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	Podcast:		Maine Things Considered
	Episode:		New Tariffs From China Could Hit Maine's Lobster Industry Hard
	Category:		Government & Organizations
	Duration:		00:01:08
	Publish Date:		2018-07-06 15:37:33
	Description:		Maine businesses are largely unscathed by the new tariffs China is imposing on U.S. products. But there's one big exception – lobster. Wade Merritt, the president of the Maine International Trade Center, says early salvos in the developing trade war between the U.S. and China didn't seem too bad. But the tariffs China just announced came on like a summer thunderstorm, and they will hit about one-quarter of all of Maine's exports abroad. "Unfortunately that 25 percent is 99 percent lobster,” says Merritt. “I think we had some hopes this might change. The industry has been working hard with the congressional delegation and others to see if we might find ways to mitigate this or head this off, but unfortunately we're where we are today." Last year, China bought $57 million worth of frozen and live lobster. The latest tariffs, added to existing ones, bring the total tariff on frozen lobster harvested in the U.S. to 35 percent, and to 40 percent on live lobster. Canada, by contrast,
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