March 28, 2025 — With U.S. President Donald Trump set on reordering international trade to align with his “America First” priorities, seafood companies have been quick to list areas where they would like to see improvements.
Trump has moved swiftly in the first months of his second term to change the nation’s trade policies, threatening and implementing tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China.
March 12, 2025 — The seafood industry has so far mostly avoided tariffs on imports amid the global trade war started by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from all countries with no exemption starting 12 March, and the European Union and Canada immediately retaliated with new tariffs of their own. Trump claimed the tariffs are being imposed as imports of steel and aluminum pose a “national security threat.”
March 11, 2025 — Industry groups are pushing Canada’s government to engage diplomatically before tariffs decimate seafood companies
China recently announced 25 percent tariffs on Canadian seafood species – set to go into effect on 20 March – and leaders in the industry are anticipating a huge impact for multiple species.
March 10, 2025 — The government of China announced it is imposing 25 percent tariffs on an array of seafood items from Canada, in what it said was a response to Canadian tariffs on certain goods from China.
China’s Ministry of Finance announced the new tariffs on 8 March, and said the new tariffs are in response to a 100 percent tariff on electric vehicles and a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum products from China. Canada announced the set of tariffs in October 2024, and said it plans to tariff a range of goods including rapeseed oil, pork, and seafood.
March 10, 2025 — Overall U.S. retail and grocery sales fell slightly month-over-month in February as consumer concern about tariffs and food inflation tightened spending, but despite the drop sales still increased year-over-year, according to new data.
Sales at grocery and beverage stores fell 0.07 percent from January to February, but soared 4.08 percent year over year unadjusted, according to the National Retail Federation’s CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor. Total retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, also declined 0.22 percent seasonally adjusted in February, but inclined 3.38 percent unadjusted year over year.
March 8, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump suspended planned 25 percent tariffs on Canada on 6 March, building on an earlier-announced suspension of tariffs on Mexico.
Trump first announced plans to implement tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods in November 2024, and followed through on the promise in February 2025. Since that initial order, Trump delayed tariffs by one month, before letting them take effect for just two days before the newest delay.
March 6, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump announced in a post on his Truth Social social media platform that he has agreed to delay 25 percent tariffs on Mexican goods for another month.
The move comes just two days after the Trump administration implemented 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, along with an additional 10 percent tariff on China on 4 March. Those tariffs were themselves implemented after a one-month delay from the original order in early February.
March 4, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on his original order to institute 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, launching tariffs on goods from both countries on 4 March after a one-month pause.
In addition to the 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Trump also instituted an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods on top of the 10 percent he announced in February, meaning certain goods from China are now subject to a 45 percent import tariff.
March 4, 2025 — Cooke subsidiary Kelly Cove Salmon (KCS) has acquired the defunct operations of Aqua Bounty Canada on Prince Edward Island.
Cooke said the acquisition will allow KCS – the Atlantic Canadian salmon-farming division of Cooke Aquaculture – to produce large smolts for stocking its existing ocean salmon-farming sites. According to a Form 8-K filed by AquaBounty Technologies, the parent company of Aqua Bounty Canada, the purchase price was just over CAD 3 million (USD 2 million, EUR 1.9 million) minus the aggregate amount of liabilities for Aqua Bounty Canada under an outstanding loan with KCS and accrued and unpaid license fees.
March 3, 2025 — The US lobster industry’s catch keeps sliding as fishermen contend with the northward migration of the valuable crustaceans.
The industry is based mostly in Maine, where lobsters are both a cultural signifier and the backbone of the coastal economy. The state’s haul of lobsters has declined every year from 2021, when it was nearly 111 million pounds, to 2023, when it was less than 97 million pounds.
That decline extended into 2024, when the haul was about 86.1 million pounds, according to data released by state regulators on Friday. That is the lowest figure in 15 years. A series of major storms that damaged waterfront communities and disrupted fisheries was a key factor in the reduced catch, officials said.
Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, praised the industry for its perseverance.