President Donald Trump issued a memorandum Wednesday night directing the Agriculture Department to within 60 days consider how it can provide financial aid or other trade assistance to the lobster industry and the broader seafood industry. Alaska and Louisiana are top seafood producers. He did not offer details but alluded to a multibillion-dollar trade aid package Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue paid out in 2018 and 2019 to farmers and ranchers hit by retaliatory duties by China, the European Union and other trading partners.
Starting Aug. 15, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative is directed to provide monthly reports on whether China is meeting general purchase obligations under the phase one U.S.-China trade deal for several categories of U.S. products and services and how much lobster from Maine and other states it is buying.
If China does not seem to be buying enough U.S. seafood, the memorandum says Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer “shall consider, to the extent permitted by law, taking all appropriate action to impose reciprocal retaliatory tariffs on seafood exports from China.”
U.S. tariffs on imported Chinese goods triggered retaliation from Beijing directed largely at U.S. agricultural and food products. On July 6, 2018, China imposed an additional 25 percent duty on U.S. lobster and increased the duty to 35 percent on Sept. 1, 2019. When the phase one trade deal took effect Feb. 14, China lowered the retaliatory rate to 30 percent.
The White House memorandum noted that U.S. lobsters face total tariffs of 35 percent to 37 percent when duties that existed before retaliation are included.
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June 26, 2020 at 11:32PM
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Trump butters up lobster industry with hint of trade aid - Roll Call
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