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Pollock. (Photo: Stock File)
China’s new tariffs worry North Pacific seafood exporters
UNITED STATES
Monday, June 18, 2018, 22:50 (GMT + 9)
The North Pacific seafood industry, including frozen pollock, cod, pink and sockeye salmon, snow and Dungeness crab and herring, is likely to be slammed with a wide range of retaliatory tariffs that China will impose on American exports to retaliate those set by the United States.
Chinese officials announced the planned lobster tariff along with hundreds of other tariffs amid the country’s escalating trade fight with the US.
China's measure came in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement made on Friday on the increase in tariffs on Chinese imports to the US, on up to USD 50 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Some Northwest exports, such as geoducks, are also included in the new tariffs, calculated on the imported cost of the products, including previous tariffs, and are scheduled to take effect July 6, SeafoodNews.com reported.
Some major American exporters, such as Trident Seafoods, and certain Alaska pollock producers, considering that the Chinese market is "incredibly important for their future," have been seeking to grow their market share in the Asian country amid tough competition with Russia.
“This is the biggest market in the world, and to have the US at a disadvantage to every competitor is a big deal,” said Jim Gilmore, public affairs director for the Seattle-based At-Sea Processors Association, which represents six companies that catch and process pollock off Alaska.
Much of the Alaska seafood sent to China is reprocessed and then re-exported elsewhere.
Some market experts believe that these products would be subject to the new tariffs but others are still uncertain whether products targeted for re-export will be covered by them.
Jamie Goen, executive director of Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, also on Friday was unclear whether reprocessed products will be subject to the tariff. She pointed out that if they are, that would be a much bigger impact, since much of the Alaska snow crab sent to China is picked of its meat and then re-exported.
Furthermore, the new tariffs could have serious impacts on the economy of the state of Maine. China’s interest in U.S. lobster has grown exponentially in recent years, and selling to China has become a major focus of the lobster industry.
“Maine’s lobster industry is an irreplaceable piece of our state’s economy that supports thousands of jobs and entire coastal communities,” the state’s congressional delegation said in a statement. “Just two weeks ago, the Maine delegation heard directly from our state’s lobster industry about the economic hardship a trade war with China would cause them.”
China and the US are major seafood trading partners beyond just lobster, and the new tariffs would apply to dozens of products that China imports from the U.S., including salmon, tuna and crab.
The U.S. imported more than USD 2.7 billion in Chinese seafood last year, and the US exported more than USD 1.3 billion to China.
Related article:
- Maine lawmakers urge Trump to avoid taxes on China seafood imports
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Photo Courtesy of FIS Member  PACIFIC SEAFOOD Co.
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