Federal Court Keeps in Place NMFS Rule for High-Risk Seafood Imports
The Commerce Department's National Marine Fisheries Service acted within its authority when it issued rules for imports of species of seafood the agency has deemed high-risk, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said in an Aug. 28 ruling. The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and individual seafood importers and processors filed the lawsuit to challenge the rule, which was issued in December last year and includes new ACE filing requirements at time of entry beginning in January 2018 (see 1612080014). The companies said the NMFS undercounted the burdens to industry of the and rule and that only the Food and Drug Administration has the statutory authority to regulate seafood fraud. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta disagreed with those arguments and ruled in favor of the government.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Environmental groups that support the NMFS rule celebrated the finding in a news release. “It’s time for imported seafood to be held to the same standards as domestically caught fish," Beth Lowell, senior director for illegal fishing and seafood fraud at Oceana. "It’s time to level the playing field for U.S. fishers and reduce the risks facing U.S. consumers. All seafood sold in the U.S. should be safe, legally caught and honestly labeled.” The NFI "is disappointed with the court’s decision," NFI President John Connelly said in a news release. "The Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) remains an expensive burden for the American companies that will bear the costs, for instance $53 million in recordkeeping expenses alone."