Laws Ensuring Safe Shrimp Act

HR 4547, the Laws Ensuring Safe Shrimp Act (LESS Act), creates a dedicated fund using 70% of U.S. import duties on shrimp and shrimp products (e.g., frozen shrimp, shrimp-based dishes) to improve safety and labor compliance. The fund allocates 50% to the FDA for inspecting high-risk shrimp for antibiotic contamination and verifying imports aren’t sourced from forced labor or illegal fisheries, and 50% to the USDA to boost domestic shrimp consumption. It directly affects shrimp importers (who pay the duties), federal agencies (FDA, USDA, CBP), and domestic shrimp producers (who benefit from consumption programs). The bill ensures funding supplements existing programs and remains available until spent, focusing on concrete safety and labor checks rather than speculative outcomes.