Saving Seafood

Florida Lobster Fishermen Fear Trade War Amid Irma Recovery

August 7, 2018 –Just as they prepare for a crucial harvest in the wake of Hurricane Irma, lobster fishermen in the Florida Keys fear a trade war with China could undermine storm recovery in the island chain.

Lobsters are among the seafood and other U.S. goods hit by Chinese tariffs in early July, after the Trump administration put tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese goods.

Florida’s nearly eight-month commercial spiny lobster fishing season opens Monday. Keys fishermen had hoped the harvest would help them recoup losses from last September’s hurricane, which made landfall in the Keys with 130-mph (210-kph) winds.

But the industry has come to depend on Chinese exports over the last decade, and fishermen worry tariffs that could raise prices by 25 percent will send the Chinese market looking for lobster in another country’s waters.

“Coming into this year, we were hoping for better prices because of the loss of traps, gear and revenue,” said Ernie Piton, president of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association and a lobster fisherman.

“Hopefully the tariffs will get figured out because you can’t run your boat and not make money, especially after a hurricane year when you’ve lost so much,” Piton said in a recent interview outside his Key Largo home, where he docks his boat, “Risky Business II.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The New York Times

NFI Expands “Seafood, See Jobs” Trade Education Campaign

August 7, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS –After rebranding its AboutSeafood.com website late last week to support the stories of American seafood workers, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) has announced that they have now expanded their content offerings.

The “Seafood, See Jobs” campaign “tells individual stories of the American seafood workforce to illustrate that both importers and exporters fear the harmful effect of the trade policies the U.S. Government is imposing via tariffs on seafood.” The campaign initially launched with three “Featured Videos” and four “Faces of Seafood Jobs” videos on the AboutSeafood.com home page. Just a day after the launch NFI has added an additional two videos to their “Featured Videos” section and one more video to their “Faces of Seafood Jobs” section. The organization plans on updating the site weekly with new videos and content.

NFI hopes to portray the message that “seafood trade is not a simple matter of import vs. domestic.”

“To understand the negative impact these tariffs will have on American workers you have to go see them, you have to talk to them, you have to hear their concerns,” NFI president John Connelly said in a press release. “We’re brining these stories to policy makers so they understand; this is not a theoretical, economic chess game. These tariffs have the potential to do a lot of harm to the seafood community and that community’s jobs are right here in the U.S.”

Visit AboutSeafood.com to learn more. Or visit SeafoodSeeJobs.com to go directly to the campaign videos.

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

No tariff bailout for fishermen

August 6, 2018 — We wrote recently about the Trump administration’s plan to send $12 billion in emergency aid to American farmers to combat the ills of our current trade war with China (and just about the rest of mankind) and of subsequent political efforts to extend the plan to other industries, such as commercial fishing.

Those efforts have fallen on deaf ears, with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer slapping a hasty kibosh on the notion that anyone else is getting bailed out. Now we may know why.

According to a new U.S. Chamber of Commerce analysis, providing additional bailout funds to other industries impacted by the trade war would would bring the full price tag for U.S. taxpayers to about $39 million.

“The chamber’s analysis shows that on top of the $12 billion that could be doled out to farmers as early as this fall, another $27 billion would be needed to help other sectors such as fishermen, cotton and fabric manufacturers and makers of steel and aluminum,” according to a story in The Hill.

The chamber – not exactly a left-leaning crowd – proceeded to whack away at the Trump tariffs as if they were a row of pinatas.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Trump leans in on SNAP work requirements

August 3, 2018 — President Donald Trump on Thursday jumped into the farm bill debate once again — on Twitter, of course — in an effort to tip the scales toward House Republicans ahead of conference negotiations.

“When the House and Senate meet on the very important Farm Bill – we love our farmers – hopefully they will be able to leave the WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR FOOD STAMPS PROVISION that the House approved,” the president wrote on Thursday afternoon.

The U.S. seafood industry is starting an education campaign to convince Trump and other policymakers that American workers would be hurt, not helped, by his proposed new tariffs on China. The National Fisheries Institute, which represents the seafood industry, has rebranded its AboutSeafood.com website to tell the stories of American seafood workers threatened both by the proposed tariffs, as well as the retaliatory tariffs that China has already imposed in response to U.S. duties on more than $34 billion worth of Chinese goods.

