President Donald Trump's recent imposition of massive tariffs on dozens of foreign countries has been a huge win for many American industries, most notably the seafood harvesting industry.
Despite the impact that Trump's tariffs have had on the U.S. stock market, many industries are happy with the situation and are praising Trump for fighting for American workers after decades of "free trade" eroding American industries and destroying blue-collar jobs.
Leann Borsarge, the COO of Bosarge Boats, went on Fox News to praise Trump's tariffs saying, "The U.S. domestic shrimp industry has been on a downward trajectory for decades now as a direct result of the unfair trade in the overseas aquaculture industry for growing shrimp overseas and these tariffs threw us a lifeline that we needed to hopefully live to fight another day in our industry in this country."
For decades, American industries have been devastated, thanks to having to compete with cheaper foreign labor or, in some cases, outright slave labor.
Trump is the first President in modern American history to recognize that we are getting ripped off and has dropped the hammer hard. These new tariffs are leveling the playing field and allowing American companies to compete while paying living wages to American workers.
In a massive move on Wednesday, Trump put a baseline levy of 10 percent on imports from foreign countries and “individualized reciprocal higher” tariffs on certain countries that Trump wants to target as countries that have taken advantage of the U.S.
Over the past few decades, U.S. seafood harvesters have been eaten alive by foreign competitors employing cheaper labor and having to meet much less stringent environmental and conservation standards.
The shrimp industry in particular has been mauled with nearly 95% of shrimp consumed in the United States imported from foreign countries like India, Ecuador, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Argentina.
In just two years, under the leadership of President Joe Biden, the shrimp industry's value plummeted from $522 million in 2021 to $269 million in 2023.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance praised the Trump administration's actions in addressing this sharp decline, stating that subsidies and forced labor in foreign countries made it impossible for them to compete, leading to the industry's downfall.
A statement from the organization explained that the tariffs "are expected to slow imports and prevent Americans from becoming completely dependent on foreign shrimp producers while the administration addresses harmful trade policies and enforcement deficiencies."
Trump's tariffs follow up on his promises to protect the American worker and uphold American interests over the interests of our "allies" that have been taking advantage of an unequal trade partnership for decades.
Of course, these tariffs are terrible news for the ultrawealthy and massive corporations that exploit cheap foreign labor and lax environmental standards to create cheaper goods that are sold for higher profits to Americans.
Unequal trade relationships have devastated entire regions of the nation and destroyed our manufacturing industries. Trump wanted to fix that in his first term and is still committed to tackling the problem in his 2nd term.
