On their first official day back at work after China announced it will place 25 percent tariffs on many U.S. seafood products, representatives of the U.S. seafood industry sought to clarify which products would be affected and what the impact would be once the tariffs enter effect on 6 July.
National Fisheries Institute spokesman Gavin Gibbons hosted a phone call with NFI members to field questions and seek input for how the organization should respond.
“The seafood community broadly is concerned about this issue. Trade is a two way street and it’s very important to the seafood industry,” Gibbons told SeafoodSource. “From an animal protein standpoint, seafood is the most traded commodity in the world, so anything that reduces free trade on either side is a negative for the industry.”
Gibbons said NFI cannot yet give too many specifics to its members on the impact of the tariffs because so many seafood products were included in the list of items targeted for tariffs that China released on Friday, 15 June.
“We’re looking at what products will be affected, all the way down to the individual tariff code, to see what the impact might be on seafood commerce,” Gibbons said. “Everybody is watching this very carefully. Nobody is taking a pass on this.”
Gibbons said the organization’s lobbying efforts will be focused on the executive branch.
“I don’t think the situation can be changed by anyone outside of President Trump,” Gibbons said. “So I think right now the idea is that the Hill would be talking to the administration and explaining the real impacts of this. It’s really an educational effort; the idea that real American jobs are at stake here is one we hope will resonate.”
Annie Tselikis, the executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers Association, expressed frustration that she and others in the industry had invested a significant effort into dissuading the Trump administration from including seafood in any retaliatory tariffs on China, only to see China add seafood to its own list of items targeted for tariffs.
Tselikis met with three U.S. Trade Representative officials on 4 June and said they were “very receptive” to hearing the lobster industry’s concern regarding its involvement in the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China.
“We said, ‘We would really like you to leave seafood off the list, because market access is very important for the seafood industry, and China is a very important market, not just for lobster but geoduck, pollock, you name it,’” Tselikis said. “We were successful and did not have that happen, but on Friday, the Chinese list included U.S. seafood, and now it’s a very challenging and concerning situation for the lobster industry and the seafood industry in general.”
Despite the initial success in keeping seafood off of the list of U.S. tariffs, Trump announced more tariffs late on 18 June that would target an addition USD 200 billion (EUR 173 billion) of Chinese goods with a 10-percent tariff. The increased escalation of the trade war is driving fears that big Chinese seafood imports, like tilapia and shrimp, could be next on the menu.
"This latest action by China clearly indicates its determination to keep the United States at a permanent and unfair disadvantage, which is reflected in our massive $376 billion trade imbalance in goods," Trump said in a statement on 18 June after announcing the tariffs. "This is unacceptable. Further action must be taken to encourage China to change its unfair practices, open its market to United States goods, and accept a more balanced trade relationship with the United States."
Tselikis said she has been in touch with Maine’s congressional delegation to work out a strategy, but before the details of that can be worked out, the industry needed to figure out exactly how the tariffs will affect them.
“Right now, people are just trying to figure out what the impact is going to be. There are lot of questions regarding how the tariffs are going to work out based on shipping, logistics, how the product is exported from the U.S. – there are a lot of questions remaining within the industry,” she said.
Initial conversations regarding strategy are revolving around a united response from a broad coalition including both the seafood industry and agricultural producers, Tselikis said.
“It’s all about American jobs right now. These tariffs will impact anyone who handles a lobster or fish,” she said. “A lot of these people supported Trump in the last election … Trump ran on ‘America first.’ We need to remember that our colleagues in pork, soy, and beef are also dealing with this. The entire agriculture and food sector should band together to talk about how hard this is going to be on working men and women on water and land in the United States.”
In a statement, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Executive Director Alexa Tonkovich said the tariffs will also affect seafood workers in Alaska.
“While Alaska seafood enjoys robust demand around the globe, we are aware that the effect of these punitive tariffs will be felt throughout the Alaska fishing community. ASMI will continue to monitor the situation and work towards our goal of increasing the economic value of Alaska seafood overseas and at home,” Tonkovich said.
ASMI has been working to grow the Chinese market for U.S. seafood products for more than 20 years, she said.
“Alaska seafood companies have also invested in the market and have many Chinese partnerships,” Tonkovich said. “The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is disappointed in the decision by China to increase the tariffs on U.S. seafood products. China is the largest export market for Alaska seafood and a major reprocessing location. Currently, we do not yet know the full impact these increased tariffs will have on Alaska seafood exports, but we are working with other U.S. seafood industry trade groups and our China ASMI office to evaluate this issue.”
Photo courtesy of Maine Lobster Outlet
