Chinese tariffs on Canadian seafood would serve 'devastating' double whammy, fisheries council says

Alex Kennedy · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 12, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The Fisheries Council of Canada says tariffs connected Canadian seafood entering China spells catastrophe for the industry — including successful Newfoundland and Labrador — and serves arsenic a treble whammy with U.S. tariffs already successful play.

China announced it would impose a 25 per cent tariff connected Canadian seafood effectual March 20 arsenic a retaliatory measurement to Canadian tariffs connected steel, aluminum and electrical vehicles successful the fall. The database of implicit 40 products facing the tariff includes lobster, crab, shrimp, halibut and more.

"Some of the fisheries, immoderate of the taxon that spell to China, are astir exclusively going to China," assembly seat Alberto Wareham told CBC News from Arnold's Cove, N.L. on Tuesday. "The Chinese tariffs coming connected apical of the imaginable U.S. tariffs is devastating for galore of our members."

U.S. President Donald Trump has besides said tariffs connected each goods from Canada will beryllium brought into effect connected April 2.

Wareham said 16 per cent of Canadian seafood gets exported to China, and 67 per cent gets exported to the U.S. That means 83 per cent of each seafood exported from Canada would beryllium tariffed by April 2.

"A batch of companies person a large occupation here," Wareham said. "We request authorities of Canada support, we request the provincial authorities supports crossed Canada to find a mode to support these businesses going."

Wareham says there are other Newfoundland and Labrador fisheries that volition consciousness the interaction of Chinese tariffs, including oversea cucumber and acold h2o shrimp.

"To suffer that marketplace is devastation, and you can't pivot distant that fast," helium said. "We person members that are facing catastrophic [impacts] successful their concern connected abbreviated notice."

Danny Dumaresque, president of Labrador Gem Seafoods, told CBC News helium doesn't merchantability his merchandise to China but knows the market's value to others successful the state and across Canada.

"The slack from the United States marketplace was being picked up by China, and present of people that appears to beryllium slammed shut," Dumaresque said successful a caller interview.

WATCH | The CBC's Carolyn Stokes reports connected the risks posed by Chinese tariffs:

Dumaresque says he's reasoning astir concern successful different parts of Asia, specifically successful Hong Kong.

"One of the large concerns I got present is whether this Chinese tariff is really going to use to Hong Kong. Because, you know, it's inactive not wide if they are operating arsenic a abstracted economical entity, oregon if the decree really applies to them," helium said.

"I person been successful communication, for example, with a mates of companies implicit there. And present I don't cognize if there's immoderate point."

Download our free CBC News app to motion up for propulsion alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to sojourn our landing page.