February 4, 2020 — Nine seafood items have received special exclusions from tariffs placed by the United States on goods imported from China.
The items – which must be individually frozen or frozen in blocks to qualify, depending on the harmonized tariff system (HTS) classification code – include Alaskan sole, Alaskan plaice, flounder, sole, slipper lobster, king crab, snow crab, Dungeness crab, and meat from crabs other than king, snow, Dungeness, and swimming crab.
January 23, 2020 — Haddock has been cut from the US list of products from China subject to 25% tariffs, but there is little fish available to capitalize on this opening.
Haddock and flatfish were removed in the ‘list three’ tariffs on Dec. 17 last year, around a month before the “phase one” agreement between the US and China that effectively paused the trade war at the current levels. The bulk of seafood from China still has 25% tariffs on it into the US. China has 35% tariffs on US seafood but has committed to buying $200 billion worth of additional US products, goods and services over the next two years, reducing the US’ bilateral trade deficit in goods, which hit $420bn in 2018.
There was a “concerted effort” from the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and industry to get haddock excluded, Todd Clark, of importer Endeavor Seafood, told Undercurrent News at the NFI’s 2020 Global Seafood Market Conference (GSMC).
January 17, 2020 — The US and China may have reached the interim trade agreement that loosely promises to commit China to purchasing more US seafood products, but the seafood industry is keeping its party hats and noisemakers in the drawer.
In a ceremony held Wednesday at the White House, US president Donald Trump and China vice premier Liu He signed the so-called “phase one” trade deal that has been described as hitting the pause button on a two-year trade war that has devastated the US agriculture and seafood industries.
The deal, which is expected to take effect in mid-February and spelled out in an 86-page document, commits China to buying $200 billion worth of additional US products, goods and services over the next two years, reducing the US’ bilateral trade deficit in goods, which hit $420 billion in 2018. It removes planned US tariffs on Chinese cellphones, toys and laptops, as well as halving the existing tariffs on approximately $120bn worth of Chinese goods, the Financial Times recounts.
January 15, 2020 — The so-called “Phase One” trade deal, which cancels current and proposed U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for structural economic reforms in China, was formally by U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Wednesday, 15 January at the White House in Washington D.C.
The deal, which includes specific provisions pertaining to seafood, will go into effect in 30 days.
January 3, 2020 — Their catch this year has plummeted, while their exports to China have been gutted by the trade war. The government has imposed strict quotas on their primary bait. And they’re facing serious lawsuits that could affect how they fish.
Now, the region’s lobstermen are facing a new, imminent threat, one that could drastically change how they’ve operated for generations: regulations to protect North Atlantic right whales.
With a population that has dwindled by 20 percent over the past decade to about 400, the critically endangered species is at risk of extinction, largely because of hundreds of thousands of buoy lines that extend from the surface to the seafloor in the Gulf of Maine.
As a result, federal regulators are considering rules that could cut as many as half those lines, the leading cause of right whale deaths.
But lobstermen here say such limits could devastate an industry that contributes an estimated $1.5 billion to the state’s economy, and their opposition has been building for months, with the support of their state’s leaders.
January 2, 2020 — U.S. President Donald Trump said he will sign the so-called “Phase One” trade deal with China, first announced on 13 December.
Trump said on Twitter he would sign the deal on 15 January at the White House. He also announced plans to travel to Beijing for negotiations on Phase Two at an unspecified later date.
December 19, 2019 — Language contained in a short, somewhat vague document included as part of the so-called “phase one” US-China trade agreement announced Friday — but not widely publicized — hints at some positive developments coming soon for US seafood harvesters, processors, wholesalers and exporters, Undercurrent News has learned.
But the seafood industry will likely have to wait another month for the details.
Under the heading of “expanding trade”, the US Trade Representative (USTR)’s two-page fact sheet, handed out to stakeholders, says China has committed to exceeding its 2017 purchase of US goods and services by no less than $200 billion, including “manufactured goods, food, agricultural and seafood products,” among other things.
It further adds that the increase should “continue on this same trajectory for several years after 2021 and should contribute significantly to the rebalancing of the US-China trade relationship.”
December 13, 2019 — The United States and China announced an agreement in which China will make structural reforms to its trading policies and strengthen its intellectual property protections in exchange for a reduction of current and proposed U.S. tariffs.
The U.S. will cancel its plan to implement another round of tariff increases later this month, and will reduce its 15 percent tariffs to 7.5 percent on USD 120 billion (EUR 107.9 billion) worth of Chinese goods. It will leave in place 25 percent tariffs on an additional USD 250 billion (EUR 224.8 billion) of Chinese imports, however, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The USTR did not identify which goods would see reduced tariffs.
December 12, 2019 — The changing climate and a seemingly unending round of trade wars are putting the squeeze on Maine’s lobster industry.
As the Gulf of Maine warms at a rapid pace, the lobster population seems to be shifting its location. At the same time, increased Chinese tariffs on lobster, imposed in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on an array of imports from China, have cut Maine exports into that lucrative market sharply.
Demand for lobster hasn’t disappeared in China, but most of it is now being filled by Canadian dealers, frequently shipping lobsters imported from Maine.
To help fishermen combat these pressures and diversify the New England seafood industry, Food Export USA–Northeast recently organized a three-day trade mission to Dubai for several Maine lobster dealers.
Traveling to the city, one of the United Arab Emirates on the shore of the Persian Gulf, said Tim Hamilton, executive director, Food Export USA-Northeast, were representatives from Greenhead Lobster Co. in Stonington, Maine Coast Lobster in York and Ready Seafood in Portland.
Also on the trip were representatives of Island Creek Oysters, a Massachusetts-based oyster grower.
“One way to counter what’s happening in the world today is to diversify export markets for all Northeast U.S. seafood products,” Hamilton said. “Our programs, services and promotional activities around the world can help suppliers do that.”
Dubai and countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) represent a potentially rich export market opportunity for Northeast U.S. seafood suppliers. In 2018, U.S. seafood exports to six GCC countries (the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) amounted to $14.4 million, while total U.S. food and agricultural exports to that market comprised $3.3 billion, so U.S. seafood exports are only about a half a percent of total U.S. food exports.
November 15, 2019 — Lobster from Stonington, Maine’s biggest lobster harbor, used to travel around the world. Now, because of issues with tariffs in both Europe and China, much of the catch stays closer to home. So far, fishermen haven’t felt the loss of export business in their paychecks, but many know that Maine’s signature seafood needs the most comprehensive market possible to make the most money.
Longtime fisherman Mike Billings watched the dock crew unload his day’s catch, and said exports are needed.
“My grandfather, I fished with him when I was a kid, and he said if we could just get the lobsters out to the rest of the world, not just this country, we could get a decent price for them. “
Maine has had an export market for many years, but that business started growing significantly as lobster dealers were able to open up the market to China. According to figures from the Maine International Trade Center, exports of live lobster to China grew from 26 million pounds in 2014 to a high of 56 million in 2017. Dealers like Hugh Reynolds of Greenhead Lobster say the business was heading for more growth, primarily the live lobster market.