Canada’s East Coast seafood industry is relieved as the federal government has excluded U.S. fish and seafood products from its list of retaliatory tariffs. The adjustment was announced late Wednesday following public feedback. This change came after the government imposed counter-tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of U.S. goods in response to the U.S. imposing new 50 per cent tariffs on a similar range of goods over failed trade talks.
Previously, many seafood products were on the tariff list, taxed at a 25 per cent rate. Industry leaders were concerned about the potential devastating impact these countermeasures could have had on the seafood business, which had not been involved in the trade war until the recent announcement.
Gilles Thériault, former president of the New Brunswick Crab Processors Association, expressed relief that the tariff on seafood was removed. The industry’s integration across borders is crucial, as highlighted by Nat Richard, executive director at Lobster Processors Association, representing 25 processors from the Maritimes.
The industry heavily relies on cross-border operations, with American-caught lobster processed in Canada during the off-season before being exported back to the U.S. for sale. The threat of 25 per cent tariffs would have made processing in Canada economically unviable, potentially leading to early closures of numerous plants and significant job losses.
Kris Vascotto from the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance highlighted the broad impact of tariffs on nearly all seafood items imported by Canada, while Joanne Losier from New Brunswick Crab Processors expressed concerns over potential retaliatory tariffs from the U.S. on the Canadian seafood industry.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, along with industry representatives, successfully raised concerns with the federal government, resulting in the removal of seafood tariffs. Despite this, the government maintains a dollar-for-dollar response to U.S. products. Additional items like copper wire and charcoal have been added to the tariff list to ensure this parity.
In a statement, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne emphasized that the decision to remove seafood tariffs was made in the interest of Canada, following feedback from Canadians. The government remains committed to maintaining a strong response to U.S. tariffs.
