July 2, 2018 — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren moved Friday to try to protect international markets for American lobsters, urging the U.S. trade representative to explore new markets to compensate for the detrimental impact of new Chinese import tariffs.
In a letter to Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, Warren said the 25 percent tariffs to be imposed on American lobster imports after July 6 will economically harm American lobstermen and the fishing communities in which they live and operate their businesses.
“China is a large and growing market for lobsters, with total lobster imports from America topping $100 million in recent years,” Warren said in her letter. “Large Chinese tariffs on American lobster will effectively close off that market because China can substitute cheaper lobsters from Canada or Europe for American lobsters.”
The new Chinese tariffs on $50 billion worth of American goods, imposed in response to new tariffs ordered by President Donald Trump on Chinese imports into the United States, actually will mean that American lobster exporters will be paying the new 25 percent on top of the current 7 percent tariff — resulting in a tariff of 32 percent on imported American lobsters.