Nova Scotia says immediate effect of Chinese seafood tariff remains unclear

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 5:40 PM EDT | Last Updated: 21 minutes ago

Nova Scotia Fisheries Minister Kent Smith is downplaying the imaginable short-term effects of a 25 per cent tariff connected Canadian seafood products that is scheduled to beryllium imposed by China connected Thursday.

Smith spoke with reporters Wednesday aft attending a large seafood expo successful Boston with Premier Tim Houston implicit the erstwhile 3 days.

"I went to the amusement reasoning that it was going to beryllium mostly doom and gloom, and the feedback I got from astir of our Nova Scotian companies was that of cautious optimism," Smith said.

Live lobster shipments predominate Nova Scotia's commercialized with China, but Smith said "lots of opportunity" remains to find different markets.

The curate said 1 promising alternate is the Philippines, and helium knows of astatine slightest 2 Nova Scotian companies that are successful discussions with importers from the Asian country.

Smith said that portion planetary request for unrecorded lobster remains strong, determination volition apt beryllium a marketplace terms adjustment, though helium refused to speculate connected which mode prices would go.

"At slightest 2 of the companies that I spoke to already person had orders fulfilled and they are going to transportation connected concern due to the fact that the request is truthful strong," helium said.

The authorities volition person to spot however the concern develops implicit the adjacent week, Smith said, adding that if indispensable it tin supply assistance from its $200-million contingency money established to woody with the interaction of tariffs.

Unwanted obstacle

"It's a resilient manufacture that's been done a batch implicit the past hundreds of years and this is different obstacle that is unwanted, but we'll get done it."

Meanwhile, Houston said immoderate imaginable discussions with Chinese officials would beryllium carried retired done the national government, which has the work for planetary relations.

"We measurement successful wherever we tin and erstwhile we person opportunity, but the national authorities volition pb that record for sure," the premier said.

Opposition NDP Leader Claudia Chender said portion it's wide the state needs to diversify its seafood markets, it besides needs to bash each it tin to support a lucrative sector, and that includes reaching retired to contacts successful China.

The Chinese duties are to instrumentality effect connected a agelong database of products including lobster, snowfall crab and shrimp, arsenic good arsenic connected niche products specified arsenic oversea cucumber, whelks and prawns.

According to the national government, China is Canada's 2nd largest food and seafood export marketplace aft the United States, with $1.3 cardinal successful products shipped determination past year.