Local shrimpers see tariffs as opportunity, want targeted approach

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) — As President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies rattle the stock market and worry consumers, one local industry sees them as an opportunity.

“The first news of the tariffs, we were all excited,” said Bryan Jones, a first-generation shrimper who lives in McClellanville. “We certainly empathize with anybody that views this as a negative downturn…but [with] this suffering that our industry has had for the last 20 years, our view is that it will provide a lifeline.”

The domestic shrimping industry has suffered in recent decades as foreign countries like India, Indonesia, Ecuador, and Vietnam dump billions of pounds of shrimp into the market, thereby artificially deflating the price.

“It’s squeezing us out of the market where we once had 80% of the market share 20 years ago, we’re now down to 6%,” said Jones, who also serves as vice president of the South Carolina Shrimpers Association. “That’s really stifling to, you know, the people that are trying to make a living and feed their families here in these rural coastal communities.”

But news of the sweeping tariffs offered hope of leveling the playing field.

“What we’re looking for is just the ability to compete fairly in the marketplace,” said Jones. “If the price of imported shrimp goes up, our prices can, in theory, stay the same, as long as we don’t have to tie up.”

Closer prices would give consumers and restaurants more choice, he added.

“Even if the price of domestic shrimp doesn’t move a lot, the restaurant buyer or the head chef has that opportunity to make that conscious decision,” Jones said. “Or the consumer: if there’s a closer price spread, does it make sense to buy something that’s delicious, local, wild-caught and sustainable or do I vote with my pocketbook?”

According to the Southern Shrimp Alliance, the price of imported shrimp has dropped by more than $1.5 billion, forcing the U.S. to lose nearly 50% of its market value.

The alliance contends that U.S. shrimpers have been disadvantaged by unfair trade policies, which include government and global financial institution subsidies for aquaculture ponds and fewer environmental regulations.

These policies have allowed foreign countries to flood the market with cheap, often lower-quality shrimp, Jones said.

According to a 2015 Consumer Reports bulletin, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration tests only about 1% of foreign shrimp shipments for potential contaminants.

About one-third of shipments are rejected for containing banned antibiotics. But, Jones noted that the shipments are not usually immediately confiscated or destroyed, meaning boats could take them to a new port of entry where they could pass through uninspected.

“We have a lot of rules and regulations in place, but when only 1% is inspected, there’s a lot of loopholes and ways for shrimp to come across the docks and end up in the food system,” he said.

And though tariffs could achieve more financial parity in the industry, American shrimpers will likely have to balance that with rising costs for operational expenses, like replacing the gear onboard trawlers.

“We understand the prices of some these materials may go up, but that would be completely offset if we were able to sell more of our product,” Jones argued.

Tariffs on the largest suppliers of imported shrimp were initially set between 10% and 46%, according to figures from the White House. With a 90-day pause now in place, shrimpers are encouraging a more targeted approach.

He suggested that mechanisms such as anti-dumping orders and countervailing duties that directly target predatory actors in the industry would also help.

“It’s not lost on us that this is not a permanent solution,” Jones said. “We don’t view tariffs as the end all be all, but it could be a strategic tool.”