Maine delegation urges USDA to provide relief funds to lobster industry
Maine’s Congressional delegation is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to follow up on President Donald Trump’s June 24 memorandum to provide relief funds to the lobster industry.
The memo set a 60-day window for providing assistance. That window is drawing to a close next week.
The memo ordered assistance for lobster fishermen harmed by tariffs imposed by China in 2018 and 2019.
The type and scope of assistance wasn’t specified.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has yet to issue rule changes based on the non-binding directive.
“We urge you to keep the President’s promise and immediately assist the thousands of Mainers whose livelihoods depend on this critical industry,” the letter says. “As you know, Maine’s lobster industry has been and continues to be significantly impacted by China’s retaliatory tariffs.”
The letter continued, “A few years ago, U.S. lobster exports to China were growing rapidly, reaching $128.5 million in 2017. However, this trend abruptly reversed after China imposed these tariffs in July 2018. The following year, lobster exports to China fell by nearly 50 percent. Despite making commitments to increase purchases, China bought only $25.9 million of U.S. lobster during the first half of 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.”
Unlike other types of food producers who were affected by retaliatory tariffs and received prompt federal relief, Maine’s lobstermen were not eligible for the $28 billion in trade mitigation aid that USDA authorized in 2018 and 2019.
“With no end to these tariffs in sight and the new burden of the COVID-19 pandemic also weighing heavily on the industry, it is imperative that Maine’s lobster producers receive immediate support from the Department,” the letter says.
The lobster industry has an economic impact of $1.5 billion a year in Maine and is a key economic engine for coastal communities. Last year, the catch was valued at $485 million.
Prior to the tariffs, China had become the second largest importer of Maine lobster.
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