Hot, spicy boiled shrimp straight from the pot is a popular item at Today’s Ketch Seafood in Chalmette. Owner Jeff Pohlmann says in the restaurant’s 41 years, they’ve only served seafood caught in Louisiana.
«We strongly support local seafood, Louisiana seafood. This is where the seafood’s made,» Pohlmann said.
But the restaurant relies on local shrimpers who now fear a potential new trade deal with India. The U.S. and India have released an interim framework for a new trade agreement that would lower tariffs on Indian seafood imports, raising concerns among Louisiana shrimpers that it could open the floodgates to cheaper imported shrimp and threaten domestic producers.
U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., says the interim agreement would lower tariffs on seafood from India.Louisiana Shrimp Association President Acy Cooper was out on the water shrimping when reached by phone. He says higher tariffs imposed last year were starting to work. India had been one of the countries flooding the U.S. market with cheaper farm-raised shrimp.
«We’ve been dealing with such a low price because of them dumping on us. We need to come out of the hole we’re in. We’ve had 20 years of this stuff,» Cooper said.
Higgins sent a letter to the Trump administration seeking stronger protections for Louisiana shrimpers in the new trade deal. He wrote that temporary relief from last year’s higher tariffs «allowed our shrimpers to breathe again,» and urged the administration to take steps to protect the industry.
Cooper wants those higher import taxes to stay.»Dropping the tariffs on India is not good for the Louisiana shrimper unless they took the seafood out of it,» Cooper said.
In St. Bernard Parish, there’s an ordinance on the books that prohibits the sale of foreign imported shrimp anywhere in the parish. Pohlmann is hoping other parishes adopt similar laws to help local fishermen.
«We’re doing here what we can do, and we would hope other ones will join in and do the same thing,» Pohlmann said.