Saving Seafood

US senators demand ban on Chinese seafood over IUU fishing, forced labor

August 27, 2025 — A pair of senators from the United States have sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, demanding the federal government issue “the toughest possible sanctions on seafood from China” over human rights violations in its commercial fishing industry.

In the 21 August letter, U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Alabama) and U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) claimed illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in China’s seafood industry was harmful to U.S. workers and a threat to national security.

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Trump delays tariffs on China for another 90 days

August 13, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order further delaying a proposed tariff increase for another 90 days.

The latest order, “Further Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates to Reflect Ongoing Discussions with the People’s Republic of China,” cites ongoing trade talks between U.S. and Chinese officials as a reason for the delay. With the new order, the existing suspension on tariffs will now last until 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on 10 November.

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US tariffs on Southeast Asia give China breathing room to weather current volatility, Chinese exporter says

August 5, 2025 — U.S. tariffs on Southeast Asian nations like Vietnam have helped to cushion the impact of trade disruptions on Chinese processors and exporters, according to Landy Chow, the general manager of seafood exporter Siam Canadian’s Chinese office.

The U.S. recently instituted 20 percent tariffs on Vietnamese goods, down from the 42 percent it was initially threatened with. Chinese seafood, meanwhile, faces 30 percent tariffs, as well as 25 percent Section 301 tariffs, resulting in a 55 percent overall tariff rate.

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US lawmakers want to root out any Chinese seafood from the military over Uyghur labor

August 4, 2025 — U.S. lawmakers are looking to eliminate any China-sourced seafood from its military as part of a renewed legislative effort aiming to address the Chinese government’s repression and abuse of the Uyghur minority group.

Human rights groups have long accused the Chinese government of persecuting its largely Muslim Uyghur populations, including via forced sterilization and forced labor. In October 2023, nonprofit journalism organization The Outlaw Ocean Project released a report documenting the use of Uyghur forced labor at several Chinese seafood processors, claiming that at least 47,000 metric tons of seafood were sent to the U.S. from facilities that used Uyghur workers.

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A record catch of krill near Antarctica could trigger an unprecedented end to fishing season

July 29, 2025 — Trawling near Antarctica for krill — a crustacean central to the diet of whales and a critical buffer to global warming — has surged to a record and is fast approaching a never before reached seasonal catch limit that would trigger the unprecedented early closure of the remote fishery, The Associated Press has learned.

The fishing boom follows the failure last year of the U.S., Russia, China and two dozen other governments to approve a new management plan that would have mandated spreading out the area in which krill can be caught and creating a California-sized reserve along the environmentally sensitive Antarctic Peninsula.

In the first seven months of the 2024-25 season, krill fishing in Antarctica reached 518,568 tons, about 84% of the 620,000-ton limit that, once reached, will force the fishery to automatically close. In one hot spot, the catch through June 30 was nearly 60% higher than all of last year’s haul, according to a report from the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, or CCAMLR, the international organization that manages the world’s southernmost fishery.

Read the full article at Associated Press

US lawmakers consider shielding sturgeon farmers from ESA restrictions

July 28, 2025 — Legislators in the U.S. Congress are considering legislation that would exempt American sturgeon farmers from Endangered Species Act (ESA) restrictions, although opponents say the legislation would open the door to Chinese and Russian imports.

The issue stems from a 2022 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposal to list four species of sturgeon – Russian, ship, Persian, and stellate – under the ESA. The rule was decried by the caviar industry at the time for not differentiating between sustainably farm-raised sturgeon and wild populations. With other species, such as Atlantic salmon, U.S. regulators have found ways to allow aquaculture operations to continue to trade fish legally even though it was listed as endangered in the Gulf of America, opponents said at the time.

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Trump reportedly considering delay on China tariffs, EU considering “nuclear option” on trade

July 22, 2025 — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly considering an extension on a trade deadline with China that would see higher tariffs on goods as of 12 August if a deal is not reached.

The U.S. and China both agreed to a 90-day pause on high tariffs in May after a series of escalations by the Trump administration ended up with tariffs as high as 145 percent on goods from China. China, in response, imposed tariffs of its own, reaching as high as 125 percent on U.S. goods.

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US Senate could ban Chinese seafood from military commissaries, dining facilities

July 17, 2025 — The U.S. Senate is considering legislation that would ban the U.S. Department of Defense from purchasing Chinese seafood for its commissaries and military dining facilities.

The Senate version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act – annual legislation authorizing funding for the U.S. military – includes a provision that would, if passed, prohibit the military from serving or selling Chinese seafood and aquaculture products.

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“We are going to be hitting Covid-level prices soon” – US crab importer warns of tariff-driven cost increases

July 15, 2025 — Though container prices between Asia and the U.S. are down slightly from the highs importers saw in May and June, continued economic uncertainty is likely to drive price increases among some seafood species, Supreme Crab CEO Troy Turkin told SeafoodSource.

“It’s a new world,” Turkin said, describing fast-moving policy evolutions he’s seeing that are affecting his business, which specializes in luxury imports like blue and red swimming crabs and frozen tuna, among other products.

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Trump plans tariff pause, threatens higher tariffs on BRICS countries, South Korea, and Japan

July 7, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to add an additional 10 percent tariff to any country aligned with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and then later threatened 25 percent tariffs as of 1 August on China, South Korea, and Japan, just before the White house announced his intention to extend the “liberation day” tariff pause to 1 August.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told media on 7 July that Trump was planning to sign an order to extend the pause on the steepest tariffs until 1 August. She also said Trump was planning to send letters to other countries about the new rates they would face if they did not negotiate new deals with the U.S.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource