King renews push for easing tariff impact on lobster industry
Noting that the ongoing pandemic and China's retaliatory tariffs have left the lobster industry in a "fragile economic state," U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, reminded the federal government of a commitment to provide support for lobstermen affected by the tariffs as promised in a presidential memorandum.
The memorandum, signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on June 24, calls on the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide the lobster industry with the same form of financial assistance that has already been extended to farmers as a result of the ongoing trade war.
In a two-page letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, King noted that the memorandum directs the USDA to act by Aug. 24 and requests an update on what the department plans to do to support fishermen and producers that "continue to be harmed" by China's retaliatory tariffs.
"As you know, the United States lobster industry continues to be hammered by China's retaliatory tariffs," King wrote. "Like farmers, who have endured similar effects from trade policy, these hard working Americans need help from the federal government to overcome this unforeseen hit to their bottom lines."
King said that he was getting in touch on behalf of Maine's 4,500 state-licensed lobstermen and thousands others who work to buy and sell lobsters, and urged Perdue to make a "robust effort" to connect with representatives of all segments of the lobster industry in Maine as well as state and regional regulators.
He also noted that Maine lobstermen are small business owners who support working waterfronts and the livelihoods of 10,000 other people in Maine, and that they deserve the same level of support the USDA offered to farmers affected by the retaliatory tariffs in 2018 and 2018.
King said that while some individuals in Maine had been contacted by the USDA to help guide the agency's efforts, neither he nor his staff has received an update on the USDA's plans to provide direct relief to the lobster industry.
Repeated calls
King, along with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District and Jared Golden, D-2nd District, have made repeated calls for federal action on behalf of the lobster industry related to the ongoing trade dispute and efforts to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Last November, Collins, King and Pingree urged the U.S. Trade Representative to prioritize lobster in negotiations, noting that live lobster exports to China decreased by 64% in the first month after the retaliatory tariffs were imposed. The Maine delegation has also called on the administration to offer funding to help the lobster industry access new markets.
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