New Delhi, April 15 -- Winds blowing hot and cold from Washington this April have left India's seafood exporters at sea, afloat but gripped with uncertainty. US President Donald Trump's attempt at a trade reset has meant this sector saw tariff rates on shipments swell, crest and crash from being nearly duty-free to 10% on 5 April, then to 26% four days later, and now back to 10%-at least till early July.

Even if it did not make exporters queasy, the US policy flip-flop made it hard for them to chart out a course. America is their biggest export market, accounting for over a third of Indian shipments by value. In 2023-24, the US imported over $2.5 billion worth of seafood from India, of which 92% was frozen shrimp.

Much of this business ...