Saving Seafood

USTR cuts cod, pollock fillets from final China tariffs list

September 18, 2018 — The US Trade Representative (USTR) has excluded frozen fillets of Alaska pollock and cod from its final list of products to be hit with 10% tariffs.

According to a statement from the USTR, the tariffs will come into play on Sept. 24 at 10%, and then go to 25% on Jan. 1, 2019.

The proposed list (which you can see here), published on July 10, at the direction of US president Donald Trump, included the following customs codes, all of which have been omitted from the final list, which you can see in full here.

This will mean that cod and pollock from Alaskan fishing companies which is sold to China and brought back to the US as fillets will not be hit with the tariffs.

The tariffs still apply to around $200 billion-worth of Chinese products, the USTR said.

Still on the list is fillets of salmon, while other salmon products are also on the list.

Imported under the HS code 0304.81.50 and described “Other frozen salmon fillets”, fillets are of farm-raised salmon and wild salmon, such as sockeye and pink salmon. This will impact Alaska’s wild salmon fishery.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Trump hits China with another USD 200 billion in tariffs, but Alaska gets a break

September 18, 2018 — U.S. President Donald Trump has approved another round of tariffs on an additional USD 200 billion (EUR 170.7 billion) of Chinese goods, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced on Monday, 17 September.

The latest round of tariffs was initially proposed in July, but through a seven-week review period, the number of items to be included in the tariffs was reduced from 6,031 to 5,745. Spared from the final list of goods subject to the tariffs were frozen cod and pollock, a victory for Alaskan seafood companies that send those items to China for processing and reexport.

Beginning 24 September, 10 percent tariffs will be levied on a wide range of goods, including most Chinese seafood entering the United States. On 1 January, 2019 – after the holiday shopping season – the tariffs will increase to 25 percent, according to a USTR announcement.

“We are taking this action today as a result of the Section 301 process that the USTR has been leading for more than 12 months,” Trump said in a statement. “After a thorough study, the USTR concluded that China is engaged in numerous unfair policies and practices relating to United States technology and intellectual property – such as forcing United States companies to transfer technology to Chinese counterparts. These practices plainly constitute a grave threat to the long-term health and prosperity of the United States economy.”

In the statement, Trump threatened an additional USD 267 billion (EUR 228 billion) in tariffs – covering practically all Chinese exports to the U.S. – if China takes retaliatory action. The Trump administration has already instituted two rounds of tariffs on China, affecting approximately USD 50 billion (EUR 42.7 billion) in Chinese goods.

China’s Ministry of Commerce responded on Tuesday, 18 September, with a statement that the country will retaliate “in a synchronous manner.” Reuters reported that China will impose five to 10 percent tariffs on USD 60 billion (EUR 51.2 billion) worth of American goods beginning 24 September

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Many US lobster companies coping well with tariff impact

September 14, 2018 — As the trade war between the United States and China continues, with indications that it may escalate even further, most U.S.-based lobster companies have seen their exports to China fall dramatically.

Despite the decrease, many companies say the market for lobster is still strong enough to keep the impact to their companies at a minimum. Some companies that never invested heavily into Chinese exports said2018 has been a better-than-average year.

“I’ve been processing lobster since 1993,” John Norton, CEO of Cozy Harbor of Portland, Maine, U.S.A, which specializes in fresh and frozen lobster tails, told SeafoodSource. “I’ve never seen a market this strong for lobster tails, ever.”

That strong demand is largely offsetting the effects of the tariffs on most of the lobster industry. Boat prices for lobster, said Norton, have remained similar to those seen in 2017.

The frozen market in Maine, said Norton, typically consumes around 50 percent of the state’s catch, while exports to China only make up between five and 10 percent.

Norton said his company has largely avoided shipping products to mainland China over the years, as the market for frozen lobster tails and meat in the country isn’t as strong as it is elsewhere in the region.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

NFI president: American jobs are fueled by international trade in seafood

September 13, 2018 — The US’ National Fisheries Institute (NFI) has joined ‘Americans for Free Trade’, a multi-industry coalition aimed at opposing tariffs and highlighting the benefits of international trade.

Over 80 US trade associations representing thousands of businesses and workers announced the formation of the group, which will immediately join Farmers for Free Trade, the coalition backed by the nation’s largest ag commodity groups, in a multi-million dollar national campaign called Tariffs Hurt the Heartland.

The campaign will focus on telling the stories of the American businesses, farmers, workers and families harmed by tariffs through town-hall style events, grassroots outreach to Congress and the administration, social media, rapid response and digital advertising.

