Recent experiments have shown that reversible effects of strain on the critical current density and flux pinning strength in the high-temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox can be explained entirely by the pressure dependence of its critical temperature. Such a correlation is less simple for RE-Ba2Cu3O7 - delta (RE = rare earth) superconductors, in part because the in-plane pressure dependence of its critical temperature is highly anisotropic. Here, we make a qualitative correlation between the uniaxial pressure dependence of the critical temperature and the reversible strain effect on the critical current of RE-Ba2Cu3O7 - delta coated conductors by taking the crystallography and texture of the superconducting film into account. The strain sensitivity of the critical current is highest when strain is oriented along the [100] and [010] directions of the superconducting film, whereas the critical current becomes almost independent of strain when strain is oriented along the [110] direction. The results confirm the important role of the anisotropic pressure dependence of the critical temperature on the reversible strain behavior of RE-Ba2Cu3O7 - delta. The reversible strain effect in RE-Ba2Cu3O7 - delta is expected to decrease the performance of the conductor in many applications, such as high-field magnets, but the effect may be only minor in coated conductor cables, where strain is generally not aligned with the tape axis. Contribution of NIST, not subject to US copyright.