The Alaska Congressional Delegation are applauding the announcement by President Joe Biden that his administration will prohibit the importation of Russian seafood into the United States, in addition to banning goods from several other signature sectors of Russia’s economy. Sen. Dan Sullivan said that he’s been working to ban the hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Russian seafood that the U.S. imports each year since he came to the Senate in 2015, including introducing the U.S. Russian Federation Seafood Reciprocity Act with Sen. Lisa Murkowski on February 9.
Congressman Don Young praised the move saying:
“I’ve spent weeks calling for a Russian seafood ban, and I’m pleased to see President Biden following my lead and taking action. A ban is a crucially important move, which is why I’ve been advocating so strongly for it among my colleagues in Congress. This is a harrowing moment in Europe. Vladimir Putin and his cronies continue reigning down terror upon Ukrainians. As dictators do, he’s using Russia’s economy as a piggybank to subvert freedom and kill innocent people. This is why we must sanction every sector of his economy to bleed his war machine dry. I will continue pushing my legislation to ban Russian seafood imports either as a standalone bill or as part of a broader sanctions package. America is unified behind Ukraine, and I call on my colleagues to forge urgent consensus on a sanctions effort that hits Putin where it hurts and sends a message of zero tolerance for his aggression.”
President Biden also announced his intention to revoke Russia’s “most-favored nation” status as a member of the World Trade Organization, which Sullivan called for on March 5, after hearing from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a congressional Zoom meeting.
Sen. Sullivan released a statement saying:
“I appreciate and strongly support the announcement by President Biden today that the United States will ban the importation of Russian seafood. I’ve been advocating for such a move by our federal government through legislation and advocacy with top Cabinet officials during the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations. Just in the past few weeks, I’ve had detailed discussions with President Biden’s National Security Advisor and U.S. Trade Representative on this important topic.
“Although this unfair and non-reciprocal seafood trade relationship between the United States and the Russian Federation has been harming our fishermen for far too long, I appreciate that the Biden administration has recognized the need to rectify it and support the thousands of hard-working fishermen across the country and in Alaska.”
On February 15, Sen. Murkowski spoke on the Senate Floor calling for a ban on Russian seafood, as well as Russian energy imports, to be included as part of any Russia sanctions package. Less than a month later, the President prohibited the importation of both.
Click here for more information on the U.S. Russian Federation Seafood Reciprocity Act.
