New trade deal a boon for Maine's lobster industry, perhaps

A new trade deal signed by the United States and China on Wednesday includes a provision expected to benefit Maine’s lobster industry.

As a possible truce in the ongoing tariff dispute between the two countries, the deal includes purchase agreements committing China to buy more American goods and services in a variety of sectors. The deal highlights lobster specifically in an agricultural sector purchase agreement.

“The inclusion of this provision in the Phase One Trade Agreement is a significant victory for Maine’s lobster industry, which has been unfairly harmed by retaliatory tariffs,” U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a news release.

But in a separate statement, U.S. Sen. Angus King- I-Maine, expressed concern.

“The deal includes a commitment that China will purchase lobster in the coming years, but I am concerned the language does not appear to specify a minimum purchase amount, nor does it remove the existing tariffs so our lobster can be competitively priced with Canadian lobster,” King said. “While encouraged, I’ll withhold my final judgment until we see how this deal actually impacts Maine people.”

The Maine Lobster Dealers' Association lauded the inclusion of the state's most profitable marine species in the deal.

“The Chinese retaliatory tariffs have placed Maine lobster exporters at a disadvantage in that market for 18 months, in which time Canada became the major player in that market,” Annie Tselikis, executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers' Association, said. “China presents incredible opportunity for the coastal Maine economy and regaining access to that market is essential for our long term growth.”

Dave Sullivan, representing the Maine Lobstering Union, said the agreement will help open markets back up to keep Maine companies competitive with Canada.

In 2018, President Trump imposed a 25% tariff on up to $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. In turn, China imposed a 25% tariff on a host of imported U.S. products, including lobsters.

The trade war came just as a 2017 agreement between Canada and the European Union, which cut tariffs on imports of Canadian lobsters, was giving Canada's lobster industry an edge over Maine's.

In June 2018, the Maine delegation hosted a meeting among officials with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, members of the Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association and lobstermen to discuss the impact of federal policies. Last February, the delegation wrote to Lighthizer, calling on him to make the lobster industry a priority in the ongoing trade negotiations with the Chinese government.

In May, Collins wrote to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s senior advisor for seafood strategy to underscore the importance of developing new and expanding existing markets for lobster. In June, the delegation wrote to President Trump, asking him to consider the lobster industry in his latest trade relief package. In July, the delegation wrote to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, urging it to include significant funding for Maine’s lobster industry as the department finalized an aid package for agricultural producers affected by the tariffs.

The letter noted that the trade war was only one of the challenges facing Maine’s lobster industry and referenced a bait shortage and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s proposed large whale take reduction efforts.

Prior to the Trump administration’s tariffs imposed on a variety of Chinese goods, China had become the second largest importer of Maine lobster. During 2017 — the last full year before the tariffs went into effect — Chinese customers purchased $128.5 million of lobsters from Maine; in the first half of 2018, U.S. lobster exports to China increased by 169%.

Data from the Maine International Trade Center showed that lobster exports to China plummeted 84% since China imposed its retaliatory tariff.

The lobster industry has 4,500 state-licensed lobstermen and supports the livelihoods of 10,000 additional Mainers. As a whole, the lobster industry has an economic impact of about $1.5 billion per year in Maine.