FDA Advances President Trump’s America First Seafood Strategy

New guidance on U.S.-origin labeling and crackdown on short-weighted imports aim to protect American seafood producers and consumers

WASHINGTON, D.C.-FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2026-The Trump Administration today announced the America First Seafood Strategy, Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness, a coordinated federal plan to strengthen American seafood production, modernize infrastructure, expand markets for U.S. fishermen and processors, and combat unfair foreign competition. The strategy advances President Trump's Executive Order, Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness, and his commitment to rebuild America's seafood industry, strengthen domestic production, and Make America Healthy Again by expanding access to nutritious, American-caught seafood as part of a healthy diet.

To advance the President's strategy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), issued draft guidance to help companies clearly and accurately display U.S. origin statements on U.S. seafood. If finalized, the guidance would provide examples of statements such as "U.S.-Caught" and graphics, including American flag imagery, that companies could use on qualifying products, giving American seafood producers new ways to distinguish their products and helping consumers identify U.S.-origin seafood.

"From Alaska to Maine, American fishermen and seafood producers deserve a fair marketplace, and American families want to know where their food comes from and get what they pay for," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. "For more than four decades, I have fought to protect the waters and fisheries that sustain America's fishing communities. Under President Trump, FDA is giving U.S. producers a clear way to identify American seafood and is also cracking down on short-weighted imports that cheat consumers."

The draft guidance notes that U.S. origin statements should be fully substantiated. Ensuring the integrity of these statements helps protect both consumers and the producers who invest in American sourcing. For more information, visit Seafood.gov.

FDA also helps ensure U.S. consumers get what they pay for. The agency routinely tests imported seafood for signs of a known issue where producers use "ice glaze " to artificially inflate the declared net weight of their products, effectively forcing consumers to pay for more than they get. The FDA recently concluded its latest sampling and found a staggering 46% of sampled imported products were cheating consumers, claiming to weigh up to 32.8% more than their actual content. In response, the agency immediately placed the 11 responsible foreign firms on Import Alert to automatically detain and stop their violative products from entering the U.S. market.

"When Americans buy seafood, they deserve pure, honest, high-quality nourishment - not contaminated or fraudulent product," said Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas, J.D. "Under President Trump's leadership and the Make America Healthy Again agenda, FDA is ensuring a safe supply of healthy, nutritious seafood for American consumers while backing our hardworking domestic fishermen, providing them with new tools to better distinguish their products."

Although Americans can comment on guidance at any time, FDA encourages submissions by December 13, 2026, so that they are considered during development of the final version. Comments can be submitted to www.regulations.gov using docket number FDA-2026-D-6729.