Port Arthur, TX (December 12, 2023).

On December 12, 2023, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party adopted a bipartisan report with scores of policy recommendations to reset the terms of the U.S. economic relationship with China and help domestic producers compete in the face of China’s non-market practices. The American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) welcomed the recommendations focused on strengthening the enforcement of U.S. trade remedy laws as a key component of this strategy.

“American shrimp processors and harvesters have been fighting China’s unfair trade practices for nearly twenty years,” said ASPA President Trey Pearson. “The domestic shrimp industry is made up of small, family-owned businesses, and we need our trade remedy laws to be strengthened and vigorously enforced for us to have a chance to compete with foreign producers and exporters supported by the Government of China.”

Among the Committee’s recommendations, ASPA strongly supports: (1) enacting Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 (H.R. 3882) to update U.S. trade laws to address circumvention, repeat “whack-a-mole” investigations, and other predatory trade practices; (2) appropriating additional funding for trade enforcement; (3) consideration of financial assistance for small and medium sized businesses that pursue unfair trade cases; and (4) enactment of legislation mandating country of origin labeling for food products purchased on-line.

“Today’s report is a great first step in the right direction,” continued Mr. Pearson. “We look forward to working with members of Congress and the Administration to make these important recommendations a reality. With the right tools in place to counteract unfair trade practices, domestic shrimp producers can compete and thrive.”

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The American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) was formed in 1964 to represent and promote the interests of the domestic, U.S. wild-caught, warm water shrimp processing industry along the Gulf Coast with members from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. More information on the efforts of ASPA and its members can be accessed via www.americanshrimp.com.