The campaign includes a geographically searchable map (TariffsHurt.com) that allows users to find stories of job losses, deferred investments, higher prices and other negative consequences for farmers and businesses in communities across the country impacted by tariffs.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Massive Industry Lobbying Campaign ‘Tariffs Hurt the Heartland’ Begins; NFI Key Sponsor

September 13, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — From California apple growers to Maine lobstermen, businesses are joining forces to try to persuade President Trump that tariffs are hurting U.S. industries.

On Wednesday, organizations representing thousands of companies in industries including retailing, toy manufacturing, farming and technology plan to announce they are cooperating on a lobbying campaign called Tariffs Hurt the Heartland to oppose tariffs on imports.

Furthermore, the National Fisheries Institute, the largest U.S. seafood trade association, is organizing a day this month when members will fly to Washington to talk to members of Congress and the Trump administration. Others coming to Washington include seafood importers from Texas and seafood processors from Minnesota.

It is the latest sign that businesses are ratcheting up lobbying against tariffs that the Trump administration has imposed, or is considering, as Mr. Trump says he will defend American manufacturing jobs. As of June 30, nearly 450 entities employed lobbyists on trade issues—up from about 160 at the start of the year and about 100 when Mr. Trump took office, according to lobbying-disclosure reports compiled by the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics.

Few policy fights have triggered as big a jump in lobbying activity, although there are more lobbyists overall engaged on perennial issues such as taxes and health care. Some businesses are concerned about rising costs of imported materials; others, particularly farmers, about retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and Europe on U.S. exports.

At the Iowa State Fair last month, a lobbying group backed by the American Farm Bureau handed out “I Support Free Trade” buttons and urged farmers to sign posters proclaiming their opposition to tariffs.

Car manufacturers, auto dealers and vehicle parts makers together plan to run a campaign opposing new tariffs on the industry. And last week, the trade association for retailers including Target Corp. and Walmart Inc. brought 150 small retailers to meetings with lawmakers to talk about how tariffs could hurt their businesses.

“Every trade group is much busier because there’s a lot more activity across all aspects of what trade groups do,” said Steve Orava, who leads the international trade practice at law firm King & Spalding in Washington.

Not all industry groups oppose Mr. Trump’s tariffs. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, which represents U.S. ranchers and beef producers, backs the president’s tough trade stance. “We support the president’s overall goal of tearing down trade barriers; we support trying to take them on,” said association spokesman Max Moncaster. China and the European Union currently ban imports of U.S. beef raised with hormones.

And some industries benefit from import duties. Domestic steel companies support Mr. Trump’s tariffs on foreign steel, which have boosted prices and profits.

But most trade-focused lobbying this year has been against tariffs. When the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative took testimony on proposed tariffs in August, a majority of the industry representatives who participated said tariffs would hurt their businesses.

In a letter they plan to send to Congress on Wednesday, business groups will announce their latest effort to make the case against tariffs. The group’s multimillion-dollar Tariffs Hurt the Heartland campaign aims to tell the stories of farmers and business ownersdinged by import duties.

“Every sector of the U.S. economy stands to lose in a trade war,” said Matthew Shay, president of the National Retail Federation. The goal of the campaign is to “ensure Washington understands the real-world consequences of a trade war.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Business Roundtable and the Koch brothersare running their own lobbying efforts to promote free trade.

The Trump administration is expected soon to impose tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports, on top of tariffs already in effect on $50 billion in goods from China. Mr. Trump has suggested even more duties are in the offing.

The U.S. has also placed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and is conducting trade negotiations with Europe, Mexico and Canada. China, the EU and other trade partners have announced tariffs of their own on American goods.

The unusual mechanism Mr. Trump is using to impose the tariffs has meant that many lobbyists can’t rely on the usual playbook. For most big policy changes in Washington, such as last year’s tax bill, Congress writes and votes on legislation, a drawn-out process that gives industries many opportunities to weigh in.

In this case, Mr. Trump is using an obscure part of trade law that permits him to impose tariffs unilaterally, sometimes in the name of national security. That is why many of the industries seeking to roll back or avoid tariffs are targeting the Trump administration alone.

Earlier this year, comedian Ben Stein starred in ads calling tariffs “B-A-D economics.” The ads, sponsored by retail lobbying group the National Retail Federation, ran on a favorite show of Mr. Trump’s, “Fox & Friends” on Fox News.

