Tag Archives: Trade
End to lobster war with China could save Australia’s fishermen
In this part of the world, the small, spiny, clawless western rock lobsters — commonly known in Australia as crayfish — play a starring role on seafood platters. “It’s our busiest time of the year,” said James Paratore, a fisherman who will be among those selling the lobsters from the back of his boat on Monday with his father Joe in Fremantle, near Perth. While trade in the local delicacy picks up over the festive period, the fishing industry has struggled since losing its biggest customer by far: China. Four years ago, exports to the lucrative Chinese market were sealed off by a trade war. Now they are in a cautiously celebratory mood after Beijing confirmed on Friday its trade ban on Australian rock lobsters had officially been lifted. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:54
Fishermen celebrate Trump: ‘Government has crucified this industry’
He didn’t win New Bedford, where Vice President Kamala Harris held a margin of 2,688 votes. But the city’s fishermen have dug in with their support for the president-elect. Fishermen on the New Bedford waterfront met the news of a second Trump term with vengeful enthusiasm on Wednesday morning. There was hope that the president-elect would scale back regulation, stop offshore wind development and open new fishing grounds, breaking the slump of declining revenues and ushering in a period of relative prosperity for the industry. “The government has crucified this industry,” said Ryan Turner, 47, who on Wednesday morning was preparing to leave on a scallop trip. He said this election was the first in which he had ever cast his vote. Between Harris and Trump, he said, “I didn’t like either one. I voted because we needed someone in office who is going to get rid of these windmills.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:17
Fishing industry ‘sold down river’ by Brexit
When I read that those fish and chip shops supplied by our trawler fleet some years ago are now being supplied by Norwegian trawlers, I have to ask myself…how in heaven’s name did we allow this to happen? And when I read in the same article that good quality fish, caught by our own fisherman, were left rotting on the quayside, almost mirroring fish caught by British fishermen having to be thrown back although dead, but perfectly fit to enter our food chain, I considered both a criminal act, and if they weren’t they should have been. >click to read< 11:55
Letter: Brexit mess will last for decades
Last-minute negotiations were all about the fishing industry. Instead of helping them the fishermen have been badly let down, being paid £23million in compensation. We are unable to sell our shellfish to the EU which is the main market. Not to mention problems for farmers and dairy and processed meat exporters. We are now no longer allowed to fish for cod in Arctic waters after a failed deal with Norway, which was an automatic right while part of the EU. Your fish and chips will certainly go up in price now I’m afraid folks!,,, Then there’s Northern Ireland. >click to read< 16:41
Brexit: how it started, how it’s going
The European Parliament votes Tuesday on the EU’s divorce settlement with Britain, the 1,246-page Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The deal averted tariffs or quotas on almost all goods produced in the UK and EU. The new standards and attendant bureaucracy are having an impact on trade. UK exports of live mussels, cockles, oysters and other shellfish are no longer allowed to enter the EU. Most come from Scotland, and the industry says it is staring at collapse. Britain’s government, however, says the coronavirus pandemic has been the bigger factor affecting trade since the Brexit deal took effect. >click to read< 07:32
Cornish fisherman can’t swim on Brexit, Coronavirus. and 50 years at sea
Coronavirus for the shellfish export capital of the UK Newquay, hit pretty hard, Phil Trebilcock said, but thanks to a wave of ‘buy local’ sentiment, they were kept going. “It has not been too bad for us, because what this Covid has done is a lot of people, I’ll give the public their due, have been supporting locals. Brexit, for Phil, has not hit as hard as other fishermen, some of whom accused the government of turning its back on them with the withdrawal agreement. After starting out in 1964, aged just ten, he caught his first mackerel and crabs to sell at Newquay Harbour. photos, click to read<15:40
Brexit trade deal leaves Welsh fishermen ‘devastated’
New rules to replace the EU Common Fisheries Policy mean 76 French and Belgian trawlers can fish within six miles of the Welsh coast until 2026. It means many Welsh fishermen may struggle to survive, the Welsh Fishermen’s Association said. The UK government said it protected fishermen’s rights. But those working in Wales said they were already struggling with export red tape. Barry Thomas, who voted for Brexit, said Prime Minister Boris Johnson “bottled” the deal “at the last minute”, after promising to keep foreign trawlers outside the UK’s 12-mile limit. >click to read< 08:40
Betrayal – Brexit fishing deal ‘fell short’ of industry expectations, government admits
The deal signed by Boris Johnson with the EU on fishing after Brexit fell “short” of industry expectations,,, Speaking at a House of Lords committee on Wednesday George Eustice told peers that “it’s fair to say that we didn’t get everything that we wanted on fishing”. Boris Johnson previously hailed his fishing agreement as a success, but fishermen accused the prime minister of “sacrificing” them in trade talks and having “totally capitulated”. >click to read< 09:24
China’s lobster ban helped lift Australian Christmas seafood purchases by 30 per cent
It was a difficult 2020 for Australian fishermen with COVID-19 affecting both food service and export markets. “We needed a bumper Christmas period to help us claw our way back,” Veronica Papacosta, CEO of Seafood Industry Australia (SIA) said. It seems that SIA’s campaign calling on consumers to support the struggling sector, by switching one meal on the Christmas table to seafood, worked. “We’re hearing from retailers and producers right across the country that they’re up, on average, 30 per cent from last year’s December sales,” >click to read< 07:49
Deadline for Brexit Trade Talks Is Extended. Again.
