Last night, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced that as the result of the Section 301 investigation of forced labor, the United States will be imposing additional duties on imported goods, including shrimp in all of its product forms. These additional tariffs will impact all major suppliers of shrimp to the U.S. market.
For the ten most significant exporters of shrimp to the U.S. market in 2025 (ranked by value), the USTR announced that additional tariffs of 10 percent be imposed on certain imported merchandise from India (1), Ecuador (2), Indonesia (3), Argentina (6), Mexico (7), and Canada (8), including shrimp. Furthermore, additional tariffs of 12.5 percent will be imposed on certain imported goods from Vietnam (4), Thailand (5), Peru (9), and China (10) including shrimp.
The USTR rejected requests from importers to exempt seafood products from the scope of the additional duties because the domestic seafood industry was not able to meet all of domestic demand and that the U.S. market was dependent upon imported seafood. However, the USTR reduced the duties initially proposed to be imposed on certain merchandise from India, including shrimp, from 12.5 percent to 10 percent because the government of India adopted laws prohibiting the importation of goods produced through forced labor after the initiation of the Section 301 investigation.
“The American shrimp industry is thankful for President Trump’s and Ambassador Greer’s commitment to combatting unfair trade practices in all of its forms,” said Blake Price, Executive Director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “With India’s adoption of a prohibition on the importation of goods produced through forced labor, the Section 301 action on forced labor has already proven that access to our market can be leveraged to improve conditions overseas.”
Review the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s pre-publication Federal Register notice, “Notice of Actions in Section 301 Investigations of Acts, Policies, and Practices of Various Economies Related to the Failure of Each Economy to Impose and Effectively Enforce a Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Produced with Forced Labor,” here: https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Releases/2026/FLIP 301 Investigation Final Action FRN 7-23-26 FINAL.pdf