July 23, 2026 — The U.S. House has passed the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act (H.R. 2715), kicking it up to the Senate.
The bill was advanced out of a subcommittee in May, passing with a 43-0 vote in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. On 20 July, the bill passed quickly in the U.S. House of Representatives after roughly 40 minutes of debate.
July 21, 2026 — United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer announced new 50 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, continuing a trade dispute even as talks over the United States, Mexico, Canada agreement (USMCA) are ongoing.
Greer announced 50 percent tariffs on three types of goods: motor vehicles, alcohol, and dairy. The tariffs mark a new chapter in the U.S.’s ongoing dispute with Canada, as U.S. President Donald Trump has continuously threatened Canada with tariffs since taking office in January 2025, including threats of 100 percent tariffs in February 2026 after Canada and China finalized a trade deal.
July 17, 2026 — The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) is calling on the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to ban seafood caught or processed by China, citing concerns over forced labor.
CECC Chair Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Co-Chair Representative Christopher Smith (R-New Jersey), along with commissioners Representative Dale Strong (R-Alabama) and Representative Tom Suozzi (D-New York) wrote a letter to Trump calling for an executive order to ban seafood either caught by Chinese-linked vessels or processed in China.
July 17, 2026 — Fishing is one of the oldest commercial activities in New England, and experts with the University of Maine are working to ensure its future remains sustainable.
For the 14th year in a row, Maine harvested over half-a-billion dollars in seafood, around $619 million in 2025 to be exact according to Damian Brady, a professor at UMaine’s School of Marine Sciences.
“We have about 7% of the coastline of the United States, and we produce 25% of the value in seafood,” said Brady.
July 16, 2026 — Members of Congress routinely post news releases on legislation they introduce and cosponsor, including for Alaska’s delegation, a plethora of seafood legislation impacting the seafood industry.
Once in a while, one of these bills becomes law. The odds are 1-3 percent.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, who are both running for his current Senate seat, have issued news releases stating their priorities for federal regulations related to the nation’s federal fisheries. Many of their campaigns are focused on convincing Alaskans engaged in the fisheries industry that they can do the most to protect and improve benefits for Alaskans working in that industry.
Purchases of Russian seafood were blocked from federal school lunch programs by an amendment introduced by Sullivan, which passed the Senate in November 2023. That amendment closed a loophole that had allowed Russian seafood processed in China to bypass the National School Lunch Program “Buy American” requirements.
In 2022, the Alaska Salmon Task Force Act, sponsored by Sullivan, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and Rep. Don Young, Alaska’s all Republican delegation, was established as a federal task force. On July 12, 2024, the task force submitted its final science report on the complex biological, environmental and socioeconomic factors impacting Alaska salmon to the Secretary of Commerce, the Alaska Legislature and relevant congressional committees.
On June 25, Sullivan introduced the Bycatch Reduction Act, an updated version of bycatch legislation introduced by the Alaska congressional delegation in January of 2026, which remains in the introduced stage in the Senate and the House.
July 16, 2026 — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has announced new tariffs on Brazil, with several exceptions for certain seafood items.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced new 25 percent tariffs on imports from Brazil following a Section 301 investigation. The USTR said the tariff action follows an investigation it started in 2025, just days after Trump threatened 50 percent tariffs on the country claiming it was treating former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro unfairly. USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer said at the time the country’s unfair trade practices were documented in the National Trade Estimate Report, and a recent release by the USTR said it identified several practices by Brazil that gave it an unfair advantage over U.S. businesses.
July 15, 2026 — Global shipping rates continue to be high as the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran drives up costs, and the latest attacks by Iran on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz could cause more issues.
Trans-Pacific shipping rates appeared to moderate in early July, as spot rates for certain major routes stayed relatively flat after months of steady increases, according to shipping rate indexing and analysis firm Xeneta.
July 14, 2026 — The longfin squid that ends up on your plate as calamari may have been caught in Rhode Island, but it’s likely traveled to China and back again for processing before being served.
That example is illustrative of what’s known as the “seafood deficit,” a roughly $20 billion trade deficit due to the U.S. importing 80% to 90% of the seafood it consumes. For instance, more than 80% of squid caught in Rhode Island is frozen and shipped to China for processing, then refrozen and imported back to the United States, according to the Westerly Sun.
“It’s not because we don’t have seafood, it’s because we don’t have the capacity to process it,” said Taskin Padir, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern.
July 10, 2026 — This afternoon, White House Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing Peter Navarro posted a video on X noting that “.@POTUS is protecting our scallop industry by opening up the Northern Edge of Georges Bank off the coast of New England.”
In the video, Mr. Navarro says:
President Trump is making American fishing great again. The latest example is scallops. America has the largest wild scallop fishery in the world. Atlantic scallops are a premium American protein, yet imports now supply roughly 85% of what Americans consume by weight. While the scallop trade deficit approaches 59 million pounds, $390 million. Only Washington could call that conservation. The insanity is clearest on Georges Bank. Canada lawfully harvests scallops on its side of the line, while American boats remain locked out of the adjacent U.S. northern edge by regulators.
In 2024, Canada landed more than 7 million pounds of scallops from Georges Bank, roughly the same amount America imported from Canada. That’s not a supply problem. That is a policy failure. President Trump and NOAA are moving to fix it by restoring lawful science-based access to the Northern Edge of Georges Bank. And they’re tackling another bad piece of scallop math: the one permit, one boat rule. Today, scallop boats can sit in ports for about 11 months a year. Permit stacking would let the same lawful harvest be taken with fewer idle boats, lower costs, and a stronger American fleet. No higher catch limit, no overfishing, just common sense.
More American scallops, more American jobs, less dependence on foreign seafood. How do you like them scallops?