Farmers for Free Trade, hoping to catch Mr. Trump’s eye, has run its ads mostly in Washington, as well as in the Palm Beach, Fla., media market when Mr. Trump is staying at his Mar-a-Lago resort there. The group also has identified 10 states that will be important to Mr. Trump’s re-election and is highlighting stories of farmers who would be hurt by his trade policies.

When Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross last month visited Fargo, N.D., to discuss the impact of tariffs, the farmers’ group greeted him with a string of roadside billboards that read: “Secretary Ross, Tariffs Hurt ND Farmers.”

The Maine Lobster Dealers Association is agitating, too, saying tariffs will hit them harder than others because reciprocal tariffs imposed on the lobsters they sell to China don’t apply to lobsters sold in China by Canadian lobstermen, even though the lobsters are harvested from the same Atlantic waters.

“These guys want to sell lobsters, they don’t want to be wasting their time lobbying members of Congress,” said Annie Tselikis, the executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

National Fisheries Institute joins US business-backed campaign against tariffs

September 13, 2018 — The National Fisheries Institute has joined around 80 other U.S. trade associations in a coordinated campaign to oppose tariffs and other barriers to free trade.

The multi-industry coalition, Americans for Free Trade, on Wedneday, 12 September, launched a multi-million dollar national campaign titled Tariffs Hurt the Heartland. The campaign is aimed at members of the U.S. Congress and the general public and will tell stories of American businesses, farmers, workers, and families being hurt by the recently imposed tariffs. It will include events in congressional districts across the country; paid television, radio, and online advertisements; a “rapid-response war room” that will fact check and respond to tariff announcements; a digital and traditional media campaign including op-eds, blogs, and press statements on tariff-related issues; and direct outreach to key members of Congress “on behalf of grassroots voices from across the nation,” according to the newly-formed organization.

“American jobs are fueled by international trade in seafood,” NFI President John Connelly said in a press release. “Without access to seafood imports from important markets like China, or if these products become too expensive, jobs here in the U.S. will pay the price.”

Partners in the campaign include the National Retail Federation, Farmers for Free Trade, Retail Industry Leaders, the Consumer Technology Association, the American Apparel and Footwear Association, and the National Marine Manufacturers Association. A full list of participating organizations can be seen at the campaign’s website, AmericansforFreeTrade.com.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Sen. Murkowski Questions International Trade Administration on Alaskan Seafood Industry Concerns

September 12, 2018 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Lisa Murkowski:

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) participated in a Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee hearing yesterday, to review the President’s Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) funding request for the Bureau of Industry and Security, the International Trade Administration, and the United States International Trade Commission.

Witnesses participating in the hearing included: Nazak Nikakhtar, Assistant Secretary for Industry and Analysis at the International Trade Administration (ITA); Richard Ashooh, Assistant Secretary for Export Administration at the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS); and David S. Johanson, Chairman at the United States International Trade Commission (USITC).

During the hearing Senator Murkowski expressed some of the concerns of Alaskan stakeholders regarding the seafood industry.

“Until recently, a positive trade relationship was developing between Alaska and China—of our salmon exports, 40% of those exports went to China. For cod, 54% of our exports went to China. In 2017, we saw roughly 1/3 of Alaska’s seafood exports end up in China, worth nearly $1 billion. So this is considerable” said Senator Murkowski. “Now, Alaskans are facing steep Chinese tariffs on these exports—a pretty significant trade barrier. This is on top of lost market share due to the Russian embargo on American seafood, which has been in place since 2014 as retaliation for sanctions, and challenging import quotas that currently exist in the EU, Japan, and South Korea.”

Murkowski went on to question Assistant Secretary Nikakhtar on the ITA’s strategy towards the retaliatory tariffs imposed on the seafood industry and barriers to seafood industry trade.

Read the full release here

Trump calls for more tariffs in scale-up of trade war against China

September 10, 2018 — U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to extend U.S. tariffs to an additional USD 267 billion (EUR 230.1 billion) worth of Chinese goods in comments made on Friday, 7 September.

Trump said the new round of tariffs will “take place very soon, depending on what happens.” He added a new list of goods to be affected by the tariffs is ready to go and could be rolled out on short notice, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Trump’s administration previously announced tariffs on USD 200 billion (EUR 170 billion) of Chinese goods on 11 July. That was a follow-up on his levying of tariffs on USD 50 billion (EUR 29.3 billion) worth of Chinese goods in June, and China’s equivalent response later that month.

