In July 2018, China imposed a 25% tariff on imports of Maine lobster as retaliation to tariffs then-President Trump imposed on China. The effect on the Maine lobster industry was immediate. According to seafoodsource.com, Maine had been on track to have a record-setting year, with $87 million worth of lobster exported through June 2018. That was double the dollar amount shipped the same period in 2017.

According to Sen. Susan Collins’ website, before the tariff, China was the second-largest importer of U.S. lobster. During the first month of the new tariffs, lobster exports to China declined 64%. Her site explains that a subsequent trade deal, negotiated in January 2020, aimed at correcting the harm done to the Maine lobster industry, has failed to rectify the situation.

Trump has said that, if elected president, he will immediately impose a 60% tariff on imports of Chinese goods. As in the past, retaliatory tariffs against American exports will follow. China knows that going against Trump’s voting base, those who grow, harvest and fish products exported overseas, does Trump the most harm, so their sights are aimed on Maine.

The American economy is now at maximum employment, so the cost of producing goods to replace cheaper Chinese imports will reignite inflation. Overall, the U.S.-China Business Council estimates that the tariffs imposed by Trump in his first term have cost the U.S. economy 250,000 jobs. Maine cannot afford four more years of anti-competitive trade barriers.

Mark Scheffer
Yarmouth

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