Iceland’s salmon exporters fear tariff differences will mean higher retail prices

Because of its relative proximity to North America, the US is a major destination for Icelandic seafood – and that means mostly salmon.

The tariffs for Britain and the Faroe Islands is 10%, giving these two countries a major advantage against Nordic competitors such as Norway and Iceland.

According to reports from Iceland, aquaculture companies expect higher tariffs to result in higher prices for consumers in the United States, which will hurt markets there.

As with Norwegian seafood groups, the Icelandic Fisheries Association (SFS) said the current rate was giving cause for concern.

The US says a 10% minimum tariff is being imposed on imports from all countries with which the US has a trade surplus.

A 15% minimum tariff will be imposed on goods from all countries that export more to the US than they import.

Notably however, a 15% tariff is being imposed on goods from Iceland, despite the fact that Iceland imports more from the United States than it exports to it. The Reykjavik government is now hoping to get that changed.

In the meantime, aquaculture companies expect higher tariffs to result in higher prices for consumers in the United States, which it believes will hurt markets there.

 Seafood and aquaculture products were exported from Iceland to the United States for around 46 billion Icelandic krónur (£277m) last year. It is the second largest export category after medical products

"In the short term, people expect the tariffs to be passed on to consumers. But they are also concerned about how it will affect purchasing behaviour," said Gunnþór Björn Ingvason, chairman of the SFS.

Iceland is geographically closer to the US than its rivals, so transport costs will be lower, reducing some of the impact from higher tariffs.

The salmon industry is now waiting to see if the Icelandic government can quickly strike a tariff deal similar to that agreed between the US and UK.