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Lobstermen in Maine are relieved they've been exempted from President Trump's trade war with Canada. They say their industry is so tightly integrated across the border that pitting the countries against each other doesn't make sense. Maine Public's Michael Livingston has this report.
(SOUNDBITE OF BOAT MOTOR REVVING)
MICHAEL LIVINGSTON, BYLINE: In a small skiff off the coast of Kennebunk, Maine, Chris Welch and his 8-year-old son, Calvin, are pulling a lobster trap on board. As the cage breaks the surface of the water, they're greeted with a mess of legs, antennas and snapping claws.
CHRIS WELCH: What do you think, bud?
(SOUNDBITE OF LOBSTER CAGE BANGING ON BOAT)
WELCH: Woo.
CALVIN WELCH: I told you five or six.
WELCH: (Laughter).
LIVINGSTON: Chris started hauling lobsters when he was just 6 years old. Now he's teaching his son everything he knows, from how to notch tails to the ins and outs of running a business. But the economics of lobster fishing, Chris says, have been more uncertain in the past year than they've ever been in his 25 years on the water, due to the ongoing trade war with Canada.
WELCH: It's a lot of worry when you lay your head down on the pillow at night.
LIVINGSTON: In July, President Trump announced 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian products. This week, Canada responded with retaliatory tariffs on over $27 billion worth of American goods, including both fresh and frozen seafood. But it only took two days for Canada's government to strike seafood from the list after hearing from leaders in the industry. So far, it's the only class of goods Canada walked back on tariffing. Patrice McCarron heads the Maine Lobstermen's Association, an advocacy group for the state's heritage industry.
PATRICE MCCARRON: A message that did get through to the Canadian government is that this sector is very fragile, and it is unique in the cross-border trade.
(SOUNDBITE OF MACHINERY RUNNING)
LIVINGSTON: At Bold Coast Seafood in Prospect Harbor, owner Curt Brown oversees thousands of pounds of lobster being loaded into a tank of cold seawater.
CURT BROWN: Very limited as far as processing capacity goes here in Maine. Historically, Canada has been where lobsters go to get processed.
LIVINGSTON: Brown, who's working to establish a processing facility of his own, says he understands American tariffs on Canadian seafood are meant to force industry back to the U.S., but he says it would take the U.S. decades to replace Canada's.
BROWN: We can't flick that switch overnight, and ultimately, even if we could flick that switch on tomorrow, we would need 10 to 15 more of these facilities that we're sitting in right now to handle the volume that is normally processed up in Canada on an annual basis.
LIVINGSTON: This time of year, Maine typically exports more than half of its annual lobster landings to Canadian processors. Last year, that amounted to nearly a quarter billion dollars' worth of live lobster. If it was taxed at the 25% tariff Canada was threatening, processors there would likely stop buying. Brown hopes that never happens.
BROWN: Prices will crater, and unfortunately, like, it will be dire straits for a lot of folks at all levels of the supply chain.
LIVINGSTON: Back on his boat, Maine lobsterman Chris Welch says he's already been operating on razor-thin margins all summer due to inflation on fuel, bait and fishing gear. He says he can't afford prices to go much higher.
WELCH: You'll see a lot of guys tie the boats up. They won't be able to afford to go, and that might even push people out of the industry. We don't want to be the sidebar in a trade dispute that we have no control over.
LIVINGSTON: But even though Canada dropped its levy on U.S. seafood before it took effect, people in the industry here say the market uncertainty from on-again, off-again tariffs is still being felt on the docks by working families.
For NPR News, I'm Michael Livingston in Maine.
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