“If the United States insists on imposing another round of tariffs on Chinese products, China will definitely take countermeasures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said following publication of Trump’s threat on 7 September.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

New U.S. and Canadian IPHC Commissioners Named During Sensitive Negotiations

September 6, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Both the U.S. and Canada have changed their delegation to the International Pacific Halibut Commission, naming relative newcomers to each country’s team during extremely sensitive negotiations on policy issues. For the first time, a member of the recreational sector has been appointed to the U.S. delegation.

The changes to the panel, made up of three Canadians and three U.S. residents, comes after a rare impasse in determining catch limits for the 2018 season at the IPHC’s January meeting. In the end, all six commissioners agreed to lower limits below last year’s levels, but not as a commission. It was the second time in the IPHC’s 94-year history that an impasse could not be overcome.

The commissioners also agreed to negotiate a resolution to their disagreements, which center on distribution of halibut and bycatch accountability, before the next annual meeting. They have met twice so far and will meet again in mid-September.

Six weeks ago the Canadian government “temporarily” replaced commissioners Jake Vanderheide and Ted Assu, both halibut fishermen. Robert Day and Neil Davis of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans were picked as replacements until later in the year, when both are expected to step down for permanent commissioners. Day is director of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ International Fisheries Management Headquarters in Ottawa. Davis is a resource management director for the DFO based in Vancouver.

Yesterday NOAA Fisheries announced the reappointment of Bob Alverson, director of the Fishing Vessel Owners Association and the first-time appointment of Richard Yamada, the president of the Alaska Charter Association. Yamada replaced Linda Behnken, director of Sitka-based Alaska Longline Fisherman’s Association and a commissioner for two years. Both men were appointed for five months, from September 1 to January 31, 2019.

The two men were told their terms as Alternate Commissioners ended January 31 or “whenever another Alternate or Presidentially-appointed Commissioner is appointed to fulfill the relevant duties, whichever comes first,” according to the letter each received from the State Department.

It’s unusual for appointments to be for less than 18 months — terms are for two years — but in this case, it could be that the President’s final action will define a longer term. The current timing for termination is problematic, though, as the next annual meeting of the IPHC is January 27-February 1, 2019.

A January 31 termination date cuts the five days meeting short by its last, important day. That’s when the week’s industry discussion and recommendations, scientific reporting, and U.S./Canada negotiations culminate in final catch limits and changes to Pacific halibut regulations.

Yesterday’s announcement preceded the President’s appointment, “To ensure the United States has representation on the IPHC at all times, the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 provides for the Secretary of State to make alternate appointments,” the announcement read.

Dr. Jim Balsiger, the NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator who has represented the government for nearly two decades, was reappointed through September, but may be replaced after that, according to several people familiar with the process. Both Chris Oliver, current head of NOAA Fisheries, and Doug Mecum, deputy regional administrator at NMFS’s Juneau office, have been mentioned as possible replacements.

Neither, however, are members of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, a requirement for Commissioner according to the Halibut Act.

The process, starting from the nominations from last year and months-long vetting to a last minute back and forth that has included questioning nominees on social media use and campaign finance contributions, has been fraught with delays and unexpected outcomes (few expected Dr. Balsiger to be replaced). Behnken and Alverson were appointed only months before the last nomination-and-vetting cycle began. Their terms were extended last spring to August 31, 2018.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Tariffs throw wrench into seafood supply chain

September 6, 2018 — Many seafood processors, fishermen and support businesses have been watching with increasing dismay as the trade war between U.S. and China heats up and impacts billions of dollars in trade.

In March, President Donald Trump’s administration announced its intention to levy tariffs against China in connection with “unfair” trade practices, including theft of intellectual property. When the first round of tariffs on Chinese products were announced, the seafood industry hoped to escape the list of impacted items.

That hope faded when a host of seafood products were included on the list of proposed retaliatory tariffs from the Chinese government. Then Office of the U.S. Trade Representative proposed another set of tariffs, including seafood products, at 10 percent in July. Then that number was upped to 25 percent in August.

In a hearing hosted by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Aug. 20–24, Bob DeHaan of the National Fisheries Institute said the tariffs will effectively punish American fishermen for Chinese intellectual property theft, which has nothing to do with them. Of the $2.7 billion in proposed tariffs on seafood, more than $95 million came from Alaskan fishermen.

“In many cases such as the iconic Bristol Bay salmon run that just concluded this year, the fishermen are family-owned enterprises who sell their catch to seafood companies for processing, distribution and sale around the world,” he said. “How punishing these harvesters and these businesses for in effect buying American will convince China to respect its obligations regarding intellectual property rights and technology transfers is difficult to fathom.”

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce