US Shrimp Industry 'Grateful' for Trump Tariffs

"We are grateful for the Trump administration's actions today, which will preserve American jobs, food security, and our commitment to ethical production." So says a somewhat uncommon statement of support for the White House's recent tariffs from John Williams of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, which represents the shrimping industry in Louisiana and other Southern states. There may not be unanimous cheers for the Trump administration's newly installed import fees, which sent the stock market into further turmoil on Monday, but the 15,000 or so shrimpers in the US are among those who seem to be on board—mainly because domestic producers have been decimated by rising fuel costs and natural and human-caused disasters over the past few years, as well as undercut on pricing by cheaper imports.

• The numbers: Nearly 95% of all the shrimp consumed by Americans comes from overseas shrimp farms, the vast majority from four nations—Ecuador, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam, which have been hit with tariffs ranging from 10% to 46%, per Axios. US shrimpers don't typically send their wild-caught product, which they say is higher quality and tastes better than farmed shrimp, to other countries, meaning they don't usually have to fear retaliatory tariffs.

• Optimism: The Southern Shrimp Alliance and allies have been pushing for tariffs for some time, and shrimpers are now filled with hope that their businesses will soon be back in business. "Like the sun coming out of the tunnel" is how one Mississippi shrimp farmer describes the administration's tariffs to the New York Times. A South Carolina shrimper tells Fox News that the tariffs should bring "immediate relief" to the industry.
• Concerns: The East Coast Shellfish Growers Association also endorsed the tariffs in a recent letter to the federal government—but its membership's reaction was "mixed," per the Times. "Although many cheered the letter, one astute member stated that, 'The reality is simple: When oyster prices rise too high, restaurants—our primary customers—are forced to remove them from their menus entirely. Consumers and restaurant operators have a price threshold, and once exceeded, demand doesn't shift; it collapses,'" Robert Rheault, ECSGA's director, wrote in a recent industry newsletter.

(More shrimp stories.)