April 22, 2026 — U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to restructure global trade – and his inability to do so cleanly and consistently – has created uncertainty in the seafood sector and hurt trade between the U.S. and the E.U., according to seafood industry stakeholders speaking at a panel at the 2026 Seafood Expo Global (SEG).
“No matter what you think of the policy overall, the up and down nature of it and the uncertainty that that generates is crippling for businesses that I represent, and I think for even domestic U.S. producers it creates uncertainty and doubt,” National Fisheries Institute Executive Vice President for Government Affairs and General Counsel Robert DeHaan said. “It’s harder to innovate. It’s harder to expand your payroll. It’s harder to know what’s going to happen in six [or] nine months. This sector of farmed and wild [fish] is very tough in good conditions, and introducing this level of uncertainty about the policy execution process creates uncertainty and makes the U.S. market less appealing.”