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Letters

Committee Seeks Answers on NRDC's Relationship with Chinese Entities

TO: Ms. Rhea Suh
FROM: Chairman Rob Bishop, Bruce Westerman

When engaging on environmental issues concerning China, the NRDC appears to practice self-censorship, issue selection bias, and generally refrains from criticizing Chinese officials. For instance, a widely reported 2016 study by Greenpeace concluded that China's government subsidized commercial fishing fleet threatens the viability of fisheries around the world. Just months after the Greenpeace study was released, the NRDC praised China's "bold new reforms" on domestic fisheries emphasizing that "China has been the world's largest producer of wild fish for over two decades."

The Committee is concerned that the NRDC's need to maintain access to Chinese officials has influenced its political activities in the United States and may require compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Read the full letter here.