Sponsors (4)
The bill aims to prevent IFI-backed shrimp aquaculture projects to protect coastal ecosystems and give the U.S. a policy lever, but it risks harming local economies, complicating diplomacy, and driving financing to other actors that could erode U.S. influence.
Coastal and rural communities in borrowing countries (and the coastal ecosystems they rely on) would face fewer environmentally damaging shrimp aquaculture projects because those projects would be less likely to receive IFI financing.
U.S. policymakers and taxpayers gain a targeted tool to influence environmentally harmful aquaculture projects abroad by withholding IFI support for shrimp projects while retaining a national-interest waiver for flexibility.
Taxpayers and U.S. strategic interests could lose leverage because restricting IFI support may push project financing to other lenders (including non-IFI actors), allowing environmentally harmful projects to proceed without U.S. influence.
State and diplomatic actors (and overall U.S. multilateral flexibility) could be constrained because tying U.S. votes to a sector-specific prohibition may complicate diplomacy and limit options for addressing local development needs.
Small businesses, exporters, and workers in borrowing countries could lose IFI-backed financing for shrimp projects, reducing export income and harming livelihoods in affected communities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Directs U.S. Executive Directors at international financial institutions to oppose funding for shrimp farming, processing, or export projects abroad, with a waiver option and a seven-year sunset.
Official title: Require the United States Executive Directors at the international financial institutions to oppose certain projects involving shrimp production, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 23, 2026 by Rafael Edward Cruz · Last progress June 23, 2026
Directs U.S. representatives at international financial institutions to vote against loans, grants, or other financial assistance for shrimp farming, shrimp processing, or shrimp exports in borrowing countries. The Treasury Secretary may temporarily waive that instruction for a specific project if the Secretary notifies Congress that the waiver is in the national interest, and the requirement expires seven years after enactment. The measure changes U.S. voting guidance at multilateral development banks and similar institutions to block support for shrimp industry projects abroad unless a waiver is used. It does not itself prohibit domestic policy or create new spending authority; it only directs how U.S. Executive Directors should cast the United States' votes at those institutions for the covered project types.