Saving Seafood

Tariffs could harm NW fishing industry in markets on both sides of the Pacific

September 24, 2018 — First, it was Washington wheat farmers and apple growers. Then it was regional wineries. And now, Pacific Northwest seafood companies are getting sucked into the escalating trade war between the Trump administration and China.

The fleet that fishes in the North Pacific, much of it based in Puget Sound, was first caught up in the fight in July, when China imposed sweeping sanctions on many U.S. imports, including virtually all seafood. The immediate risk was clear: China’s tariffs threatened to block access to what many believe will become the world’s largest consumer market for seafood products.

But now there’s a new risk: a Trump administration trade policy that was meant to punish the Chinese, but which could end up making American seafood more expensive for American consumers — a bizarre outcome that could expose the Northwest’s seafood industry to trade-war damage both at home and abroad.

That risk became clear on Monday, when Robert Lighthizer, the United States Trade Representative, released a list of some 5,700 imported Chinese food products that will be hit by heavy new tariffs. Among them, roughly $2.7 billion in imported Chinese seafood items—everything from salmon and flounder to sole and snow crab.

Read the full story at The Seattle Times

Bumble Bee: Trump’s tuna tariffs ‘devastating’ for firm

September 21, 2018 — US tuna canning company Bumble Bee Foods warned the US Trade Representative (USTR) in a letter that the now-confirmed tariffs against imports of Chinese tuna would be “devastating” for the firm.

The tariffs — which will come into play on Sept. 24 at 10%, and then go to 25% on Jan. 1, 2019 — will hit US imports of yellowfin, skipjack, and albacore tuna loins, all of which are required by Bumble Bee’s Santa Fe Springs, California factory, wrote CEO Jan Tharp.

The tariffs, which were initially proposed by USTR on July 10, will hike the cost of raw materials, which in turn will “certainly lead to higher prices for US consumers”, Bumble Bee’s leader said.

“We are very concerned with the proposed tariff on tuna loins and the impact that these tariffs will have on our supply chain, global competitiveness, and US operations,” Tharp said. “The proposed tariff on tuna loins will have a devastating effect on Bumble Bee given that our business model is to import tuna loins for further processing and canning in the US by American workers.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Alaska pollock industry: Trump’s China tariff exceptions help the Russians

September 20, 2018 — If president Donald Trump was hoping to get a pat on the back from the Alaskan pollock industry for keeping its re-processed fillets off the list of seafood products to receive additional tariffs when imported from China, he will be sadly disappointed.

Rather, thanks to some apparent confusion over the harmonized tariff codes, the administration’s exemptions appear to help the Russian pollock industry more, advises James Gilmore, the director of public affairs for the At-Sea Processors Association (APA), one of the loudest voices for Alaska pollock producers, in an email to Undercurrent News.

“If our interpretation is correct, Alaska pollock producers face stiff tariffs in China and Russia’s ban on US seafood imports, including Alaska pollock, remains in effect,” Gilmore said. “Meanwhile, our principal international competition—Russian pollock processed in China—enjoys tariff-free access to our domestic market.”

Gilmore’s comments follow closely those made by Fedor Kirsanov, the CEO of Russian Fishery Company, one of the country’s largest pollock quota holders, who told Undercurrent the trade war is helping to boost his prices.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

China retaliates against US tariffs; seafood largely unaffected

September 19, 2018 — China has retaliated against US tariffs, but seafood will be largely unaffected by its counter-measures.

On Sept. 18, China announced it would levy new tariffs of up to 10% on imports of US goods worth $60 billion. The measures came in retaliation to US tariffs of 10% on $200bn worth of Chinese goods, confirmed by president Donald Trump’s administration the same day.

Both sets of tariffs will come into effect on Sept. 24.

China said the counter-measures were to “defend the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese economy caused by the violation of international obligations by the US”. Prior to the announcement in a more solemn statement it said the US measures were “regretful”.

Among the 5,000-plus US products to be hit are smoked Pacific salmon and a type of fishmeal (see below). No other fisheries or seafood products are affected.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News   

 

Pollock’s dodge of US tariff could leave market open to Russia

September 18, 2018 — Another round of tariffs on Chinese goods approved by U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday may have inadvertently left the market open to Russian-sourced pollock processed in China.

The tariffs, initially proposed in July, will go into effect on 24 September and affect an additional 5,745 products from China. While initially tariffs on frozen cod and pollock were planned, lobbying efforts by industry leaders successfully kept those items off the final list.

However according to Jim Gilmore, director of public affairs for the At-sea Processors Association (APA),  the wording of the exemption for Alaska pollock may leave the U.S. market open to Russia-origin pollock that is processed in China and shipped to the U.S.

The issue, said Gilmore, is the use of the term “Alaska pollock.”

“We believe this is an anachronism of a misleading geographical indicator remaining in use.  That is, the term ‘Alaska pollock’ is used to define Russian-origin pollock as well as U.S.-origin Alaska pollock,” he said. “If we are reading the situation correctly that the [a]dministration is not distinguishing between U.S. and Russian origin pollock in excluding two HTS Code lines from tariffs, then Alaska pollock producers continue to be disadvantaged in this trade war with China.”

The specific issue, said Gilmore, has to do with two HTS Codes: 0304.75.10 and 0304.94.10. Under the decision on 17 September, the door could be open for pollock of Russian origin and processed in China to enter the U.S. duty-free using those codes.

“If our interpretation is correct, Alaska pollock producers face stiff tariffs in China and Russia’s ban on U.S. seafood imports, including Alaska pollock, remains in effect,” Gilmore said. “Meanwhile, our principal international competition – Russian pollock processed in China – enjoys tariff-free access to our domestic market.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Trump Sets Tariffs On $200 Billion In Imports From China

September 19, 2018 — President Trump announced Monday that he is ordering 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of imports from China.

Trump also threatened to add tariffs on about $267 billion of additional imports if China retaliates against U.S. farmers or other industries.

It’s the latest round of an escalating trade dispute between the two countries.

The tariffs follow duties on $50 billion in goods imposed earlier this year. The latest levies are set to go into effect Sept. 24 and remain at 10 percent until the end of the year. If China doesn’t make concessions, the new tariffs will then jump to 25 percent, a senior administration official said.

The new tariffs will apply to hundreds of items — ranging from seafood to handbags to toilet paper — that were on a list released July 10. But, the official said, they will exclude some consumer electronics such as smartwatches and Bluetooth devices as well as health and safety products such as high chairs, bicycle helmets, child car seats and playpens.

The U.S. has complained that Beijing forces American companies doing business in China to transfer technology and intellectual property.

“These practices plainly constitute a grave threat to the long-term health and prosperity of the United States economy,” Trump said in a White House statement. Trump urged Chinese leaders to “take swift action to end their country’s unfair trade practices.”

Read the full story at NPR

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