344. Letter From Secretary of Commerce Verity to President Reagan1
On February 9, 1988, I certified to you, under the Pelly Amendment to the Fishermen’s Protective Act and the Packwood-Magnuson Amendment to the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act, that Japanese nationals were conducting whaling operations that diminished the effectiveness of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Conservation program.2
The Packwood-Magnuson Amendment requires the Secretary of State to withhold from a certified country at least 50 percent of the fishing privileges that would otherwise be available to that country. The Pelly Amendment additionally authorizes the President to restrict any or all imports of fisheries products of the certified country. The Pelly Amendment also provides that within 60 days following the certification (i.e. April 9), you must notify the Congress of any action regarding the certification, and you must inform the Congress of the reasons for any such action that falls short of prohibiting the importation of all fish products of the certified country.
Since my certification of Japan, I have reviewed the options available to you and consulted with the agencies of the Trade Policy Review Group (TPRG) as well as the Council on Environmental Quality and the Marine Mammal Commission.
Because Japan has not yet indicated any intent to undertake remedial or mitigative actions, I recommend that the strongest possible sanctions available under the Packwood-Magnuson Amendment be imposed. This will entail denial of Japan’s request for the opportunity to fish for 3,000 metric tons of sea snails and 5,000 metric tons of Pacific whiting. It also entails denial of any future allocations so long as the reasons that gave rise to the certification still prevail. I recommend the maximum level of sanctions under the Packwood-Magnuson Amendment to send a message to Japan that the United States will use leverage to uphold conservation programs established by international agreements.
In view of my recommendation of full sanctions under the Packwood-Magnuson Amendment, I believe it would not be appropriate [Page 985] to impose additional sanctions under the Pelly Amendment at this time. I do recommend that you reserve that option depending upon further monitoring of the situation. The immediate and prospective effects of a 100 percent reduction of fishing allocations, coupled with Presidential review in the near future, is the most effective means of encouraging Japan to embrace the IWC conservation program.
These recommendations have the unanimous concurrence of the TPRG and the other agencies consulted. If you agree, I suggest that you sign the enclosed letters reporting to Congress as required by the Pelly Amendment.3
Sincerely,
- Source: Reagan Library, Cobb, Tyrus: Files, Whaling [1988] (Folder 8). No classification marking.↩
- See Document 343.↩
- The enclosures are attached but not printed. For text of the letters sent to Wright and Bush, see Public Papers: Reagan, 1988, Book I, pp. 424–425.↩