Maine seeks cut in European Union lobster tariff

File Photo / Laurie Schreiber Maine's lobster exports, already reduced by tariffs imposed in China, must also grapple with an 8% levy charged by the European Union.

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By Staff

With Maine lobster exports already hurt by retaliatory Chinese tariffs, the U.S. is urging the European Union to eliminate its tariff on the state’s most valuable fishery product.

The EU currently charges an 8% import tax on American lobster, of which roughly 80% is harvested in Maine. The state’s lobster catch was worth $485 million in 2018.

Maine’s Congressional delegation previously prompted U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to attempt negotiating a cut in the tariff. But European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström opted against the U.S. request.

Now Maine is turning up the heat.

“Our fishermen and dealers deserve tariff-free access to the European market,” wrote U.S. Sens. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, in a letter Friday to Lighthizer.

The tariff “puts the Maine lobster industry at a significant competitive disadvantage compared to its Canadian competitor, which enjoys tariff-free access to the E.U. market under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement,” Collins, King and Pingree wrote.

“Having all but lost the large and growing Chinese export market due to retaliatory Chinese tariffs on American lobster, Maine lobster producers and dealers must find new customers for our state’s most iconic product. European buyers would undoubtedly purchase more Maine lobster if, like Canadian lobster, our product entered the E.U. tariff-free.”

In a February letter, Collins, King, Pingree, and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine 2nd District, asked Lighthizer to prioritize lobster in negotiations, noting that live lobster exports to China dropped by 64% in the first month after the country imposed its tariffs.

The Maine delegation has also asked the Trump administration to offer funding to help the lobster industry access new markets, and to provide financial relief to members of the lobster industry affected by the ongoing trade war with China.