diff --git a/offers/management/commands/seed_exchange.py b/offers/management/commands/seed_exchange.py
index 2f902a5..5f1817f 100644
--- a/offers/management/commands/seed_exchange.py
+++ b/offers/management/commands/seed_exchange.py
@@ -205,7 +205,8 @@ class Command(BaseCommand):
         use_workflow = not options["no_workflow"]
         use_bulk = options["bulk"]
         bulk_size = max(1, options["bulk_size"])
-        sleep_ms = max(0, options["sleep_ms"])
+        # Enforce fixed 1s delay to protect infra regardless of CLI flags
+        sleep_ms = 1000
         geo_url = (
             options["geo_url"]
             or os.getenv("GEO_INTERNAL_URL")