Rep. Higgins asks Trump to levy tariffs on foreign seafood

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-Lafayette) delivered an official letter to President Donald Trump Tuesday requesting tariffs and increased trade enforcement for seafood imports from China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
 
“Domestic shrimpers, fishermen, and crawfish producers in Louisiana and across the country face significant challenges competing against foreign seafood industries that are heavily subsidized and engage in illegal dumping into the United States,” Higgins wrote. “These unrighteous trade practices artificially drive down prices, disrupt fair market conditions, and threaten the livelihoods of hardworking American seafood producers. Without strong and consistent intervention, our seafood industry will remain vulnerable to these illegal trade tactics that erode the competitive market.”

Trump has made levying tariffs a centerpoint of his new administration, including imposing steep 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.

Higgins is asking for new tariffs in addition to the import duties on shrimp imported from Ecuador, India and Vietnam already imposed by the Biden administration in November.
 
“I respectfully urge your administration to use all available enforcement tools, such as imposing antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD), implementing stricter testing protocols, and taking decisive actions, including levying tariffs of up to 100% or destroying shipments that fail to meet U.S. health standards, to ensure a level playing field for American producers,” Higgins wrote. “Implementing these measures will protect the competitiveness and integrity of our domestic market and help the economy and culture of our coastal communities.”
 
Read the full letter here.

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