Tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump this past week have been praised by U.S. seafood harvesters who say the president “threw us a lifeline” in the country’s struggling domestic shrimp industry.
“The U.S. domestic shrimp industry has been on a downward trajectory for decades now as a direct result of the unfair trade in the overseas aquaculture industry for growing shrimp overseas,” Leann Borsarge, the COO of Bosarge Boats, told Fox Business on Friday.
“And these tariffs threw us a lifeline that we needed to hopefully live to fight another day in our industry in this country,” Borsarge added.
On Wednesday, President Trump announced a baseline levy of 10 percent on imports from foreign countries and “individualized reciprocal higher” tariffs on certain countries, which shrimp harvesters believe will help them compete against the foreign shrimp industry.
A staggering 94 percent of shrimp eaten in the United States is reportedly imported from foreign countries — typically India, Ecuador, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Argentina.
Over the years, the Unites States’ domestic shrimp industry has experienced a significant drop in the value of its seafood, with data showing shrimp having fallen from $522 million in 2021 to $269 million in 2023.
The U.S. trade organization Southern Shrimp Alliance, meanwhile, has said that subsidies and forced labor, among other factors, have resulted in shrimp production in foreign countries to become cheaper, harming the American shrimp industry.
But President Trump’s new tariffs “are expected to slow imports and prevent Americans from becoming completely dependent on foreign shrimp producers while the administration addresses harmful trade policies and enforcement deficiencies,” the trade organization said.
Last week, Southern Shrimp Alliance Executive Director John Williams said the organization was “grateful for the Trump Administration’s actions,” adding that the tariffs will “preserve American jobs, food security, and our commitment to ethical production.”
The White House says President Trump’s 10 percent baseline tariffs will be implemented on Saturday, with the reciprocal tariffs going into effect on Wednesday.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
