'Lot of relief now': Indian shrimp exporters prepare to export over 35 tonnes of shrimp to US as tariff pauses

India’s seafood exporters are gearing up to dispatch between 35,000 and 40,000 tonnes of shrimp to the United States, following the announcement of a pause in the implementation of steep new tariffs by the US president Donald Trump.

Industry officials confirmed on Monday that orders from American buyers remain stable after Trump delayed the 26 per cent reciprocal tariff, keeping the current duty at 10 per cent. The pause sparked relief across the sector, with exporters now rushing to process thousands of delayed shipments.

“There is a lot of relief now as we are at par with other exporters to the US. Now the shipments that were held back will be processed,” said K N Raghavan, secretary general of the seafood exporters association of India, speaking to PTI.

Approximately 2,000 containers of shrimp, which were previously held up due to uncertainty around the new tariffs, are now being prepared for export. Trump’s decision to pause the levies provided exporters with a critical window to fulfil existing contracts.

The temporary suspension retained a flat 10 per cent tariff on seafood imports from most countries, excluding China, which continues to face a hefty 145 per cent duty.

Despite this, Indian shrimp, at present, face an effective duty of 17.7 per cent in the US market, including 5.7 per cent in countervailing duties and 1.8 per cent in anti-dumping duties.

As per industry sources, Indian exporters usually bear these tariff costs under delivery duty-paid arrangements, which implies that the contaminants would have faced major additional expenses under the hiked tariff.

“The 90-day pause provides exporters the opportunity to fulfil these orders without the extra cost,” an industry representative said.

The United States remains India’s largest shrimp market by both volume and value. In the 2023–24 financial year, shrimp exports to the US were valued at $2.7 billion.

While exporters may relax for now, Raghavan stressed the need for the government to secure a “level playing field” for the seafood export sector during the upcoming trade talks before the tariff pause expires.