Saving Seafood

Section 301 tariffs leave US seafood importers with few avenues to avoid rising costs

August 10, 2026 — The latest round of tariffs implemented by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) targeted several countries that heavily produce salmon and shrimp with duty rates between 10 percent and 12.5 percent, leaving U.S. seafood importers with few options for relief from rising costs.

The 60 global economies hit with Section 301 tariffs include top salmon-producing countries such as Norway, Chile, and the U.K., as well as shrimp-producing nations like Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand.

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Coalition of 25 US states sue Trump administration over tariffs

August 5, 2026 — A coalition of 25 U.S. states have launched lawsuits against the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump over the latest round of tariffs.

The Trump administration launched sweeping Section 301 tariffs on 60 economies in July, comprising 59 countries and every country in the European Union. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) launched the tariffs following investigations into all 60 economies, and said the tariffs are related to those economies failures to “impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.”

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Trump administration launches sweeping tariffs on 59 countries, entire EU

July 24, 2026 — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has launched sweeping tariffs on 59 different countries and the entire E.U. following Section 301 investigations.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) began 60 investigations in March 2026 related to the “failure of various economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.” In June, the USTR said it was planning to target those countries with tariff rates of between 10 and 12.5 percent, depending on the commitments the countries made to oppose forced labor.

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Trump fires new salvo in trade dispute with Canada amid ongoing USMCA discussions

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.

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Trump hits Brazil with 25 percent tariffs, but seafood manages to win exceptions

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.

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USTR extends Section 301 tariff exclusions on certain seafood for another three months

June 3, 2025 — The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has granted certain Section 301 tariff exclusions on some seafood items, giving the products another three months to avoid a higher 25 percent tariff rate.

The Section 301 tariffs stem from the first term of U.S. President Donald Trump, who first hit Chinese products with a 10 percent tariff in 2018. That move started Trump’s first trade war with China, which resulted in 25 percent tariffs being placed on a wide array of goods from China related to the Section 301 Investigation of China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation.

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Deal announced to halt parallel tariffs between US and UK

June 18, 2021 — Just days after policymakers announced a five-year suspension of tariffs between the United States and European Union – winding down a decades-long trade conflict – officials announced a similar deal is being struck between the U.S. and United Kingdom.

The agreement is in regards to an ongoing civil aircraft dispute involving U.S.-based Boeing and E.U.-based Airbus. According to a release from the U.S. Trade Representative, the framework for a deal between the U.S. and U.K. is similar to that reached earlier this week with the E.U.

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Some Relief For Seafood Industry Thanks to Airbus-Boeing Deal

June 16, 2021 — On Tuesday the United States and European Union announced a cooperative framework to address the large civil aircraft disputes which have been raging since 2004. As part of the agreement, the U.S. and EU have agreed to move away from “past confrontation in pursuit of a cooperative future by suspending the tariffs related to this dispute for five years.”

“After years of bitter litigation and weeks of intense diplomacy, we have reached a deal on a set of high-level principles that resets U.S.-EU engagement in the large civil aircraft industry,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a press release. “We are strongest when we work with our friends and allies, and the partnership with European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis is a demonstration of that principle in action.”

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USTR announces, then suspends, 25 percent tariffs on goods including seafood from multiple countries

June 3, 2021 — U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced, and then immediately suspended, new Section 301 tariffs on goods from multiple countries as part of its one-year investigation of digital service taxes (DSTs).

The new tariffs, which will be set at 25 percent if reinstated, are in response to taxes levied by Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom on revenue generated by “non-resident” companies offering digital services – including the sales of software-as-a-service products. The USTR investigation began in June 2020 and found the practices of the countries discriminatory in January.

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USITC investigating effects of CETA on US lobster industry

September 2, 2020 — The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) has announced it is planning to investigate the impacts of a Canada-E.U. trade agreement on the U.S. lobster industry.

The investigation was kicked off by a letter from the United States Trade Representative requesting the USITC provide a complete overview of the U.S. and Canadian lobster industries, including the trends in exports between both countries and the U.K. and E.U. That letter was itself kicked off by an executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump, intended to boost the U.S. lobster industry.

Read the full story at Seafood Source