U.S. President Donald Trump has extended a ban on several products produced by the Russian Federation, including a ban on seafood harvested or produced by Russian-flagged vessels.
In a post to the Federal Register, Donald Trump signed a continuation of the National Emergency that was initially declared under the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden in 2022. That order was then expanded under U.S. Executive Order 14068, which added any seafood harvested in Russian waters or by a Russian-flagged vessel, even if that product was transformed in a third country.
The latest post to the Federal Register calls out Executive Order 14068 and said that those orders must continue in effect beyond the original 15 April 2026 deadline that was approaching.
U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who has historically supported and applauded the ban on Russian seafood imports, welcomed the renewal of the ban, alongside fellow U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
“Senator Sullivan has weighed in extensively with the Trump administration to communicate how much Alaska needs this ban to be extended,” Sullivan’s office said in a statement provided to SeafoodSource. “This renewal helps maintain and strengthen federal measures that ensure fair trade, protects Alaska’s fishermen and coastal communities, and promotes sustainable and ethical seafood production.”
Trump’s extension comes soon after Alaskan legislators passed a resolution urging for the continued ban on all Russian seafood imports.
“The state’s seafood industry faces an existential and global threat in the form of unfair trade and market practices by Russian seafood producers that drive down the cost of seafood around the world and prevent seafood companies in the state from competing on fair terms,” the resolution states.
Representatives from the Alaskan seafood industry also supported the resolution. Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) Executive Director Jeremy Woodrow reportedly testified in support of the move in light of the difficulties that the industry has had with issues like fishing season cancellations.
“Our industry has not recovered yet. Even though last year’s fishing season was better, it was still one of the worst years in the last 20 years. This is one measure that will help our fishermen,” Woodrow said. “We’re starting to see the fruits of this ban coming into play, but we need more time to provide stability to our industry. We need more time to see it come to fruition."
