Section 301 Tariffs Loom Over Seafood Trade as Trump-Xi Summit Opens This Week

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in Washington this week, and trade attorneys say the summit could determine the timeline for a new round of Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods, with seafood importers among those watching closely.

New Tariff Tied to "Excess Capacity" Case

The administration has been developing a separate tariff action targeting China and roughly 15 other economies under a Section 301 investigation into "structural excess capacity." The rate under consideration is around 7.5%, according...

Seafood Industry Faces New Tariff Risk as Graham Russia Bill Nears Trump's Signature

The US House of Representatives passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 on September 16. The bill now heads to President Trump's desk after clearing the Senate in early August.

Named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who negotiated the legislation before his death in July, the bill is aimed at cutting off Russia's oil and gas revenue over its war in Ukraine.

The legislation directs the president to raise the duty rate on all goods...

Murray Pushes Bill to End Trade War With Canada, Criticizes Trump As She Tours Home State of WA

“Our maritime industry and our ports power the economy in Washington state—our fish and shellfish travel far on their own, but our fishermen and our ports are the reason they’re famous worldwide,” said Senator Murray last week in Bellingham, WA, during a tour of the western part of the state.  

“And this administration’s reckless and unpredictable tariffs have been nothing short of a disaster for them—driving up costs and making it impossible for any small business to plan...

Canada Pulls Seafood From Counter-Tariff List After Industry Pushback

Canada's Department of Finance has reversed course on one of the more contentious elements of its retaliatory tariff package, removing fish and seafood products from its list of US goods facing counter-tariffs, less than 24 hours after the measures were announced.

The department said it made the adjustment based on feedback from Canadian industries, citing a commitment to continually assess the effectiveness of its counter-tariff measures, with a primary focus on sectors that have themselves been targeted by US tariffs. Seafood, notably, has not been...

Canada Targets US Lobster, Salmon, Pollock With 25% Counter-Tariffs

Canada will impose 25% counter-tariffs on American fish and seafood effective September 8, escalating a trade war that now threatens one of the world's most deeply integrated bilateral seafood supply chains.

The measures, announced August 25 by Prime Minister Mark Carney, cover roughly 700 US product lines at rates of 15%, 25% and 50% — a dollar-for-dollar response to US Section 338 tariffs of 50% that took effect August 19 on select Canadian imports after trade talks between the two countries collapsed. Fish and seafood fall...

High Liner Foods Posts 12% Sales Jump in Q2 as New Products and USDA Purchase Drive Volume

High Liner Foods President and CEO Paul Jewer said the company maintained topline momentum in the second quarter of 2026, citing steady customer demand, a disciplined promotional approach, and strong early response to its latest product launches.

Sales in Q2 2026 rose $29.7 million, or 12.4%, to $269.3 million compared to $239.6 million in the same period last year, driven by both higher volumes and increased pricing reflecting inflationary market conditions. Sales volumes climbed 2.2 million pounds...

Chile Pushes Back on US Tariffs as Salmon Industry Maps Path to Relief

Chile is mounting a coordinated diplomatic and legal response to the 12.5% Section 301 tariff the Trump administration imposed on Chilean goods on July 24 — a rate that places Chile among the highest-penalized economies in the new forced-labor framework and hits salmon, wine, timber, and fruit exports simultaneously.

The justification has drawn sharp pushback from Santiago. Chilean government ministers publicly questioned the forced-labor basis for the tariff, calling it unjust and damaging to bilateral trust, according to local media reports...

Oregon's $3B Tariff Bill Hits Seafood-Dependent Coast Hard, New State Report Finds

Oregon importers paid nearly $3 billion in tariffs between March and December 2025 as the state's effective tariff rate surged from roughly 2% to multiples of that figure, according to a new analysis released August 3 by Governor Tina Kotek's office.

The report — co-authored by the Office of Economic Analysis, the Oregon Employment Department, and Business Oregon — found that Oregon was hit harder than most US states, a direct consequence of its coastal geography and port-dependent trade flows. The seafood industry, which relies...

Chilean Salmon's Biggest Tariff Hurdle Yet as Section 301 Takes Effect

Chilean salmon will now face a 12.5% tariff when entering the United States following the Trump administration's latest tariff actions, which went into effect on July 24. The move is significant for the industry, which supplies over 40% of the salmon consumed in the US.

The new Section 301 tariffs mark the most significant tariff hurdle for the Chilean salmon sector yet, raising the rate from the 10% that had applied throughout President Trump's earlier trade actions. The determination stems from a US Trade Representative finding that Chile lacks...

Canadian Seafood Not Targeted by Trump's New 50% US Tariffs

Fish and seafood do not appear in any of the three proclamations President Trump signed on July 20 imposing 50% tariffs on Canadian goods, continuing a pattern of protection that has shielded the sector through each round of the US-Canada trade dispute.

Trump signed three separate proclamations invoking Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, each targeting a specific grievance: discriminatory treatment of US motor vehicles, a near-total ban by Canadian provinces on US alcoholic beverages, and unequal dairy tariff-rate quota access compared to EU producers...

