Why is chandrababu naidu afraid of Trump's tariff?
Amid US President Donald Trump's tariff announcements, andhra pradesh Chief minister N chandrababu naidu has written a letter to the Center seeking help for the state's fisheries products. Naidu has requested the central government to ensure that products like shrimp are exempted from additional duty. andhra pradesh is a major exporter of shrimp and fish to the US. According to officials, aqua farmers and shrimp and fish exporters work on a 5 to 6 percent margin. The trump administration has imposed a 27 percent tariff on aqua exports from india, which will come into effect this week, in addition to a 5.77% countervailing duty and a 1.38% anti-dumping duty imposed by the US Department of Commerce. This will increase the cost of exports drastically.
chandrababu naidu is worried about this
On the other hand, countries competing with india, especially Ecuador, face lower tariffs, as the US imposes only a 10 percent tariff on the South American country. This will harm the interests of indian aqua farmers. To compensate for the new tariff, aqua product exporters will have to increase prices. This will make shrimp and fish from india more expensive than countries like Ecuador, vietnam and Taiwan.
If exports fall, indian farmers will have to reduce production. More than 5 lakh aqua farmers work in andhra pradesh, most of whom are in the former undivided east and west godavari districts. If the state is forced to reduce production, these farmers and their families will have to bear the brunt.
andhra pradesh number one in production
Shrimp and fish prices will fall drastically, affecting the profit margins of farmers. Jobs in allied industries such as cold storage, fish processing and packaging will also be affected. andhra pradesh leads the country in aqua production. In 2023-24, it contributed 0.94 million tonnes – 76% of shrimp and 24% of fish – of the national production of 1.84 million tonnes.
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