked to secure a new Executive Order and resulting U.S. Department of the Treasury determination that will reviseprevious guidance that has allowed all Russian-origin seafood to bypass an earlier Executive Order banning its import into the United States. 
• On May 23, 2024, Sen. Sullivan met with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and other senior federal officials to discuss the global seafood market crisis, including proposed language to include in the upcoming G7 statement.
• On June 4, 2024, Sen. Sullivan provided proposed language to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. Sullivan also had a meeting with Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez.
• On June 5, 2024, Sen. Sullivan had a follow-up call with Deputy Secretary of State Campbell.
• On June 6, 2024, Sen. Sullivan had a call with Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Daleep Singh.

Additionally, Sen. Sullivan secured a provision last week in the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to prohibit military dining facilities and commissaries from purchasing or selling seafood that originates or is processed in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The G7 nations that signed the document are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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