The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) has come out in opposition to U.S. President Joe Biden’s latest nomination of Halie Craig to sit on the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) because she has spoken out against President-elect Donald Trump’s trade policies in the past.
“The U.S. International Trade Commission has played a central role in the shrimp industry’s ability to combat unfair trade,” SSA Executive Director John Williams said in a statement. “Our nation’s recent election demonstrates that there is strong opposition to the free-trade ideologies that have destroyed communities throughout our country.”
The USITC is an independent, bipartisan federal agency that investigates whether imports harm domestic industries and then takes action to negate what it deems unfair trade practices. The USITC has made determinations favorable to the domestic shrimp sector in recent years – in November, the USITC voted to impose duties on frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia in response to petitions filed by the America Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA).
The USITC is comprised of six commissioners – traditionally three Democrats and three Republicans – who serve nine-year terms. Currently there are four USITC commissioners, three of whom are Democrats.
On 21 November, Biden nominated Craig to be one of the Republican members of the commission, replacing former Commissioner Randolph Stayin, who resigned in October 2023. If Craig’s nomination is approved by the U.S. Senate, she would complete Stayin’s term, which runs through 16 June 2026.
Craig is currently the policy director for technology for the Republican staff of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee. In past roles, she led former U.S. Senator Pat Toomey’s (R-Pennsylvania) trade policy portfolio and served as an associate fellow with Washington, D.C., U.S.A.-based policy nonprofit R Street Institute, where she provided commentary and research on trade issues.
“Congratulations to Halie Craig for being nominated as a Republican member of the International Trade Commission,” Toomey said in a social media post shortly after the nomination was announced. “Halie has the experience and integrity to make an outstanding member of the commission.”
In an 11 December statement, the SSA came out against Craig’s nomination, claiming that …
