Saving Seafood

Seafood could be casualty in escalating US trade spat with EU

July 31, 2020 — US companies importing seafood into the United States from the European Union (EU) or United Kingdom may have to contend with an up to 100-percent tariff increase as part of a decades-long US World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over subsidies given to Netherlands-based Airbus.

On July 26 the US Trade Representative (USTR) accepted its final comments for a proposal that $3.1 billion (€2.6 billion) worth of products, including seafood, be slapped with tariffs of up to 100 percent. The United Kingdom is also included as part of that list.

The USTR is set to make a decision on the tariffs in August.

The seafood products, which have been considered for previous tariff action but have avoided US tariffs so far, are from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Read the full story at IntraFish

Little-noticed document from US-China ‘phase one’ trade deal hints of positives for US seafood

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.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

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

 

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