Britain’s grinding negotiations with the European Union for a post-Brexit trade agreement won a reprieve on Sunday, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, agreed to extend the talks despite divisions between the two sides that had looked impossible to bridge. In a joint statement issued after a midday phone call, Mr. Johnson and Ms. von der Leyen said, “We think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile.” Mr. Johnson and Ms. von der Leyen did not set a new deadline for the negotiations, though as a practical matter, the two sides have only until Dec. 31,,, >click to read< 09:02
Brexit: Could a fight over British fish put a Brexit deal at risk? – Why the Brexit Talks Could Still Fail
For generations, boats have left this port to fish in the waters between France and England. Look across the water from Boulogne on a clear day and you can see Dover. It is just two and a half months until the end of the year, and the close of Britain’s transition period. If a Brexit trade deal has not been agreed by that point, Boulogne’s fishermen may face a truly profound change to their lives. Even if there is a deal, access to British coastal waters may be curtailed. If the UK leaves without an agreement, then the impact would probably be felt much more severely. >click to read< , Why the Brexit Talks Could Still Fail – >click to read<, Brexit: Fishing in Troubled Waters – >click to read< 10:30
Fishing: The Great Betrayal
The Common Fisheries Policy began as a land (or rather, sea) grab, evolved into a stitch-up and grew into an environmentally devastating and commercially disastrous scandal. The EU, UK government and avaricious commercial interests are all to blame – and we’re far from being out of the woods yet. >click to read< 18:57
EU humiliation: Brutal reality of Canada deal without UK exposed by Brexiteers
The EU’s celebrated trade deal with Canada has been laid bare after a pro-Brexit organization exposed Ottawa has faced a worsened situation since the UK historically voted to leave the bloc. Facts4EU claims Canada’s trade deficit since signing its joint pact in 2016 with Brussels has worsened by 27 percent, to around -€17.5billion (-£16bn), while the deal will be severely hampered when the UK is finally removed from the bloc. When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the trade deficit was at -€13billion (-£11.6bn), Facts4EU say. The organization say the deal with the EU will become “a whole lot less” as Canada sold 43 percent of its goods to the UK, and that when Brexit is concluded it will not enjoy such high levels of trade. >click to read< 12:35
Trade minister says she’ll keep eye on U.S. probe of Canadian lobster industry
The Canadian industry gained most of the Chinese market that the Americans lost after China slapped a 35 per cent tariff on U.S. lobster exports. Canada also saw its lobster exports grow in Europe after it signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, with the European Union, giving it a tariff advantage over its U.S. competitors. The Trump administration, however, has recently signed an agreement with China that removes the 35 per cent tariff. And a separate deal with Europe also removed tariffs on American lobsters that had provided the Canadian industry an advantage. Executive Director Geoff Irvine (Lobster Council of Canada) said Monday the lobster industries of Canada and the United States are now back on an even playing field. >click to read< 07:17
Stop treating fishing like a second class industry
It is true that fishing represents only a small part of our total economy, but the Government should not undervalue the thousands of jobs fishing creates not just on boats large and small, but in processing, logistics and food service. They are also at risk of ignoring the cultural and historical importance of fishing as part of our maritime heritage and our communities. The creation of this Trade and Agriculture Commission is to be welcomed and the NFU and its supporters congratulated for their successful campaign. >click to read< 10:53
Chinese tabloid blasts Canada over lobster dispute
Communist Party media in China rebuked and threatened Nova Scotia lobster shippers this week for expressing concerns over new roadblocks to getting products into China. The party tabloid Global Times says recent border measures are about food safety after a COVID-19 outbreak was linked to a Beijing food market, “rather than an excuse to target any specific country.” “It’s Canada’s choice to export to China, and Canada needs to abide by Chinese regulations, which may be adjusted when necessary in accordance with the COVID-19 situation,” Bai Ming, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Co-operation, >click to read< 09:28
