Lobster, Tariffs, the US in a Nut Shell

On March 1st, the Administration imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports by 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively, under Section 232 for national security reasons. In April, the U.S. also threatened a 25 percent tariff on Chinese products under Section 301 for China’s alleged unfair trade practices. In the months following, China and the U.S. continued to unveil escalating proposals for tariffs to be imposed on billions of dollars of goods in retaliation, in a “tit for tat” manner. On July 6, China retaliated to U.S.-imposed tariffs by levying a 25 percent tariff on $34 billion American goods—including live and frozen lobsters. As a result, all U.S. lobsters exported to China are taxed 40 percent for live lobster and 35 percent for frozen lobster.

At the same time, the EU and Canada have agreed to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which took effect last fall. CETA intends to reduce—and in the case of live lobster, eliminate altogether—tariffs on Canadian lobster coming into the EU. The U.S. has no comparable trade agreement with the EU, putting us at a serious disadvantage.

Source: Office of Senator Angus King, Independent, Maine.