Admin Editor | Apr 24 2025
tom.seaman@undercurrentnews.com
April 15, 2025
There's widespread confusion in the sector about whether July 9 is an arrival or a shipping deadline to avoid tariffs of over 10%
Asian processors looking to get seafood to the US before incurring tariffs of over 10% are scrambling to ship amid confusion around a July 9 deadline from sellers and buyers, sources told Undercurrent News.
Prices for shrimp raw material are rising in India, Indonesia and Vietnam, as Undercurrent reported earlier on Tuesday (April 15), amid a panicked surge in importers of shrimp from those countries facing 26%, 32% and 46% additional tariffs respectively after the 90-day hold to 10% expires on July 9. US wholesale prices are also rising fast, as Undercurrent reported.
There's widespread confusion in the sector about whether July 9 is an arrival or a shipping deadline, with the language used in an April 9 executive order (EO) from US president Donald Trump suggesting it's the former.
The document states that the 10% reduced rate applies to "all articles imported into the customs territory of the United States from the trading partners" before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time (EDT) on July 9. There's no mention of a 10% rate for products shipped before July 9 but arriving after.
Sec. 2. Suspension of Country-Specific Ad Valorem Rates of Duty. Effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 10, 2025, enforcement of the second paragraph of section 3(a) of Executive Order 14257 is suspended until 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on July 9, 2025. Effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 10, 2025, and until 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on July 9, 2025, all articles imported into the customs territory of the United States from the trading partners enumerated in Annex I to Executive Order 14257 shall be, consistent with law, subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 10 percent, subject to all applicable exceptions set forth in Executive Order 14257.
Credit: April 9 executive order from US president Donald Trump
As previously reported, shipments that left their place of origin before 12:01 a.m. EDT on April 5 would beat the 10% tariff rate. They also had to arrive in the US by 12.01 a.m. EDT on May 27.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was not immediately available to respond to Undercurrent for clarification prior to publishing.
"They have clearly said shipping to arrive" before the July 9 date to get the 10% tariff, an executive with one major Indian shrimp supplier told Undercurrent, who asked not to be quoted by name.
According to one of the owners of another large Southeast Asian shrimp supplier, the language clearly states the July 9 deadline applies to arrivals. Washington, D.C.-based lawyers this shrimp processing executive has consulted also agree with this interpretation, he said.
Not everyone is so sure of the meaning. "This is the golden question," one US shrimp importer, who also asked not to be quoted by name, told Undercurrent when asked on whether July 9 is an arrival or shipping date.
The confusion derives from the previous EO stating shipments made before the effective date of April 5 or 9 would be excluded from the tariffs if they arrived by May 27, he said.
"Now that this suspension is in place, I have not seen any clarification on whether the same concept will be applied. Certainly, it seems CBP should issue guidance, but it's still a mystery, as far as I know," he said.
"Never in my career have I seen this level of chaos," said the executive, who has decades of experience in the sector.
"It is disappointing that CBP has not provided more clarity on this issue, nor any relief for products on route to the US," Gavin Gibbons, chief strategy officer with the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), the US seafood industry group, told Undercurrent.
"NFI is working with members on their specific tariff questions as the answers are likely to vary based on the status of the negotiations with each country, which we anticipate could change quickly," Gibbons told Undercurrent.
Three other Asian suppliers were confused over the situation, then said the document shared with them from Undercurrent convinced them that July 9 is an arrival deadline.
Others are not so clear. "Many in the industry understand it is 10% for anything shipped between April 5 and July 8," one US based shrimp executive told Undercurrent.
"They said a 90-day extension from May 27, so 90 days from that," a second large Asian shrimp supplier to the US said. When Undercurrent shared the EO language with the source, he noted the situation was unclear.
Other US importers surveyed by Undercurrent said they were operating under the same assumption, even when presented with the language in the EO. "We think July 9 applies to product on the water," he said.
It takes five to eight weeks to ship from India and Southeast Asia to the US, depending on the origin and final port in the US.
From India, US East Coast ports take around 40-50 days, with a shipping time of 36-38 days to the West Coast. Then, to Houston, Texas, a large port in the south of the US, it's 50-55 days, sources said.
India is the number one supplier of shrimp to the US, followed by Ecuador, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, as the data below from the Undercurrent trade portal shows. The July 9 deadline is not an issue for Ecuador, however, as the South American country was only hit with 10%.
US frozen shrimp imports by partner from top 4 customs codes
© 2024 Undercurrent News Source: US Census Bureau
Contact the author tom.seaman@undercurrentnews.com
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