‘Out of the blue,’ Trump directs trade offset aid to Maine lobster industry
President Donald Trump directed his administration on Wednesday to provide lobster fishermen with financial assistance to make up for lost income from Chinese tariffs in a move that one of Maine’s senators praised and said “came out of the blue.” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Trump signed a memorandum Wednesday calling on the agency to make available to the lobster industry subsidies like those given to soybean and other agricultural growers. Maine accounts for 80 percent of the U.S. lobster haul The state’s congressional delegation lobbied for such a move in a June 2019 letter. >click to read< 21:23
Can we really break the China habit?
China is a hard habit to break.Even after its early mishandling of the coronavirus disrupted the country’s ability to make and buy the world’s products, further exposing the faults of its authoritarian system and leading it to ratchet up its propaganda war, China’s economic power makes it the last best hope for avoiding a protracted global downturn.“When this all started, we were thinking, Where else can we go?” said Fedele Camarda, a third-generation lobster fisherman in western Australia, which sends most of its catch to China. “Then the rest of the world was also compromised by the coronavirus, and China is the one getting back on its feet.”“Although they’re just one market,” he added, “they’re one very big market.” >click to read< 10:56
Jimmy Buchan warns no-deal Brexit ‘will hurt’ Scottish fishing industry
The warnings come just days after the final round of scheduled talks between London and Brussels broke off, with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier accusing his opposite number, David Frost, of not showing “any true will” to reach a deal. Since the outset of negotiations the EU has demanded “status quo” access to UK waters, which would essentially mean a continuation of the common fisheries policy, something that has been categorically rejected by Boris Johnson. Jimmy Buchan, chief executive of the Scottish Seafood Association, told the Commons environment committee that, despite the differences, a deal must be done “no question”. >click to read< 16:57
How Effective Have China’s Agricultural and Seafood Tariffs Been?
There is a case that viruses (bird flu, swine fever, and now the coronavirus) have had almost as big an impact on Chinese-American agricultural trade as the trade war. (And more than most want to know on trade in crustaceans) The actual impact of the tariff though isn’t always quite as clear as many think, Take chicken feet (or chicken paws). Guess what really led to a fall in U.S. exports of chicken paws? Bird Flu. There may be a lesson there. Now consider one of the more prominent—at least judging by the press coverage—industries that has been hit by Chinese retaliatory tariffs in the recent trade war: lobster. But there are, in fact, markets other than China for U.S. lobsters, and suppliers other than the United States for China. Given the large two-way trade in lobsters between the United States and Canada,,, >click to read< 16:21
Coronavirus: The day our world changed
Coronavirus has changed everything. We just haven’t noticed it yet. But those changes will become more apparent by the day. Where COVID19 is taking us is uncertain. It appears contained in China. South Korea seems to be on top of its rate of spread. But Italy, the US and Europe may soon be overwhelmed by the contagion. But Flinders University change ecologist Professor Corey Bradshaw says that, ultimately, its impact will not be counted in human fatalities. Nor in the cost of treating the sick. It will be in our minds. It’s in our economic system. >click to read< 07:45
Coronavirus: Despite no shipments to China, Nova Scotia seafood business is thriving
“Our first thoughts are with the people in Asia and China and the rest of the world, Iran, Italy and other countries that are affected by the virus,” says Leo Muise, Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance. Shipments to Asia have slowed almost to a halt since mid-January when the virus began to spread. “Geo-political events that happen all over this world have a great effect on this industry. Three years ago when the U.S. government and the Chinese government got into that trade war, and China put retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., that’s when our sales to China started to boom because we have a financial advantage there,” >click to read< 10:53
Emmanuel admits Boris holds ‘fishing card’ but warns trade deal unlikely by end of this year
