A quartet of Maine, U.S.A. experts and business owners met 30 October to discuss the state’s trade history with China, and the future of the relationship in the wake of the tit-for-tat trade war instigated by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Present at the discussion was Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association President Annie Tselikis, who offered her perspective on the ongoing trade war and its impact on Maine’s seafood trade with China.
Despite its prominence in the media, lobster isn’t the largest trade item Maine has with China. Wood pulp represented a larger portion of Maine’s trade than lobster, but the gap is closing fast. In 2017, Maine exported live lobsters USD 102.5 million (EUR 90 million), just under USD 6 million (EUR 5.3 million) shy of pulp’s value.
Maine hit that figure despite what Tselikis called "pre-existing challenges" facing the live lobster shipping industry.
“We are dealing with a very perishable product, and that product needs to maintain its cold chain logistics and quality,” she said. “The logistics are very challenging, and the risk is high.”
When the tariffs went into effect on 6 July, it essentially made the cost of doing business artificially higher, driving many Chinese buyers to lobster from Canada, Tselikis said.
“China has been challenging for the lobster industry," she said. "It just got a lot harder."
The impact on the overall industry, as well, is a concern, Tselikis said. As the tariffs continue to impact the price of seafood, Americans might shift to eating other products.
“As businesses in the lobster industry, we’re very concerned about what happens here in the state of Maine, but we’re also trying to convince Americans to eat more seafood,” Tselikis said. “We’re concerned about what this means for seafood consumption.”
Maine’s lobster industry has adapted to the challenges so far. Many companies have shifted focus to other countries in Asia (which led to accusations that companies were “dumping” their products in Malaysia and Taiwan), and some companies managed to avoid most impacts altogether.
Still, considering from 2008 to 2017, Maine's lobster export trade ballooned from USD 60,000 to 102.5 million (EUR 52,661 to 90 million), hamstringing that growth can only hurt in the long run.
“It definitely has presented some challenges with business relationships in that market,” Tselikis said. “You cannot replace China overnight.”
