In Oregon, the shrimp boats of Charleston, Newport and Astoria are quietly involved in a long-term battle for free international trade. Until this month, the United States was losing.
But now the European Union Commission is considering giving U.S. shrimpers some relief from a decades-old tariff, a move that could benefit Oregon fisherman and processors.
“This is an incredible example of how international trade really does have a local effect,” said Dalton Hobbs, assistant director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
Europe’s insatiable appetite for coldwater shrimp is why our local shrimp fishery has flourished. But Europe has also handicapped us.
Oregon’s cold-water shrimp faces a 20 percent tariff to enter European Union countries. The other large coldwater shrimp suppliers — Canada and Northern European countries — face small or no EU tariffs.