Emmanuel Macron has expressed doubt over a Brexit deal between the EU and UK by the end of 2020 because of debates over fishing.has expressed doubt over a Brexit deal between the EU and UK by the end of 2020 because of debates over fishing.has expressed doubt over a Brexit deal between the EU and UK by the end of 2020 because of debates over fishing.,, It is now down to Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to negotiate a new trading relationship with the European Union, having already ruled out extending the implementation period. >click to read< 09:03
US-China Trade Deal: US lobster dealers anxious to resume business with China
Hugh Reynolds, a lobster dealer from Stonington, Maine, was excited to learn that the China-US phase-one economic and trade deal came into effect on Feb 14. According to the deal, China promises to purchase more agricultural products from the United States, and lobster is highlighted in the sector.,, Annie Tselikis, executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association, said China accounted for 15 percent to 20 percent of the export value of US lobsters at the time. >click to read< 09:43
As both sides crank up the rhetoric, UK to outline post-Brexit trade vision. France warns both sides could ‘rip each other apart’
The UK is expected to contest the bloc’s demands that Britain stick closely to EU rules in exchange for access to European markets. It comes as France has warned that the two parties risk tearing themselves apart during the talks,, On Sunday the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian used strong language while predicting that tense negotiations lie ahead.,, The EU wants to keep access to British waters for European fishing boats, and leaders have suggested the issue will be linked to other matters such as financial services in the upcoming talks. >click to read< 08:46
The U.S.- China trade agreement will slow Canadian lobster sales to China
Even though a new U.S.-China trade agreement does not eliminate heavy Chinese tariffs, the deal will result in a loss of Canadian seafood sales to China,,, Canadian live lobster exports to China, mostly from Nova Scotia, soared after China slapped retaliatory tariffs of 35 per cent on U.S. lobsters. U.S. lobster exports tanked while Canadian sales jumped,,, The new trade deal does not lower those tariffs. But China has pledged to buy $32 billion worth of American agricultural products over the next two years, including lobster and other seafood products. >click to read< 17:38
U.S.-China trade war is a boon for Atlantic Canada’s lobster harvesters. But what’s the catch?
Exports of Canadian lobster rose to a record $266-million from $112-million in the 18 months between January, 2018, and June, 2019. Meanwhile, U.S. exports have plummeted, especially in Maine, where live lobster exports to China collapsed by 81 per cent between June, 2018, and the same month this year. It’s all pumping millions of dollars into Atlantic Canada, fuelling a boat-building boom, sending pickup-truck sales soaring and giving lobster crews six-figure salaries, a significant raise from the recent past. >click to read< 10:17
China says it has agreed with the US to cancel existing trade tariffs in phases
Gao Feng, a ministry spokesperson for China’s Commerce Ministry, said that both sides had agreed to simultaneously cancel some existing tariffs on one another’s goods, according to the country’s state broadcaster. The ministry spokesperson said that both sides were closer to a so-called “phase one” trade agreement following constructive negotiations over the past two weeks. >click to read< 07:09
Nova Scotia premier should cancel China visits
Nova Scotia’s Opposition leader says the premier should stop visiting China – which he has done regularly throughout his mandate to promote local seafood and other industries – because of violent clashes between the state and pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong and the continued detention of two Canadians whose freedom the federal government has been trying to secure. “He shouldn’t be visiting there, that’s for sure,” Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston,,, >click to read< 17:06
With an acquisition in Nova Scotia, lobster dealers expanding into Canada to shore up their business
Ready Seafood in Portland is joining a handful of U.S. lobster companies that have opened Canadian operations, locking down year-round access to hard shell lobsters that can be exported to both China and Europe without the tariffs that have crippled other U.S. dealers. Ready is following in the footsteps of other American lobster dealers, ranging from Boston Lobster Co.,,, Dealers from both sides of the border who attended the Canadian-Maine Lobstermen’s Town Meeting in Portland last week said that having a footprint on both sides of the border is necessary >click to read<09:30
