Tag Archives: Trans-Pacific Partnership
Trump’s nixing of trade pact disappoints Alaska seafood exporters
Alaska seafood exporters are disappointed by President Donald Trump’s decision to officially withdraw from a sweeping trade agreement among Pacific nations that would have eradicated import duties imposed by Japan and other countries on pollock and salmon, the two fish species that bring in the most revenue and create the most jobs in the industry. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have been former President Barack Obama’s signature legacy on trade, would have helped the pollock industry by cutting import taxes of 4.2 percent to zero in Japan, the largest consumer of pollock surimi and roe. Japan imports $248 million of Alaska pollock annually. The tariff costs importers $10 million annually in Japan alone for imitation crab, or surimi, and pollock roe, meaning similar products from nations that don’t face tariffs are more price-competitive. Existing tariffs on red salmon imported to Chile, Japan, Mexico and Vietnam also would have been removed, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Read the story here 14:21
Threatened Catch
It’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving. And in case you’re tired of turkey, we have a helping of shrimp and a few questions. You may not think much about how the seafood gets to your plate.But the question of who’s catching it and where is at the center of a global controversy. To understand why, we head south to the Louisiana bayou. It’s where an industry that survived Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill is finding itself threatened with extinction by foreign competition. These fishermen could be Shrimpers Lost… and theirs could be a lesson for us all. Today we’re going shrimping in Venice, Louisiana. Acy Cooper is our guide. Sharyl Attkisson: How important is the shrimping business to your personally? Acy Cooper: It’s everything to me. You know, my family does it. My dad’s 80 years old, he still fishes. And my two boys has entered the business, and my daughter she married a fisherman. Louisiana’s shrimp industry has been a family affair for more than a century. Video, read the rest here 16:04
How the Trans-Pacific Partnership would benefit Washington’s seafood industry
Existing tariffs — some as high as 20 percent in some TPP countries — are a big hurdle when we export, making it difficult to offer competitive prices. The TPP would eliminate tariffs on seafood exported by U.S. companies like ours.The TPP would eliminate tariffs on seafood exported by U.S. companies like ours. Just as important, the TPP seeks to raise environmental and labor standards. This is critical for the success of the industry because some foreign competitors operate under weaker fishery-management practices and have poor labor standards with underpaid, underprotected workers. The TPP addresses these issues with fully enforceable, high labor and environmental standards that combat illegal fishing and forced labor. Read the rest here 10:12
Tootoo urged to promote TPP and billions in seafood exports, briefings show
Federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Hunter Tootoo is being urged by his department in a new briefing documents to help it rebuild its scientific capacity after it was gutted by the former Harper government. The federal department, responsible for protecting Canada’s fisheries and oceans and promoting sustainable development, told Tootoo in the internal briefings that several of its divisions suffered more than $150 million in cuts to annual budgets under the former government, including a struggling Canadian Coast Guard service. At the same time, the briefing notes touted recent trade agreements, including the controversial , saying they were offering growth opportunities for Canadian fisheries exports. Read the article here 15:26
Pacific trading partners release Trans-Pacific Partnership pact details
The long-awaited text of a landmark U.S.-backed Pacific trade deal was released on Thursday, revealing the details of a pact aimed at freeing up commerce in 40 percent of the world’s economy but criticized for its opacity.,, Republican White House contender Donald Trump has labeled it a “disaster.” The TPP would be a boon for factory and export economies like Malaysia and Vietnam. Anticipated tariff perks are already luring record foreign investment into Vietnamese manufacturing and both countries are expected to see increased demand for their key exports, from palm oil and rubber to electronics, seafood and textiles. Read the rest here 07:37
Trans-Pacific Partnership good news for Nunavut’s fishing industry
Stakeholders in the Nunavut fishing industry say the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a win for the territory, as it will open the industry to more markets. “Overall it is good news,” says Bill Mackay, the Nunavut government’s acting assistant deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs. The massive trade deal between 11 countries was signed this week, making headlines as a possible threat to Canada’s manufacturing and dairy sectors. In Nunavut, the fishing industry is heralding the agreement as a good news story. Read the rest here 19:21
Shrimp imports are one reason Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal shouldn’t be approved
The U.S. shrimp industry is voicing concerns about the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, saying if it were to be passed, it could weaken the ability of regulators to reject unsafe seafood imports. The North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, opened tariff-free trade between Mexico, Canada and the United States, there were and still are many aspects of the agreement that are still being argued. NAFTA was signed into law in 1994 by President Bill Clinton. Now, we have the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, a trade deal between the U.S. and eleven Pacific-rim nations that has been negotiated under a cloak of secrecy. Read the rest here 15:56
Trans-Pacific Partnership – Obama’s ugly show of presidential petulance
When the going got tough, Barack got in a huff, and then he got gruff. President Obama has worked himself into such a tizzy over the TPP that he’s lashing out at his progressive friends in Congress. He’s mad because they refuse to be stereotypical lemmings, following him over this political cliff called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It masquerades as a “free trade agreement,” but such savvy and feisty progressive senators as Sherrod Brown, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have ripped off the mask, revealing that TPP is not free, not about trade and not anything that the American people would ever agree to. Read the rest here 09:24