“To understand the negative impact these tariffs will have on American workers, you have to go see them, you have to talk to them, you have to hear their concerns,” National Fisheries Institute President John Connelly said in a statement. “We’re bringing those stories to policymakers so they understand; this is not a theoretical, economic chess game. These tariffs have the potential to do a lot of harm to the seafood community and that community’s jobs are right here in the U.S.”

Political opposition: Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) both raised concerns about the impact of China’s retaliatory duties on their states’ lobster exports during a hearing last week with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Their complaints were echoed by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who told Lighthizer China’s actions have “clearly rattled my state.” The increased duty affects about 40 percent of the state’s salmon exports and 54 percent of its cod exports that went there last year, she said.

Read the full story at Politico

Is trade war pushing seafood processing out of China?

August 3, 2018 —The current Sino-U.S. trade war, which has seen tariffs imposed on most seafood products from China (but not on re-exported processed product), is causing many seafood processing companies in China to reassess whether or not to move their operations out of China. This is the first of a two-part series looking into the issue.

Many seafood processing companies are now assessing whether to move to another Asian location where wages and costs are lower. Even before the trade war heated up between the United States and China, it was a well-known fact that the cost of doing business in China has been rising steadily for years. Today, the average Chinese worker’s wages are twice those in Vietnam.

There are plenty of takers for anyone moving processing activity out of China, starting with what Asia-focused advisors have begun to refer to as the new “Big 5” of Asian manufacturing competiveness. As listed in the Deloitte 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, the Big 5 are: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, and Vietnam.

All of those countries have committed to reforms that have improved their rankings, such as creating a national credit scoring system that allows for quick due-diligence checks on would-be local partners, and regulatory reforms that make it easier to wind up companies in those countries. Also, there’s been movement on better utilities connections in several ASEAN countries, including Indonesia. Vietnam has created a one-stop shop for business licenses and tax remittances while Malaysia has put much of the process online. And India and Thailand have worked hard to streamline their export and import licensing systems.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

National Fisheries Institute launches campaign defending US seafood jobs

August 3, 2018 –The National Fisheries Institute is rebranding its AboutSeafood.com website in an effort to support U.S. seafood workers, the organization announced on Thursday, 2 August.

The move comes on the heels of existing and potential future tariffs between the United States and China. What started out as a set of tariffs initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump in January eventually escalated into a full-blown trade war, which hit the the seafood industry when China implemented 25 percent tariffs in June on several items, including seafood.

The United States soon responded with its own tariffs on seafood in July. China, in turn, said it would take “firm and forceful measures” in response. Now, President Trump has threatened still more tariffs as U.S. fishermen seek relief for the damage already being done by existing tariffs on their goods.

The NFI’s new campaign, “Seafood, See Jobs,” looks into the lives of workers that rely on the seafood industry for their livelihood. Fishmongers, lobstermen, and fishermen are featured, in addition to the many tertiary roles that rely on the industry, such as chefs, truck drivers, and manufacturing workers. The goal is to demonstrate the real impact the tariffs are having on American workers.

“To understand the negative impact these tariffs will have on American workers you have to go see them, you have to talk to them, you have to hear their concerns,” said NFI President John Connelly. “We’re bringing those stories to policy makers so they understand; this is not a theoretical, economic chess game. These tariffs have the potential to do a lot of harm to the seafood community and that community’s jobs are right here in the U.S.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Trump tariffs sting farmers, businesses from sea to shining sea

August 3, 2018 —  As President Donald Trump prepares to continue ratcheting up tariffs, the duties he has already imposed on $34 billion worth of goods from China and around $50 billion worth of steel and aluminum exports from around the world are causing pain across the United States.

That’s already prompted Trump to promise $12 billion in assistance to help farmers who have been hit with retaliatory duties on their exports to China, the European Union and other key markets. The aid package has been popular with voters, particularly in rural areas, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. But the same poll also showed that most voters in farm states prefer free trade and better access to markets over subsidies.

