Browse our collection of links to recent news stories about MITC, our members, and international trade topics of interest.
Politicians seek tariff relief for fishing industry
On the heels of US President Donald Trump’s $12 billion aid package to help American farmers who may suffer losses in the tariff dispute with China, several members in the US House of Representatives are backing a plan to help fishermen and the fishing industry. Read moreLePage to lead trade mission to U.K. and Ireland
Maine’s North Atlantic Development Office is putting together a trade mission headed by Gov. Paul LePage for companies interested in increasing business with the United Kingdom and Ireland. Read moreSteel tariffs make lobster traps more expensive
“The tariffs have wider-ranging impacts than just selling lobsters on the market,” Wade Merritt, president of Maine International Trade Center, said. “This is also about the livelihood of some of our communities where the lobster industry underpins the town.” Read moreSome lobster exporters are feeling pinch of Chinese tariff
The effects of losing a key market ripple through the industry – and could worsen – but Maine’s other lobstering sectors are riding high. Read moreMaine Lobster Industry Has Yet to Feel Full Impact of China Tariffs
Bob Baines does not believe new foreign tariffs will have an immediate impact on the Maine lobster industry. “The state is catching mostly new-shell lobsters that don’t ship well to China or the EU yet,” he said, plucking a few twisting lobsters from his haul to display the small number mature enough for an overseas voyage. That won’t last, Baines said, and harder shells will come with more difficult trade barriers. Read moreSteel tariffs could impact lobster traps, industry
Costs from retaliatory tariffs on steel and aluminum, could trickle down to Maine’s lobstermen. However, a Massachusetts mesh wire company says they have not increased prices to ‘support’ the lobster industry. Read moreTariffs Hit Maine’s Lobster Industry
Dealers ship millions of dollars’ worth of live Maine lobster to China but much of that business may be headed to Canadian lobstermen after hefty new tariffs. Read moreChinese tariffs will affect Maine lobster business
On Friday, China’s new 25 percent tariff on lobster and lobster products went into effect. Read moreNew Tariffs From China Could Hit Maine’s Lobster Industry Hard
Maine businesses are largely unscathed by the new tariffs China is imposing on U.S. products. But there’s one big exception – lobster. Read moreU.S. Chamber comes out against new tariffs, details impact on Maine
A new analysis by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce shows that roughly $130 million of Maine exports are threatened by new tariffs already imposed or threatened by China, the European Union, Mexico and Canada on American-made products in retaliation for new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Read more
