Save Our Shrimpers Act would directly tie U.S. financing to international financial institutions (IFIs) to a prohibition on shrimp-related activities abroad. Specifically, it requires the Treasury to condition any federal funds provided to IFIs on a none-use-for-shrimp farming, processing, or shrimp exports in foreign countries. The bill also creates a new oversight mechanism: the Comptroller General must study and report, within 180 days of enactment and then annually, on how well the United States’ executive directors at certain IFIs are following a separate instruction to oppose assistance for the production or extraction of export commodities or minerals that are surplus on world markets. The overall aim is to shield domestic shrimpers by limiting foreign financing that could support shrimp industries overseas.
Key Points
- 1Short title: The act may be cited as the “Save Our Shrimpers Act.”
- 2Prohibition on federal funding to IFIs for shrimp: The Treasury must ensure that any federal funds provided to international financial institutions are not used to finance shrimp farming, shrimp processing, or the export of shrimp in any foreign country.
- 3Annual GAO reporting requirement: The Comptroller General must investigate and report on the extent to which U.S. Executive Directors at specified IFIs have carried out instructions to oppose IFI assistance for the production or extraction of export commodities or minerals that are surplus on world markets.
- 4Timelines for oversight: The initial GAO report is due within 180 days after enactment, with subsequent reports required annually.
- 5Scope of institutions: The prohibition and reporting reference the international financial institutions defined in section 1701(c)(2) of the International Financial Institutions Act and those specified in section 22 of the Export-Import Bank Act Amendments of 1986.