Ongoing review of the existing Pelly certification of China for trade in tiger parts and products

The U.S. Pelly Amendment to the Fisherman’s Protective Act of 1967 provides for the President to prohibit imports of any product from a country which is certified by the Secretary of the Interior as engaging in trade which “diminishes the effectiveness of any international program for endangered or threatened species”.

China was certified under the Pelly Amendment in 1993, due to trade of rhinoceros and tiger parts. The Pelly Amendment requires the Secretary of the Interior to undertake periodic review of certifications to determine whether the reasons behind them still prevail. This briefing provides information that confirms that the reasons for the certification of China under the Pelly Amendment continue to prevail and that China continues to diminish the effectiveness of CITES and other global tiger conservation agreements, including by allowing legal trade in skins sourced from captive-bred tigers.