Tariff Turmoil: Indian Seafood Exports Face Roadblock to US Market

The Seafood Exporters Association of India warns that new reciprocal tariffs by the USA threaten India's $2.5 billion seafood export industry. High duties could allow Ecuador to surpass India as the leading shrimp supplier. The Indian government is considering strategies to mitigate the impacts.

The president of the Seafood Exporters Association of India, G Pawan Kumar, has expressed deep concern over the new reciprocal tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump, which threaten to disrupt India's significant seafood exports to the US, valued at $2.5 billion annually.

Kumar highlighted that shrimp, constituting 92% of seafood exports to the US, could see a dramatic adverse impact. He warned that Ecuador, currently subjected to just a 10% tariff, is poised to overtake India as the US's largest shrimp supplier.

With the tariffs set to take effect on April 9, as 2,000 containers of seafood head to the US, Kumar anticipates that the extra duties will impose a financial burden estimated at Rs 600 crores on Indian exporters. The Andhra Pradesh government is crafting strategies to address these tariffs and explore alternative markets.

(With inputs from agencies.)