Seafood Industry Wins Key Exemptions as US Imposes 25% Tariff on Brazilian Goods

The Trump Administration's 25% Section 301 tariff on Brazilian goods takes effect July 22 — and the US seafood industry secured meaningful relief, with many of Brazil's most commercially significant seafood export categories landing on the exemption list.

USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer announced the final action on July 15, following a yearlong investigation into Brazilian practices related to digital trade, anti-corruption enforcement, intellectual property, ethanol market access, and illegal deforestation. After receiving more than 360 written comments and holding two public hearings...

Seafood Industry Split at USTR Forced Labor Tariff Hearings as July 24 Deadline Looms

The US seafood industry arrived at this week's USTR Section 301 hearings divided — importers warning of a $2.86 billion annual tariff hit, domestic shrimp and catfish producers pushing for higher duties and outright import bans — with a hard statutory deadline adding urgency to the entire proceeding.

The three-day hearings, held July 7–9 at the US International Trade Commission, covered USTR's proposed forced labor tariffs on 60 economies: 10% on countries with at least partial forced labor import bans, including Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, and...

SalmonChile Joins Chilean Trade Delegation Heading to Washington to Fight Proposed 12.5% Tariff

Chile's salmon farming industry will send representatives to Washington next month to argue that farmed salmon should be exempt from a proposed 12.5% tariff recommended by the Office of the US Trade Representative, joining a broader public-private coalition mobilizing ahead of USTR hearings scheduled to begin July 7.

The delegation took shape following a June 30 meeting at Chile's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the Chilean Industrial Development Association (SOFOFA), trade association Subsecretary Paula Estévez, and export groups including SalmonChile...

Cassidy to Introduce Bill Targeting Shrimp, Crawfish and Catfish Import Surges

US Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) plans to introduce the Home Market Restoration Act of 2026, legislation that would establish tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on a range of import-sensitive food and agricultural products, including shrimp, crawfish, and catfish, in an effort to curb what he calls unfair foreign competition against American producers.

The bill would set country-by-country quotas for shrimp and crawfish, and new quota structures for catfish, rice, honey, lamb, goat meat, live cattle, and beef. Imports above the quota thresholds would face higher duty...

USMCA Is in Limbo. Here's What That Means for North American Seafood.

With a July 1 deadline looming, President Trump recently announced that the US will likely not reauthorize the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) for a full 16-year extension, opting instead for a rolling annual review process that trade analysts say could drag well into 2027.

"I would rather not have the agreement, but I may sign it," Trump said in France on June 17. "We do better as a country if we don't have ​an agreement...

Winding Glass: Section 301 Tariffs Set to Permanently Twist Seafood Trade

The recent headline that section 301 seafood tariffs will reach $2.9 billion does not tell the industry story. The headline number is the result of an 11.4% blended tariff calculation applied to the value of goods shipped by 60 targeted countries to the US in 2025. That is one result of the Section 301 forced-labor duties proposed by the US Trade Representative on June 2. It is more than the roughly $2.2 billion importers paid last year, most of it under the IEEPA tariffs the Supreme...

Faroese PM Presses Von der Leyen on Salmon Tariffs, Comes Away Empty-Handed

The Faroe Islands' push for better EU market access for processed seafood ran into diplomatic reality this week, as Prime Minister Beinir Johannesen's face-to-face appeal to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen produced no concrete movement on the tariff structure Faroese industry says is holding back domestic salmon processing.

The meeting took place in Nuuk, Greenland, on September 7 — not Brussels — on the sidelines of von der Leyen's two-day visit to sign a new EU-Greenland partnership declaration alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette...

Norway Posts Record August Seafood Export Value, Driven by Salmon Price Growth and US Rebound

Norway exported seafood worth NOK 16 billion (approximately €1.35 billion) in August, the highest August export value on record, according to statistics released Sept. 3 by the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC). The figure represents an increase of NOK 1.9 billion, or 14%, compared with the same month last year.

"We are very pleased with the August figures. The high salmon price is the main driver behind the strong value growth," said NSC CEO Christian Chramer...

Chile Presses for Salmon Tariff Removal as Two-Day US Trade Talks End

High-level trade talks between Chile and the United States concluded in Santiago this week without a final agreement, as both sides described ongoing negotiations over the 12.5% Section 301 tariff that has burdened Chilean exports — including salmon — since late July.

Deputy US Trade Representative Jeffrey Goettman led the US delegation for the two-day visit on August 24-25. Chile's government pressed for the removal of the 12.5% tariff across key export sectors, including salmon, wine, timber, and fruit...

China Southern Launches Direct Oslo-Shanghai Cargo Route for Norwegian Salmon

China Southern Airlines has launched a new direct cargo route between Oslo Airport and Shanghai, adding approximately 200 tonnes of weekly Norwegian salmon capacity to a trade lane that has become increasingly central to Norway's export strategy as US tariffs bite.

The route began operations on August 19, running twice weekly with Boeing 777F freighters carrying roughly 100 tonnes per flight. It is China Southern's first cargo route to Norway.

"China is one of the most important growth markets for Norwegian seafood, and we see significant potential for further...

