The economic contribution of U.S. seafood imports throughout the value chain: A sectorial and species-specific analysis

Abstract

Imports can contribute to economic activity and have positive backward and forward linkages in national and regional economies, particularly in the presence of limited domestic supply. Seafood in the United States (U.S.) is a remarkable example of import dependence since most consumption by both processing industries and households relies on imports. To assess the economic contributions of seafood imports, this study starts by applying a Ghoshian matrix to estimate the forward linked economic activity associated with seafood imports. It concludes that the $22.4 billion of seafood imported by the U.S. in 2019 supported a significant amount of economic activity across different industries. The economic contributions associated with this activity are estimated at more than $70 billion in sales revenues, $37 billion in value-added, and 512 thousand full-time and part-time jobs throughout the U.S. economy. In terms of industries, the largest shares of the total economic contributions are attributed to retail and restaurant activity, while, in terms of species, shrimp and salmon support the most significant shares of economic activity attributed to seafood imports. The results suggest that policies that target the limitation of seafood imports or international trade will have adverse effects even in sectors that, in many cases, are not directly involved with the commodity supply chain but depend on the economic activity generated through the supply chain.