Saving Seafood

China to exempt US fishmeal, shrimp broodstock from tariffs

September 12, 2019 — China will exempt US fishmeal and shrimp broodstock from tariffs in its first batch of exemptions since the trade war began.

Starting from Sept. 17, for one year, China will waive additional tariffs on imports of the two fisheries products, along with tariffs on 14 other US goods, China’s State Council announced on Tuesday.

The exemptions come as trade negotiations between the two economic powers restart this month.

According to Chinese customs figures, in 2017, China imported 102,731 metric tons of US fishmeal, worth $160m. This made the US China’s third-largest supplier of the ingredient, after Peru and Vietnam.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Trump escalates US-China trade war with tariff increases

August 26, 2019 — Soon after China moved on 23 August to raise tariffs on USD 75 billion (EUR 67.4 billion) of U.S. goods, U.S. President Donald Trump retaliated with another increase to tariffs on Chinese goods.

China’s escalation of its tariffs on U.S. goods hit the seafood industry once again, increasing the tariffs on salmon, lobster, pollock, cod, squid, crab to 35 percent, exempting raw material for processing and re-export. The previous tariffs already had a significant impact on some sectors of the seafood industry – lobster exports from Maine to China plunged 84 percent after the tariffs took effect.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Trump says US “better off without” China after latest tariff escalation

August 25, 2019 — China moved on Friday, 23 August to raise tariffs on USD 75 billion (EUR 67.3 billion) in American goods, in response to a move made at the beginning of the month by U.S. President Donald Trump to raise tariffs on Chinese goods.

China’s new tariffs – ranging between 5 and 10 percent – will affect goods ranging from soybeans to crude oil to automobiles, and also include additional tariffs for seafood. They will go into effect between September and December, mirroring the dates set by Trump in his revised timeline for implementing the latest round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. Most U.S. seafood exported to China will will be subject to an additional 10 percent tariff on 1 September, raising Chinese tariffs on U.S. seafood as high as 35 percent.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Tariffs changing shopping habits of US consumers

August 16, 2019 — More U.S. shoppers are noticing price increases for the products they buy regularly, and a majority of them plan to reexamine their shopping habits if U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods remain in place, according to a new survey.

Shopkick, the operator of a shopping rewards app, surveyed more than 30,000 of its users between 28 and 30 June, and found 44 percent of respondents planned to cut down on their shopping as a result of raised prices on consumer goods, the result of tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on practically all Chinese goods, valued at more than USD 550 billion (EUR 495.6 billion) in annual trade.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Frozen salmon, cod fillets escape latest Trump tariffs

August 13, 2019 — A move executed Tuesday, 13 August by the Trump administration will reverse previously-announced tariffs on some seafood processed in China.

Included in the original list of items subject to the latest round of tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, 1 August – which originally proposed subjecting an additional USD 300 billion (EUR 270 billion) in imported goods to a 10 percent tariff – were frozen fillets of cod, salmon, and haddock.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Mexico becomes top US trade partner one year into China conflict

August 8, 2019 — It’s been one year, so how’s that trade war with China working out for the nation’s seafood industry?

As with farmers, there’s not much winning and ongoing tweeted skirmishes have global fish markets skittish.

The quick take is the 25 percent retaliatory tariff imposed by China on U.S. imports last July caused a 36 percent drop in U.S. seafood sales, valued at $340 million, according to an in-depth analysis of Chinese customs data by Undercurrent News.

“Chinese imports of US seafood fell from $1.3 billion in the 12 months prior to tariffs (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018), to $969 million in the 12 months after (July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019), underlining the heavy impact of weaker demand for U.S. seafood subject to tariffs, while poor catch of U.S. wild-caught seafood was also to blame,” the News wrote.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

For Northwest fishermen, latest catch is trade-war trouble

August 7, 2019 — As President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on China last week in a trade war with no end in sight, American salmon fisherman Sven Stroosma set his sights on the blue waters of the Gulf of Alaska, piloting his boat Voyager in search of a big salmon catch.

Alaskan salmon are running, and Pacific Northwest fishermen like Mr. Stroosma have only a few intense weeks in July and August to catch enough to sustain their family income for the coming year. Rough seas, equipment failures, and dry streams that limit spawning all threaten to hurt their haul.

This season, the U.S.-China trade conflict has increased pressure on salmon fishermen by depressing the price offered for their hard-earned catch. China, the biggest importer of Alaska seafood, included the industry in a 25% tariff increase imposed last year.

Read the full story at The Christian Science Monitor

Trump’s trade war with China takes a big bite out of Alaska and US seafood sales

August 7, 2019 — It’s been one year, so how’s that trade war with China working out for the nation’s seafood industry?

As with farmers, there’s not much winning, and ongoing tweeted skirmishes have global fish markets skittish.

The quick take is the 25 percent retaliatory tariff imposed by China on US imports last July caused a 36 percent drop in US seafood sales, valued at $340 million, according to an in-depth analysis of Chinese customs data by Undercurrent News.

“Chinese imports of US seafood fell from $1.3 billion in the 12 months prior to tariffs (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018), to $969m in the twelve months after (July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019), underlining the heavy impact of weaker demand for US seafood subject to tariffs, while poor catch of US wild-caught seafood was also to blame,” the News wrote.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

China’s currency slide, mounting debt presents challenges to seafood industry

August 6, 2019 — This week, for the first time in over a decade, China’s currency fell below the psychologically important exchange rate of CNY 7.00 (USD 1.00, EUR 0.89) per U.S. dollar.

The news-making milestone will add to the pessimism in many Chinese boardrooms this summer over the long-term prospects for the country’s economy as the dispute between China and its largest customer – the United States – continues.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Trump announces 10 percent tariff on remaining Chinese imports

August 2, 2019 — U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday, 1 August, that once again a trade deal had fallen through with China, and as a result, the United States would seek to impose a 10 percent tariff on the remaining USD 300 billion (EUR 270 billion) in goods the U.S. imports from the world’s most populous country.

“We thought we had a deal with China three months ago, but sadly, China decided to re-negotiate the deal prior to signing,” Trump stated.

Read the full story at Seafood Source