If the Chinese economy is feeling the crunch of the Trump administration's trade tariffs, in the US, food manufacturers have been crying for help. From farmers, the latest to feel the effects of the trade tariff war are lobstermen.
The US is a big exporter of lobster, and Maine is the best place in the country to get that. In 2017, the US shipped $142 million worth of the crustacean delight to China; in contrast, they shipped about $108 million the year before that. However, the lobster industry is also one of those who is expected to suffer after China imposed its own tariffs on US goods coming into the country.
CBS News reports that this retaliation, among other things, is the reason why Maine's lobstermen are asking for help. It's not just the trade tariffs. Recently, the changing climate, waterfront access is restricted, and new environmental regulations have been putting the lobstermen in trouble of losing their only source of livelihood.
Trump has pledged at least $12 billion for farmers, who are also in danger of losing their livelihood. Corn and soybean producers, among others, are expected to be hit the hardest by the trade dispute between the US and China. However, this is only a stop-gap measure; the true aim of this is to give as much time for the Trump administration to navigate finding a way to ease the effect of the tariffs on the farmers.
CBC also says Trump is also appealing for patience while the government is trying to find solutions to the tariffs and how to protect those hit by the fallout. His latest tweet, declaring "Tariffs are the greatest!" and then saying that the US is the "piggy bank that's being robbed," doesn't look like it will help appeal to the public; he did, however, explain that these tariffs were meant to help American workers.
For now, however, the lobstermen will have to settle on finding buyers that will purchase their product. The effect of the tariffs is that they have stopped exporting lobsters to mainland China. Even Canada, which is also an exporter of lobster, has stopped sending exports to the country.
Take it from one lobsterman: the longer the trade dispute goes, the harder it will be for them to establish their former relationship with their buyers from China.
