Last week, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla, threw his support behind U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton’s, R-Ark., “Ban China’s Forbidden Operations in the Oceanic Domain (C-FOOD) Act.”
The bill, which Scott is co-sponsoring, would “stop imports of Chinese seafood and aquaculture products, sanction companies that import Chinese seafood, and place tariffs on countries that facilitate the shipment on the seafood.”
U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., is also co-sponsoring the bill.
“Fishing and Aquaculture is yet another industry the Chinese Communist Party is weaponizing for their own gain through blatant abuse and slave labor. This legislation will stop imports of this illicit seafood by imposing real costs on the Chinese government and the companies that aid them,” said Cotton.
“Communist China, under Xi’s murderous regime, is on a quest for global domination, building economic power in industries like seafood and aquaculture that are known to use slave labor and other illegal, unreported, and unregulated practices that are pushing American businesses out of business in the process. I’m proud to join my colleagues on this legislation to ban the importation of these goods from Communist China and hold any nation attempting to circumvent U.S. trade laws fully accountable,” said Scott.
The bill was sent to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. So far, there is no companion measure over in the U.S. House.