#European Union agrees to eliminate tariffs on US lobsters

Enlarge Image

Corey Morris measures a lobster while lobstering off the shore near Tenants Harbor, Maine.
Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

The European Union informed the White House that it will eliminate tariffs on US lobsters, Maine Sen. Susan Collins said Friday.

Collins, a Republican in a tight re-election race, said lobstermen previously faced an 8- to 30-percent tariff when exporting live and frozen lobsters to the EU.

Canada was able to undercut US lobstermen because the EU previously eliminated tariffs on lobsters from Canada.

“Placing U.S. lobster on a level playing field with Canadian lobster is a significant victory that will reopen this lucrative market to Maine lobstermen and women,” Collins said in a release.

The news gives Collins an accomplishment to present to voters as she tries to fend off Democratic candidate Sara Gideon. It may also help President Trump in Maine, where he won just a single congressional district and one electoral vote in 2016.

Annie Tselikis, executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association, told The Hill that lobstermen lost business recently due to Chinese tariffs and that Europe is a “formerly lucrative and critical export destination.”

Trump visited Maine last month to rollback restrictions on offshore fishing.

“I went to Maine a number of times, where we just freed up lobster fishing and fishing,” Trump boasted in a recent speech. “They took away 5,000 square miles from Maine. I just opened it up.”

In a tweet, the president wrote, “Enjoy your ‘lobstering’ and fishing! Make lots of money!”

It’s unclear what the US may have traded in exchange for the tariff elimination, which Collins said is expected to last five years.