President Donald Trump. (Photo: White House/CC BY 3.0)

Alaska complains about Chinese seafood import steep tariffs

UNITED STATES
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 02:20 (GMT + 9)

Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) is drafting a letter of complaint to be sent to the federal Government to protest its plan for steep tariffs on Chinese imports, including seafood.

In the letter, submitted to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), ASMI will highlight the importance of Alaska seafood, said an online report of the Alaska daily Juneau Empire.

ASMI Executive Director Alexa Tonkovich told a board meeting earlier on Thursday that the letter of complaint will be made ready by the end of this week or early next week.

The note will be presented first to the board members, for its approval, and the idea is to send it to federal trade officials in early September.

Tonkovich noted that the tariff on seafood does not just hurt China but also Americans.

Therefore, it will be shared with other fisheries organizations, including the National Fisheries Institute, the Pacific Seafood Processors Association, Groundfish Forum and any other group that may want to offer its own comments.

An earlier report of the Wall Street Journal said seafood caught in Alaska represents 60 percent of all seafood caught in the United States.

More than half of the fish caught in Alaska are destined for processing plants before they are frozen and shipped to China. Then the fish are processed into fish sticks, salmon patties and other products in China, which will be re-frozen and exported back to the United States.

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- Lobster exports feel the impact of trade war with China
 

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