India, the United States’ leading supplier of shrimp, now faces a daunting 50% tariff on its seafood exports, one of the steepest rates among all US trading partners.
President Donald Trump announced an additional 25% tariff on all Indian imports, just days after a previous 25% hike, effectively doubling the hurdle for exporters. The move by Trump serves as a penalty on India for purchasing Russian oil.
“I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,” Trump said in an August 6 executive order.
“Accordingly, and as consistent with applicable law, articles of India imported into the customs territory of the United States shall be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 percent,” per the White House.
The new rate takes effect 21 days after the order. Exceptions apply for goods already in transit and those cleared by September 17, 2025.
“This rate of duty shall be effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time 21 days after the date of this order, except for goods that (1) were loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading and in transit on the final mode of transit prior to entry into the United States before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time 21 days after the date of this order; and (2) are entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 17, 2025.”
The massive tariff rate now threatens Indian seafood exports, most notably shrimp. Last year, India was the third-most valuable seafood importer to the US. The country shipped $2.5 billion worth of seafood, per Expana’s Foreign Trade Data platform. The 648 million pounds of shrimp that hit US shores were worth over $2 billion of that total.
When the initial 25% tariff was announced, Expana’s shrimp market reporting team warned of heightened uncertainty and potential market disruption. With the rate now doubled, those concerns have grown more urgent.
Even prior to the latest increase, Expana analyst Fabienne O’Donoghue highlighted the significant headwinds facing India’s shrimp exports, despite a recent uptick in shipments as buyers rushed to secure product ahead of the higher tariffs.
Indian media has closely covered the headwinds impacting the shrimp industry as the initial 25% tariff was put in place. Now, even more pressure is placed on India’s critical shrimp industry. One publication reported that exporters could see volumes drop by just shy of 10% due to the new tariffs.
Indian shrimp is also now pressured by other top-producing nations like Ecuador, which face significantly lower tariff rates. The 25% rate was just a shade lower than competitors like Indonesia and Vietnam, but now, India’s rate is more than double the competition.
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Image source: Getty
Written by Ryan Doyle
