Graves seeks ‘whole-of-government effort’ to protect America’s seafood supply

Shrimp imports into the United States from India must immediately stop, says U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA).

“American shrimpers follow all the rules to keep our health and fisheries safe, and wild, healthy American shrimp are being boxed out of U.S. markets,” Rep. Graves said. “We need to be doing everything we can to stop bad imports from reaching consumers, especially when we have high-quality, healthy shrimp right here at home.”

The congressman joined U.S. Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK) in urging President Joe Biden to immediately halt the imports from India following reports of food and safety issues and labor violations in the country’s shrimp processing facilities.

“A slew of recent stories verified what our shrimpers know to be true: that cheap shrimp imported from India regularly do not meet domestic health standards and are produced using abusive labor practices, including child labor,” wrote the members in a March 22 letter sent to Biden. “We are asking your administration to halt these imports until you can make a coordinated, whole-of-government effort to protect the American seafood supply.”

Rep. Graves and his colleague pointed out that even when bulk imports are tested, Indian suppliers use “calculated tactics” to evade detection.

“They scoot through our ports by dumping massive amounts of supply at one time, fronting the ‘clean’ cargo, or shopping around for more favorable ports,” they wrote. “The sheer volume of imports is enough to overwhelm the FDA’s limited resources.”

“Stop the Great Indian Shrimp Invasion!” said Rep. Graves. “We have a bill outstanding right now… that addresses this exact issue. We are fighting to protect free and fair trade by ensuring that foreign farmed imports aren’t given an unfair advantage while also threatening Americans’ health.”

The congressman was referring to the Laws Ensuring Safe Shrimp (LESS) Act, H.R. 4547, which he sponsored on Aug. 28, 2023, alongside lead original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) to establish a fund to promote the inspection and consumption of shrimp and products containing shrimp or shrimp parts.

If enacted, H.R. 4547 would provide funding to the Food and Drug Administration to ensure that shrimp in the U.S. are free of illegal chemicals, safe for human consumption, and not produced using illegal fishing practices, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Graves’ staff.

The measure remains under consideration in two committees of the U.S. House of Representatives.