When President Donald Trump announced widespread reciprocal tariffs in April, U.S. shrimpers rejoiced.
“Our initial visceral response was that we finally felt seen,” said Bryan Jones, vice president of the South Carolina Shrimpers Association.
Jones is the captain of a South Carolina shrimping boat. He remembers when hundreds of other shrimpers were out on the water with him. But now, he says there are only 15 to 20 shrimping boats in each creek.
The domestic shrimp industry has taken a hit over the last few years due to a surge in cheap, imported shrimp. Sales of U.S. shrimp plunged by about 50%, from $522 million in 2021 to $268 million in 2023, according to the Southern Shrimp Alliance. While a few decades ago nearly all of the shrimp consumed in the U.S. was caught domestically, the U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that 94% of shrimp consumed in the U.S. is now imported.
“When they’re able to really undercut the cost and everything, it makes it really tough for us to compete,” explained Jones. “We’re not asking for a handout. We just want to work and compete in a fair marketplace.”
Shrimpers hoped that tariffs on countries that import a lot of shrimp to the U.S. — such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam and China — would raise the cost of foreign shrimp enough to make U.S. shrimp more attractive to consumers. But lawsuits have been filed challenging some of the tariffs, and the administration says it has made progress negotiating trade deals with both India and China.
“I think in general the uncertainty is what’s driving business decisions at this point,” said Joseph Von Nessen, a research economist at the University of South Carolina. “So even if tariffs or a set of tariffs benefit a certain industry or certain set of firms, the question becomes, are those tariffs likely to last for a significant period of time or not?”
Another issue for U.S. shrimpers is that tariffs will also increase the cost of some of the equipment they use, from steel cables and chains to engine parts.
Jones said it’s hard to predict how the president’s trade policy will impact shrimpers in the months and years ahead.
“At the end of the day, it’s not going to be tariffs,” Jones said. “It’s not going to be legislation, which we do need. It’s going to be the end consumer that will end up causing or creating success in our industry.”
Jones is pushing for new laws to make it easier for consumers to know where their shrimp is coming from. As for the quality of locally caught shrimp compared to imported shrimp, Jones said you can taste the difference.
