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EQUITY 



"Equity" is a provision in the Treaty requiring each country to "receive benefits equivalent 

 to the production of salmon originating in its waters." Canada's internal policies on this 

 issue clearly has created a perception in Canada that it will "win" the equity debate; that is, 

 that the U.S. will "owe ' fish to Canada to achieve equity. While the U.S. can demonstrate 

 that this is not the necessary outcome. Canada has made it clear that the equity issue is its 

 primary concern. 



The U.S. "southern "delegation (that representing Washington, Oregon and the Indian tribes) has 

 for some time urged the Commission to proceed with substantive equity discussions. But, 

 because the U.S. Section of the Commission can take action only with the concurrence of all 

 commissioners, little progress on equity occurred through 1993. 



Having recognized that the United States Section would remain "gridlocked" on the equity 

 issue, the State Department decided last summer to negotiate equity on a government-to- 

 government basis. We supported that decision of the State Department as providing a 

 means to break the impasse on equity and move forward at the Commission level on the 

 critical negotiations over fishing regimes. 



.As a result, we optimistically entered the 1993/94 round of negotiations on a two-track 

 basis: the equity track at the government-to-government level; the fishing-regimes track at 

 the Commission level. Both Canada and the United States made it clear that the tracks had 

 to move in parallel and at a comparable pace. 



Representatives of the "southern" section of the U.S. Commission soon became concerned 

 that the State Department was illustrating the same reluctance to meaningfully discuss 

 equity as had the Commission. While representatives of U.S. northern fisheries may 

 disagree, the feared consequence occurred: Canada canceled the Portland round of fishing 

 regime negotiations because of its dissatisfaction with the pace of equity discussions. Formal 

 concern about this outcome and its cause was e.xpressed by Governors Lowry and Roberts 

 and tribal manager representatives Bill Frank. Jr.. and Eugene Greene (Attachment 1). 



Washington believes there are reasonable and timely steps to ensure progress on equity that 

 have as yet not been pursued by the State Department. Some of these steps are outlined 

 in the letter from southern Commissioners to the State Department (Attachment 2). 



Further equity discussions on a government-to-governmem basis were held March 16. Little 

 substantive progress appears to have been made, although another meeting was scheduled. 



It should be noted that, even though equity is a major is.sue to Canada, it does not consider 

 equity to be a potential quid pro quo for Canadian concessions on fishing regimes. Canada 



