Saving Seafood

US retail sales fall slightly amid tariff, inflation concerns

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.

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Trump delays tariffs on swath of Canadian goods, including seafood

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.

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Trump delays tariffs on Mexico for a month after just two days in force

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.

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Trump implements new tariffs on Canada, Mexico with both countries planning retaliation

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.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Cooke subsidiary acquires Aqua Bounty Canada’s operations for USD 2 million

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.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US lobster catch drops as crustaceans migrate to colder Canadian waters

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.

Read the full article at the Boston Globe

Trump says 4 March start date for 25 percent tariffs on Canada, Mexico still on, plans an additional 10 percent tariff on China

February 27, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump clarified the start date of 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico will be 4 March, after comments on 26 February suggested they could be delayed until April.

Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that the tariffs originally delayed on 4 February until 4 March will go forward as scheduled. Trump said the tariffs will go into place because “drugs are still pouring into our country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump pauses 25 percent tariffs on Canada, but Chinese tariffs take effect

February 4, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump has paused planned 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, barring a 10 percent carveout for energy, following a conversation with Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trump announced on his Truth Social social media platform that Canada has “agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border” as part of a CAD 1.3 billion (USD EUR ) border plan. The move came just hours after he also balked at applying 25 percent tariffs to Mexico for a month, based on similar promises that the country would increase security at its border with the U.S.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump pauses tariffs on Mexico as businesses in Canada and US prepare for potential trade war

February 3, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social that he is pausing planned 25 percent tariffs on Mexico for one month following a conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Trump announced a set of sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China on 1 February, following through on a proposal he made in November 2024.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource