US congressman calls for 100% tariffs on seafood

Clay Higgins (pictured, below), who represents Lafayette in Louisiana, has delivered a letter to the White House in which he says imports from Vietnam and Ecuador in particular, two major fish farming nations, along with China, Indonesia and India, are hitting shrimpers and fishermen in his own state.

It is not totally clear whether he wants tariffs on all seafood imports or just from the countries he mentions in the letter.

Representative Higgins says: “The continued influx of illegal seafood dumped into the United States, specifically shrimp and crawfish imports from China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam is a threat to American producers.

“As a member of Congress representing Gulf Coast communities, I have witnessed first-hand the cultural and economic importance of America’s seafood and aquaculture industries and the profound negative impact that unfair trade practices have on coastal economies across our nation. 

“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.”