Please, anything but cheap shrimp!!

Thank God the Bush administration is protecting me and other consumers from…. cheap seafood. Jeffrey Sparshott explains the Bush administration’s heroic act of protectionism in the Washington Times: The Bush administration yesterday said Chinese and Vietnamese shrimp are sold at unfairly low prices in the United States, siding with U.S. fishermen as they try to ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

Thank God the Bush administration is protecting me and other consumers from.... cheap seafood. Jeffrey Sparshott explains the Bush administration's heroic act of protectionism in the Washington Times:

Thank God the Bush administration is protecting me and other consumers from…. cheap seafood. Jeffrey Sparshott explains the Bush administration’s heroic act of protectionism in the Washington Times:

The Bush administration yesterday said Chinese and Vietnamese shrimp are sold at unfairly low prices in the United States, siding with U.S. fishermen as they try to fend off overseas competition. The decision reaffirms new trade barriers on the country’s most popular seafood, though the new duties meant to counter the competition are not as high as requested by the industry. “Although U.S. shrimpers believe the [Commerce] Department understates the amount of dumping in certain instances, they reaffirm our contention that shrimp is dumped in the U.S. market,” said Eddie Gordon, president of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, which represents shrimpers from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas…. U.S. importers expect to pay more for shrimp from the two countries, though the impact on consumers is unclear. “We’re just looking at a very small segment of the market,” said James Jochum, assistant secretary of commerce for import administration. “Putting on these various duties … it’s very unclear the direct impact it may have on prices.” The U.S. shrimp industry contends there will be no impact, though importers warn that prices certainly will rise.

One wonders… if consumer prices won’t be affected, why would the Southern Shrimp Alliance seek protection in the first place?

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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