Ecuador Pushes to Upgrade US Trade Deal to Full FTA With Shrimp, Tuna Access in the Crosshairs

Ecuador is pressing Washington to convert its existing trade arrangement into a full free trade agreement, just four months after signing the Reciprocal Trade Agreement (ART) with the US on March 13, 2026.

Minister of Production, Foreign Trade and Investments Luis Alberto Jaramillo told Primicias that the government will formally request the start of FTA negotiations, with a first round of talks expected as soon as August or September.

"This agreement can be negotiated quickly — there are only four products on each side...

Tariffs Keep Biting: Norwegian Salmon Loses Ground in US Despite Record July Exports

Norway posted record overall seafood export figures in July, but the US market remains a notable weak spot as tariffs weigh on trade across multiple species, according to the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC).

US-bound exports fell 4% in July, dropping Norway to its fifth-largest salmon market — a striking slide from the second spot it held just a year ago. "Tariffs on exports to the US are still affecting salmon exports," said Paul Aandahl, seafood analyst at the NSC...

Trump's Section 301 Tariffs Cast New Shadow Over Norway's Declining US Seafood Exports

Norway's seafood industry emerged from the Trump administration's Section 301 tariff announcement on July 24 facing fresh uncertainty in a US market that was already sliding — with a 12.5% rate now locked in while key competitors secured lower or zero-rate access.

The determination stems from the US Trade Representative's finding that Norway lacks legislation explicitly prohibiting imports of goods produced with forced labor in third countries. Seafood Norway CEO Geir Ove Ystmark called the assessment unreasonable, pointing to the Norwegian Transparency Act and the country's pending...

Section 301 Forced Labor Tariffs Take Effect; Seafood Gets No Exemptions as New Trade Map Takes Hold

The Trump administration put a new set of tariffs in place on Friday, ranging from 10% to 12.5% on 60 US trading partners. Seafood received no product exemptions; the sector had been named a priority target when USTR launched the Section 301 forced labor investigations in February, and the final rule followed through.

The tariffs, imposed under the Trade Act of 1974 by USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer at the direction of President Trump, replace the temporary 10% Section 122 levies that expired...

Washington's Geoduck Farmers Are Caught in the Middle of the US-China Trade War

On the tidal flats of Puget Sound, a quiet crisis is unfolding for some of Washington State's smallest seafood producers. Geoduck farmers, growing one of the Pacific Northwest's most prized exports, are watching years of investment get squeezed by a trade dispute they have no power to influence and no market to pivot to.

Geoduck, the giant burrowing clam native to the Pacific Northwest, is one of the most China-dependent products in US seafood...

US Seafood Sector Weighs in on China Tariff Framework

The US seafood industry is navigating a pivotal moment in its trade relationship with China, as the Trump Administration moves to formalize a new bilateral framework that could reshape tariff rates on a wide range of fish and shellfish products.

In June, USTR published a Federal Register notice seeking public comment on the scope of a proposed US-China Board of Trade, a managed trade mechanism announced during President Trump's May 2026 visit to Beijing. The Board is intended to identify "non-sensitive" goods on both sides eligible for reciprocal tariff...

Les Hodges: Market Access Becomes the New Measure of Value

The defining issue in the global crab market is no longer production alone. Across every major producing region, the ability to access the highest-value markets is becoming a more important factor of profitability than the size of the harvest itself. Biological conditions continue to improve in Alaska, Norway remains constrained by lower king crab quotas, Russia continues directing premium live product into Asia, and Japan is finding it more difficult to compete for available supply. The result is a global market increasingly shaped by tariffs, sanctions...

EU Restores Zero-Duty Access for US Lobster, Expands Coverage to Processed Products

The European Union's Council of Ministers formally adopted two regulations on June 25 implementing the bloc's tariff commitments under the EU-US joint trade framework, restoring duty-free access for American lobster exports and opening new preferential market access for a range of US seafood products.

The most immediate development for the seafood industry is the reinstatement of the EU's zero-duty regime on US lobster imports, which had lapsed on July 31, 2025, when an earlier agreement — first struck between the US and EU in 2020...

UK-India Trade Deal Opens Door for Scottish Salmon Exports

The UK government and India have reached a trade agreement that will help reduce trade barriers between the two countries.

"The deal gives British exporters an edge over international competitors, and I would encourage all businesses to ensure they are properly prepared," British Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said in a statement, according to a Reuters article.

The agreement is particularly significant for Scottish salmon, which faces a 33% tariff when exported to India. Under the deal, that tariff will be removed, opening up new opportunities in...

House Committee Advances Trade Crime Legislation as Trump Signs Customs Enforcement Order

The House Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced the bipartisan "Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes (PAIL) Act" (H.R. 1869) last week by a 23-0 vote, while President Trump signed an Executive Order strengthening US customs law enforcement on the same day.

The PAIL Act, introduced by Representative Ashley Hinson (R-IA) with 42 co-sponsors, would establish a Justice Department task force to investigate and prosecute trade-related crimes. The task force would increase investigations of trade fraud while providing advanced training to Homeland...