Moonlight Meadery, a small business based in Londonderry, N.H., “had a deal effectively killed by the retaliatory tariffs on American wine,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said. “This is a deal that would have doubled their output. For a small business that meant a lot. But what’s happened, they’ve had to lay off employees and they’ve also been hit by the increased cost of aluminum because of the tariffs on steel and aluminum.”

A New Hampshire business, Little Bay Lobster Company, that previously sold 50,000 pounds of lobster to China each week “can no longer find a buyer,” Shaheen added. After the Trump administration slapped a 25 percent duty on $34 billion worth of Chinese exports, China retaliated with a 25 percent tariff that priced New Hampshire lobsters out of the market, Shaheen said.

China’s 25 percent retaliatory tariff on U.S. seafood has “clearly rattled my state,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said. The increased duty affects about 40 percent of the state’s salmon exports and 54 percent of its cod exports that went to China last year, she said.

“So this is, this is very, very significant to us. We’re still trying to figure out exactly what this means, not only to our fishermen but to the processors, the logistics industry, all aspects of the seafood supply chain,” Murkowski said.

In addition, Trump’s threat to impose a 10 percent duty on another $200 billion of Chinese exports could boomerang back on Alaska.

“Many of our fish and shellfish that are harvested in the state are then processed in China before re-importing back to the United States for domestic distribution. So in many ways, [Trump’s additional proposed tariffs would impose] a 10 percent tax on our own seafood, which is just a tough one to reconcile,” Murkowski said.

Read the full story at Politico

US fishermen seek relief from trade war tariffs

August 2, 2018 –The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has estimated that the country’s seafood industry may need more than USD 1 billion (EUR 860.9 million) in aid as a result of the tariffs being discussed by the adminstration of U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese officials. And that figure only stands to go up as administration officials announced Wednesday, 1 August, that they’re considering boosting the proposed tariffs on Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement Wednesday that the 15 percent increase would give the administration more flexibility in dealing with the world’s second largest economy. The list of goods that would be impacted by the 25 percent tariff includes a wide variety of seafood products.

“The Trump administration continues to urge China to stop its unfair practices, open its market, and engage in true market competition,” he said in a statement. “We have been very clear about the specific changes China should undertake.  Regrettably, instead of changing its harmful behavior, China has illegally retaliated against U.S. workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses.”

The revision to the tariff plan means the public comment period will now be extended through 5 September.

After the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would offer USD 12 billion (EUR 10.3 billion) in aid to American farmers affected by the tariffs, officials from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that relief package would cover less than a third of the damage caused to U.S. businesses, including the seafood industry.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Dems seek tariff relief for fishing industry

August 1, 2018 — The Trump administration announced last week that it would provide up to $12 billion in emergency relief funding for farmers whose businesses are suffering from an escalating trade war.

Now a group of Democratic U.S. representatives is pressing for similar emergency relief for the fishing industry, which is expecting a significant financial hit from a series of increasing export tariffs imposed by China.

H.R. 6528, introduced last Wednesday by Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), would amend a provision in the Magnuson-Stevens Act that allows the federal government to provide funding to harvesters affected by natural or man-made disasters, such as hurricanes and oil spills. The bill would add cases of “unilateral tariffs imposed by other countries on any United States seafood” as events warranting emergency relief.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

US Chamber analysis shows helping all sectors hit by tariffs would cost $39 billion

July 31, 2018 — A new U.S. Chamber of Commerce analysis found that providing similar aid to all sectors affected by President Trump‘s tariffs would cost U.S. taxpayers $39 billion.

The Trump administration last week announced a $12 billion emergency aid package for the nation’s farmers who are taking a hard hit from retaliatory tariffs unloaded by China, Mexico, Canada and other trading partners because of the president’s imposition of tariffs.

The Chamber’s analysis shows that on top of the $12 billion that could be doled out to farmers as early as this fall, another $27.2 billion would be needed to help other sectors such as fishermen, cotton and fabric manufacturers and makers of steel and aluminum.

After Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the agriculture aid last week, the Chamber decided to determine how much it would cost to provide a similar level of aid to each industry affected by the budding trade war.

Read the full story at The Hill