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Nominally, this was a hearing to consider the budget for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. It was convened by Senator Jerry Moran, Republican from Kansas, who chairs the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. The U. S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, was the sole witness. In his opening remarks, Senator Moran moved quickly from the $63 million the Administration has requested for USTR for fiscal 2019 to the concerns his constituents have with the renegotiation of NAFTA and the consequences of the tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China.
Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, is the Dean of the Maine Congressional Delegation. When it was her turn to question Ambassador Lighthizer, she mentioned several Maine industries caught in the cross-hairs of various trade initiatives. She began with the plight of Maine's lobster-men and others in that industry, and for this entry, we'll stick to that issue.
SENATOR COLLINS:
China is, admittedly, a very bad actor when it comes to trade. But we have to be sure that the actions we take don't end up hurting our own domestic producers. China, since that meeting, has slapped a retaliatory tariff on Maine's lobsters. That is our state's largest export. It generates about $1.5 billion in economic activity in my state. And exports of Maine lobsters to China had nearly tripled during the past three years. Compounding the problem facing the industry is the new trade agreement between Canada and the European Union known as CETA. It has eliminated and phased out tariffs on frozen, live and processed Canadian lobsters that go into the European Union.
And so the result is that American lobster exports are at a serious disadvantage, because they are now facing tariffs of between 8 and 30 percent to sell into the European Union, which used to be a very profitable market, accounting for approximately 15 to 20 percent of the annual American lobster exports.
So, when you combine what's happening with Canada with the retaliation by the Chinese, my lobster industry is saying to me, how are we going to survive while the Administration works out its long-term plan? And that's my question to you.
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