A Stonington Lobster Coop worker examines a lobster on a dock in Stonington, Maine, the United States, February 4, 2020. Lobster traders from the northeastern town of Stonington, Maine, were excited to learn that the phase China-US- An economic and trade agreement entered into force on 14 February. Under the agreement, China promises to buy more agricultural products from the United States, and lobster is highlighted in the industry. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
NEW YORK, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) — Hugh Reynolds, a lobsterman from Stonington, Maine, in the northeastern US, was excited to learn that the China-US economic and trade agreement came into effect on Feb. 14.
“I hope to resume trading with China soon,” Reynolds said.
Under the agreement, China promises to buy more agricultural products from the United States, and lobster is highlighted in the industry.
In business for more than 20 years, Reynolds' company, Greenhead Lobster, is one of the largest lobster wholesalers in Stonington, a town known for its rich and storied lobster tradition.
“Our Stonington, Maine lobsters are fresh caught by local fishermen, delivered daily to the Greenhead docks, immediately prepared, packed and shipped,” the company said on its website.
His Chinese partners in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and many other cities loved his products. More than 200 boats used to lobster for Greenhead Lobster each day, with an annual harvest of 10 million pounds of live lobsters, of which more than 30 percent was shipped to China.
Reynolds recalled that in July 2018, China imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on imported US lobsters in response to the US threat of an additional 25 percent tariff on approximately US$50 billion worth of Chinese imports.
“Then all our exports to China stopped,” he told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.
Many wholesalers like Greenhead Lobster faced the same predicament.
China imported about $128 million worth of live lobsters from the United States in 2017, according to WISERTtrade, a database that tracks international trade.
Annie Tselikis, executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers' Association, said China accounted for 15 percent to 20 percent of U.S. lobster export value at the time.
The figures fell sharply after the additional tariffs came into effect.
The data showed that US lobster exports to China in the first half of 2019 fell by 80% compared to the same period in 2018.
There were about 4,500 licensed lobstermen in the state of Maine and about 10,000 to 12,000 people directly employed in the industry as of June 2018. But then some lobstermen in Maine had to lay off workers to make ends meet.
Meanwhile, business is booming in Canada, where cargo planes fly from Halifax to China. Canadian fishermen catch the same species of lobster as American lobstermen, who are mostly based in Maine.
Shortly after China and the United States signed the first phase agreement involving the supply of lobster, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins called it a major victory for Maine lobstermen in a press release.
Collins has been lobbying for Maine's lobster industry since the additional tariffs were imposed.
In the press release, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was quoted as saying that “this trade agreement will provide lobstermen and women with a more level playing field and stabilize access to China's fast-growing market for imported seafood products.”
Tselikis said in the statement that “China presents an incredible opportunity for Maine's coastal economy, and regaining access to this market is essential to our long-term growth.”
While Maine's lobster industry is eager to re-enter the Chinese market, industry insiders know it will be very difficult to quickly regain lost market share.
Reynolds said that over the past year and a half, the U.S. lobster industry has not only lost export volume to China, but also import volume from Canada — something he had never seen in his entire career.
Now that Canada has taken most of the US share and the entire supply chain has moved, it won't be easy to get it back, Reynolds said, adding that he does not support tariff increases as such measures only hurt business.
Ronnie Trundy, director of the Stonington Lobster Co-op, said, “I think it will take a year for the American companies … to get their fair share of the market back.”
