Ranking Members Krishnamoorthi and Grijalva Call for Action to Combat Illegal Trade of Severely Endangered Pangolins Within the People’s Republic of China, Including Possible Sanctions
WASHINGTON – This week, Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), and Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), sent a letter to the President Joe Biden in support of the administration’s recent proposed measures to ensure all illegal trade and usage of pangolins, the planet’s only scaly mammal, ends within the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Pangolins are listed as highly endangered and the PRC’s domestic market, which is supported by illegal poaching, likely violates international treaties.
As Ranking Members Krishnamoorthi and Grijalva point out in their letter:
“Pangolins, the world’s only scaly mammals, are severely endangered by illegal poaching and trade. This trade is driven by the demand for pangolin parts in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Although international commercial trade in pangolins is barred under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), in some circumstances, the sale and purchase of pangolin parts remains legal in the PRC. If the PRC refuses to close its domestic market for pangolins and pangolin products, it will continue to incentivize and provide cover for the illegal importation of the species in violation of international agreements and CITES.”
President Biden, in a recent Message to the Congress, detailed several measures the PRC must take to curb the illegal trade of pangolins to ensure the mammal avoids extinction. These measures included closing domestic markets and removing pangolins from its list of approved medicines. Ranking Members Krishnamoorthi and Grijalva support these measures, and went on to say they agreed with the president’s call for sanctions if conditions are not met before the end of 2023.
“If the PRC does not agree to these necessary actions and demonstrate a sincere commitment to their implementation by December 31, 2023, we urge your Administration to issue sanctions appropriate to the seriousness of the pangolin’s imminent extinction, including a ban on the import of associated fish and wildlife products from the PRC and all products from pharmaceutical companies that are involved in the manufacture of products containing pangolin. Such sanctions should compel the PRC to close its pangolin market and fully enforce the international ban on the pangolin trade.”
The president is authorized to prohibit the import of other fish, wildlife, or other non-wildlife products from the PRC following the U.S. Department of the Interior’s recent certification of the PRC under the Pelly Amendment.
You can read the Ranking Members’ full letter to President Biden here.
资深议员克里希纳穆尔蒂和格里哈尔瓦呼吁采取行动反对在中华人民共和国境内的严重濒危的穿山甲的非法贸易，包括可能的制裁
华盛顿特区—本周，美国与中国共产党战略竞争众议院特设委员会资深议员拉贾·克里希纳穆尔蒂(Raja Krishnamoorthi) (D-IL) 和众议院自然资源委员会资深议员劳尔·格里哈尔瓦(Raúl Grijalva) (D-AZ)致信总统乔·拜登，支持政府最近提出的措施，以确保穿山甲（地球上唯一的有鳞哺乳动物）在中华人民共和国境内的所有非法贸易和使用的结束。穿山甲被列为高度濒危物种，而中国的国内市场存在非法偷猎的现象，很可能违反了国际条约。
正如资深议员克里希纳穆尔蒂和格里哈尔瓦在信中指出：
“穿山甲是世界上唯一有鳞哺乳动物，因非法偷猎和贸易而受到严重威胁。这种贸易是由穿山甲部位在中药的需求推动的。尽管《濒危野生动植物国际贸易公约》禁止穿山甲的国际商业贸易，但在某些情况下，穿山甲身体部位的买卖在中国仍然合法。如果中国拒绝关闭国内穿山甲和穿山甲产品市场，它将继续鼓励并掩护非法进口该物种和违反《濒危野生动植物国际贸易公约》等国际协议。”
拜登总统在最近给国会的致辞中详细介绍了中国必须采取的几项遏制穿山甲的非法贸易措施，以确保这种哺乳动物避免灭绝。这些措施包括关闭国内市场以及将穿山甲从批准的药物清单中删除。资深议员克里希纳穆尔蒂和格里哈尔瓦支持这些措施，并接着表示，如果中国在2023年底之前不满足条件，他们同意总统考虑制裁方案。
“如果中华人民共和国在 2023 年 12 月 31 日之前没有同意采取这些必要行动和表现出实施这些行动的真诚承诺，我们敦促白宫根据穿山甲即将灭绝的严重性实施适当的制裁，包括禁止进口相关产品，比如来自中国的鱼类和野生动物产品以及来自参与生产含有穿山甲的产品的制药公司的所有产品。此类制裁应迫使中国关闭其穿山甲市场并全面执行国际穿山甲贸易禁令。”
根据美国内政部最近根据《培利修正案》对中华人民共和国进行的认证，美国总统有权禁止从中国进口其他鱼类、野生动物或其他非野生动物产品。
您可以在此处阅读资深议员们致拜登总统的完整信函。