The trade relationship between the United States and China increased, particularly after China’ s admission into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. China is a major source of fish and fishery products imported by the United States and one of the top destinations for these products exported by the USA. The present study analyzes the long-term trends (2001 to 2023 ) in fish and fishery products trade (export, import, and re-export) , comparative advantage, and competitiveness in trade between the USA and China. We have used the revealed symmetric comparative advantage (RSCA) index to quantify the comparative advantage and the Vollrath index to measure the revealed competitiveness of the United States fish and fishery products trade with China. Between 2001 and 2017, t he US exports of such products to China increased 11 times, from US$ 103.2 million in 2001 to US$ 1235.7 million in 2017. During this period, imports from China increased by 2.7 times , from US$ 549.1 million in 2001 to US$ 2025.9 million in 201 7. Interdependence in trade between these two countries increased over time. In 2018, the United States and China initiated trade restrictions and imposed new tariffs on different commodities, including seafood products, popularly known as a "trade war". From 2020 onwards, the COVID-19 pandemic has also hindered trade between the two countries. Most recently, inflation has been affecting trade. We have documented trade regulatory measures on fish and other seafood items carried out by both governments and quantified the impacts of the so-called "trade war," the pandemic, and rising inflation on trade , comparative advantage, and competitiveness of the United States. Finally, we articulate the implications of the research findings for promoting fish and fishery products trade between the two countries.
Keywords : international trade, fish and fishery products, revealed comparative advantage, trade competitiveness.