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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Oregon fishermen are asking federal leaders to step in on trade challenges between the seafood industry and the U.K.
On Wednesday, the Shrimp Producers Marketing Cooperative and Oregon Department of Agriculture joined the Oregon Trawl Commission in urging Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to negotiate tariffs imposed by the foreign government.
The letter states that the U.K. enforces a 20% “Most Favored Nation” tariff on shrimp and prawn cooked and peeled within the U.S. But following a public process just last year, the U.K. approved ODA’s request to suspend tariffs on Pandalus jordani — or coldwater pink shrimp.
However, Oregon’s shrimp industry reported that the application was then denied earlier this year. The denial was “possibly due to the anticipated trade talks with the U.S.,” according to state stakeholders who say the U.K.’s tariffs against U.S. businesses significantly contrast those imposed on their own producers.
“As previously noted by the OTC, the disparities in tariffs between the U.S. and the U.K. for the same seafood products directly hurts American fishermen,” the letter to Ambassador Greer reads. “It is therefore necessary for the Administration to address the harm caused by this unfair trade practice by eliminating the current tariff imposed by the U.K. on U.S. coldwater pink shrimp. Doing so provides further opportunities for domestic, sustainably harvested seafood to compete on a level international playing field.”
If national trade leaders are unable to eliminate the MFN tariffs, ODA, OTC and SPMC have suggested that they enforce “Autonomous Tariff Quotas” on the coldwater pink shrimp exported to the U.K.
Oregon’s seafood industry has argued that ATQs would help producers access some of the overseas market without significant costs. They have also claimed the tariffs would help U.K. stakeholders by giving them more options on where to source their shrimp, and by ensuring that supply meets demand.
This wouldn’t be the first time that state leaders asked federal officials to boost the seafood industry. Earlier in May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture purchased $16 million worth of Pacific pink shrimp after seven Oregon lawmakers requested the help amid “tariff uncertainty.”
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Jashayla Pettigrew
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