Though most Canadian goods have been spared from the steepest of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Jason McLinton, who recently became president of the Fisheries Council of Canada (FCC), said the reprieve was no cause for celebration.
“There's uncertainty, and business does not do well with uncertainty,” he said.
The uncertainty over the direction of American trade policy is paralyzing the industry, McLinton said.
“People need to make business decisions about what they're harvesting and where they're going to invest in harvesting and processing. They also need to make business decisions about new investments, new processing facilities, and new vessels,” he said. “Uncertainty is bad for business, and it is bad for Canadian seafood exporters.”
As part of the trade war, China levied duties on Canadian aquatic products in March, which were announced by the Chinese government with 12 days of notice and no grace period. Some of the affected fisheries include Greenland halibut, clams – including Arctic surf clams – geoduck, coldwater shrimp, and sea cucumber, McLinton said.
“There were already containers on the water right on their way to China. There were already containers at Chinese ports. There were already contractual arrangements in place with prices agreed to before anyone knew about these tariffs,” McLinton said. “Without having a grace period, it has caused a lot of strain on the industry.”
He said it remains to be seen how much of the 25 percent Chinese tariff will be absorbed by Canadian exporters, how much will be absorbed by Chinese importers and consumers, or whether buyers in the Chinese market will look for alternative markets that aren't subject to tariffs...
