U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) is claiming success after sending a letter to stop the Biden administration from making a decision that could have put Alabama catfish farmers out of business.
"The Biden administration recently tried to reduce tariffs on catfish imports from Vietnam," Tuberville said Wednesday on his weekly press call. "These tariffs were put into place more than 20 years ago to stop Vietnamese imports from driving down profits for American catfish farmers, and they have been continued by both Republican and Democrat administrations."
"But the Biden administration wanted to reduce the tariffs from $2.39 to just $0.14," he continued. "This would have bankrupted our catfish farmers, plain and simple."
With Alabama being the number two producer of catfish in America, Tuberville said he felt led to send a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Soon after, the Department of Commerce took back its proposal.
"This is a big relief for catfish farmers, especially in Alabama," Tuberville added. "Our catfish farmers are going to continue to put food on our table and boost Alabama's economy."
There are around 66 catfish farms in Alabama. Over 2,400 people depend on jobs within the state's industry.
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