Vietnamese stocks plunge as Trump’s high reciprocal tariffs shock seafood industry

Publicly listed seafood companies in Vietnam saw shares drop dramatically on 3 April after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 46 percent tariff rate on all goods from the country.

Government officials in Vietnam said they were shocked by the high rate, and the VN-Index, representing the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), plunged 6.68 percent to 1,229.84 on 3 April – the sharpest decline in the index’s history.

Listed seafood companies were among the hardest hit as the main market for many companies in Vietnam is the U.S. Vietnam was the fifth-largest exporter of seafood to the U.S. by value in 2024, and the tariff rate would have cost U.S. importers an additional USD 718 million (EUR 651 million) had they been in place last year.

Share prices of leading shrimp exporter Minh Phu Seafood dropped 14.5 percent on 3 April, pangasius producer Vinh Hoan’s shares dropped 6.85 percent, pangasius producer Navico was down 6.97 percent, pangasius company I.D.I was down 6.99 percent, and shrimp company Fimex (Sao Ta) dropped 6.9 percent.

According to an update from industry blog Shrimp Insights on 3 April, if the latest U.S. reciprocal tariff is effective, Vietnamese shrimp entering the U.S. will face total import fees of 74.6 percent. That total is made up of the new 46 percent reciprocal tax, on top of existing anti-dumping and countervailing duties.