February 11, 2025 — Seafood distributors are responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s most recent trade announcement with caution, unsure how they will be affected by 25 percent tariffs imposed on foreign steel and aluminum.
While most said they didn’t expect to be directly affected by the metal tariffs, anxieties about inflation in the food industry in general remains high.
February 6, 2025 — Donald Trump’s supporters and opponents alike are giving the president credit for “killing” an offshore wind farm project along the coast of New Jersey.
An executive order pausing permitting for offshore wind projects cast doubt on that project’s viability, New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities indicated in a statement this week. It is indisputable that creating uncertainty in this market threw a wrench in the works. But as Politico confessed, the “challenges” that Governor Phil Murphy’s project encountered “include economic conditions beyond Murphy’s control and Trump.”
February 5, 2025 — U.S. support for sustainable foreign fisheries is among the humanitarian government programs thrown into jeopardy by the Trump administrations attempt to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
“Our programs are at risk,” Byron Bay, Australia-based conservation group Positive Change for Marine Life said in a social media post. “The Trump administration’s freeze on all USAID-funded programs has left us facing a major funding gap.”
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.
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.
February 3, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Department of Commerce Howard Lutnick told U.S. senators at his confirmation hearing that he would not dismantle NOAA and would work to protect American fishers.
Under questioning from lawmakers, Lutnick said that he looked forward to working with the president in implementing tariffs to gain respect from foreign nations.
January 31, 2025 — Leaders from the U.S. and Canada’s lobster fishing communities came together in Bar Harbor Wednesday to tackle what they said are pressing issues facing the industry.
At the top of mind at this year’s 21st annual meeting was the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Canadian products.
“These tariffs, if they actually happen, will badly impact Maine harvesters and the Maine lobster sector — just as it will impact Canadians,” said Geoff Irvine, the executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada.
Solving this issue could mean lobbying U.S. political figures, Irvine said.
January 31, 2025 — Maine Republican legislators wrote a letter to President Donald Trump thanking him for his recent action on offshore wind and asking him to take it a step further.
The letter sent Thursday was authored by Rep. Reagan Paul (R-Winterport). Offshore wind was a key issue for Paul in her reelection campaign last year after the state announced its hopes to build a port in her district to support its larger goals to develop 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine by 2040.
“Common sense, economics and environmental concerns are against the offshore wind projects proposed by Democrats for the Gulf of Maine,” Paul said in a news release Thursday, noting her appreciation for Trump’s swift action on the matter.
She went on to say that she and her Republican legislative colleagues “are asking his administration to finish the job before irrevocable harm is inflicted on marine wildlife, coastal communities and our quality of life.”
January 30, 2025 — The White House has rescinded a two-page memo issued by the Trump administration that called for a broad pause in federal funding – a move which would have halted potentially USD 3 trillion (EUR 2.8 trillion) in funding.
A memo released by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) called for a “temporary pause of agency grant, loan, and other financial assistance programs” which would have taken effect at 5 p.m. EST 28 January. The memo said it was meant to impact programs that may have been implicated by Trump’s earlier executive orders, “including but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”
January 28, 2025 — The Trump administration has announced a broad pause in federal funding, a move which throws millions in funding for programs like SNAP and disaster relief into question.
A memo released by the budget office of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has placed potentially billions in federal funding in limbo – which could include funding for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and disaster relief programs which provide millions to the seafood industry.