Canadian counter-tariffs on American seafood have raised concerns in the East Coast fishery that they will be retaliated against.Article contentThe Maritimes’ seafood industry is concerned that Canada’s counter-tariffs against the United States will put it in President Donald Trump’s crosshairs.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentA 25 per cent tariff on American seafood imports was announced Tuesday as part of Canada’s response to the United States placing a 50 per cent tariff on over 500 exports worth some $28 billion annually.Article contentArticle contentThe over 700 items Canada is counter-tariffing have a total value of just under $28 billion.Article contentArticle content“Seafood has been covered by (the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on free trade) until now,” said Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada.Article content“Now we’re introducing seafood in the tariff mix. . . . We’re worried there will be recourse.”Article contentIrvine said two-thirds of Atlantic Canada’s $3-billion worth of lobster exports goes into the American market. Up to 90 per cent of species like snow crab is exported to the United States.Article contentHe said that despite growth in exports to China, Asia and Europe, the American market remains indispensable to Canadian seafood.Article content“The worry is that fish and seafood will now be targeted by American tariffs,” Irvine said.Article contentMaine also hurtArticle contentAbout half the lobster caught in Maine is sent to New Brunswick to be processed during the fall fishery. Irvine said processors have learned they will be reimbursed by the federal government for tariffs they pay on seafood imported to be processed.Article contentArticle contentHe’s been asking the federal government why they can’t just exempt that lobster from tariffs, rather than make processors pay the tariff and then get it back.Article contentArticle content“I’ve brought that up and don’t have an answer,” said Irvine.Article contentIn Maine, meanwhile, the levies on seafood are raising ire against the tariff war itself.Article content“For months, these hardworking men and women have faced challenges across the board, from the increased cost of living at home to the spike in diesel fuel prices at work,” wrote Angus King, an independent Maine senator, in a statement on impacts on Maine’s fishery.Article content“Now this new escalation of the trade war with Canada – ‘the dumbest trade war,’ according to the Wall Street Journal – is going to make things even worse.”Article contentKing also raised the prospect of retaliatory trade tariffs out of Washington and what they could mean for seafood recrossing the border after processing.Article content“And if the president’s misguided trade war further escalates, the processed lobsters could be taxed again when they are shipped back from Canada to the United States,” wrote King.Article content“If the president doesn’t relent, this hammer blow to hardworking Maine people would devastate the Maine lobster industry and leave many of these hardworking people literally high and dry.”Article content
Canada’s seafood counter-tariffs raise escalation fears on both sides of the border
