US 12.5% tariff hits Vietnam seafood exports in July

Vietnam's seafood shipments brought in nearly $1.02 billion in July, up 4.8% year on year, pushing the seven-month total to roughly $6.8 billion, according to figures the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) released in early August. The number looks healthy, but July is the last month largely untouched by the 12.5% US tariff that took effect July 24: contracts signed weeks earlier are only now clearing customs. VASEP expects the real hit to show up from August, peaking in the fourth quarter.

Shrimp, which accounts for 41% of the sector's revenue, brought in $428 million in July, lifting the seven-month total to $2.78 billion. Growth for the month slipped to just 4.5%, well below the pace of earlier months, an early sign that US buyers are already hesitating on shrimp orders ahead of the new duty.

Pangasius moved the other way: July sales fell 6.1% to $184 million, yet the seven-month figure still rose 8.8% to $1.3 billion, helped by tight white-fish supply in the EU. Tuna barely moved, holding near $69 million for the month, with the seven-month tally down 1.4% at $524 million, weighed down by extra traceability paperwork and US marine-mammal protection rules.

Since July 24, Vietnamese seafood entering the US carries an extra 12.5% Section 301 duty, while Ecuador, India and Indonesia, the three rivals fighting Vietnam for US shrimp shelf space, pay only 10% (for the full country-by-country tariff breakdown, see US tariffs from July 24). A 2.5-point gap sounds small, but it lands squarely on the thinnest margins in the business: raw frozen white shrimp and commodity-grade, lightly processed product.

Le Hang, VASEP's deputy secretary general, says that as exporters enter a new round of contract talks starting in August, US importers will recalculate purchase prices and margins, and asking Vietnamese suppliers to absorb part of the tariff will become far more common.

Vietnamese seafood pays a 12.5% US tariff, while Ecuador, India and Indonesia pay only 10%.

Frozen shrimp and commodity-grade seafood feel the most direct pressure, competing on price against Ecuadorian and Indian shrimp in the same US supermarket and casual-dining segment. Margins were already thin; a 2.5-point tariff gap versus rivals is enough to shift an order.

Pangasius carries less near-term risk, filling a white-fish gap in the EU, a market not facing the same tariff pressure. Tuna faces a different problem: on top of the tariff, shipments now clear an extra layer of origin-traceability and marine-mammal-protection documentation, pushing compliance costs up alongside the duty.

• Reprice any contract signed from August onward for the 12.5% duty, rather than letting the gap eat into your own margin.
• For raw frozen shrimp and commodity-grade product, raise the tariff-sharing question with US buyers early instead of waiting for them to bring it up.
• Review tuna traceability files, especially US marine-mammal-protection documentation.
• Watch August and September export data for early signs of order slowdown, rather than waiting for the Q4 report.

Homexim runs reefer bookings on the US lane for frozen seafood, from ocean freight FCL/LCL space to the paperwork that travels with temperature-sensitive cargo. Shippers who want a landed-cost estimate under the new tariff for a specific lane can send origin and destination port for a comparison.