American appetite for Scotland's factory-farmed salmon has nearly halved. A year on from our Dear Donald campaign, the tariff has done what glossy branding never could.
Never thought we'd write this, but - thank you, President Trump.
In the first three months of this year, American imports of Scottish farmed salmon nearly halved, down 45.6%, according to new Food and Drink Federation figures. Add a 10% tariff to a product sold on a "premium" myth, and it turns out American shoppers think twice.
Salmon Scotland's response? A near-halving of one of their biggest markets is, apparently, just a quirk of the calendar - Easter, Ramadan, Chinese New Year.
Pull the other one. You do not fight the White House to protect a market that vanishes over a bank holiday.
For two years Salmon Scotland has made the United States its headline growth story. US sales up 110% in the first half of 2025. The US worth £300m and 40% of all export value last year. They lobbied for the complete removal of US tariffs, and sent the First Minister to plead with the President in person.
Last summer we took our footage - lice-ridden fish, mass die-offs, polluted lochs - onto Truth Social and put it straight into the President's own feed. Dear Donald. Whether or not anyone in Washington was watching, the tariff has done what this industry's glossy branding never could: made America look twice at what's really in the cage.
Fewer Americans buying Scotland's grubbiest export. We'll take that as a win - for us, for American dinner plates, and yes, even for the Don.
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