Seafood containers worth nearly ₹100 cr from Tamil Nadu stranded at sea amid US tariff hike: Report
Thoothukudi: Seafood exporters in the coastal town of Thoothukudi are grappling with a severe crisis, as the newly imposed 50% tariff by the United States has triggered widespread cancellations of orders in transit, leaving over 1,000 tonnes of seafood consignments worth nearly Rs 100 crore stranded at sea.
Thoothukudi exports frozen seafood like vannamei (Whiteleg shrimp), squid and octopus in large quantities to the US market; shrimp alone accounts for 85% of the export, as reported by The New Indian Express on Saturday.
“After the US President Donald Trump’s 50% tariff on Indian goods kicked in on August 27, the buyers are urging the exporters to either bear the difference in tariff hike or take back the consignments,” TNIE quoted Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) - TN Region president Selwin Prabhu as saying.
Though most exporters had already started reducing the volume of their exports due to the growing uncertainty over the tariffs, over 1,000 tonnes of seafood are still en route. Prabhu said that it takes nearly 45 days to ship these goods to US ports, such as New York or Los Angeles.
“Buyers want exporters to bear the 50% tariff cost to accept the consignments or they are threatening to return them. We entered into agreements with buyers when the tariff on Indian goods was 10%. The steep tariff of 50% has upended everything,” Prabhu added.
Shrimp export, which constitutes a major portion of exports to the US, is subject to an additional 8.5% duty on top of the 50% tariff. An exporter quoted by TNIE shared that he had shipped five to six containers, carrying approximately 100 tonnes of seafood, to the US market, with the goods expected to reach the New York port in the next 10 days. The buyer, however, had refused to accept the consignment due to the increased tariff and had asked the exporter to consult a liner for returning the goods.
As negotiations with buyers continue, exporters are deeply concerned about the potential long-term consequences for the industry. If the tariff situation persists, industry stakeholders fear massive job losses across the sector.
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23-year-old woman found dead at Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): A 23-year-old woman was found dead in her house in Delhi's Prem Nagar area, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, an official said on Tuesday.
The deceased, identified as Anjali Singh, was found motionless in her room on Monday by her sister and her neighbour.
Police said her father, Vinod Kumar Singh (51), told them that he and his wife were away at work at the time of the incident, while their son and the other daughter were also not at home at the time of the incident.
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According to the family, the room in which Anjali was found was locked from the inside. The door was later forcibly opened by a neighbour and her sister with the help of a crowbar.
Her body was found lying on the bed inside the room, police said.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that Anjali had allegedly hanged herself using a piece of cloth tied to the ceiling fan.
It is suspected that the noose eventually might have loosened or torn off, resulting in her being found lying on the bed.
Family members informed the police that Anjali was a final-year student of a librarian science course from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). About a week ago, her final-year examination results were declared, and she had failed, following which she had been under depression, they said.
The family has not raised any allegation of foul play, police said, adding that no suicide note or external injury marks were found on the body during the initial inspection.
Inquest proceedings have been initiated in the matter as per the law. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death, and further investigation is underway, police added.
