Lobster fishing boats in front of Cap-des-Rosiers in Gaspé, province of Quebec, eastern Canada.
Photo: Adobe Stock.
Canada has changed course on its plans, announced earlier this week, to impose a 25% tariff on US seafood products from 8 September.
The Canadian government's Deparment of Finance announced the change on 27 August in a post on X, saying it had taken "swift action to protect Canadian interests against unjustified U.S. tariffs," but that the decision to remove seafood from the list of tariffed goods followed feedback from industry stakeholders.
"We are continually working with Canadian industries to assess the effectiveness of these measures, with a primary focus on industries that have been targeted by U.S. tariffs," the statement read.
"Based on feedback, we have made select adjustments to protect against broader economic harms, including removing seafood and fish products from our list of counter tariffs, while maintaining dollar for dollar and rate for rate response to U.S. products," it concluded.
Canada's Minister of Fisheries Joanne Thompson also commented on the decision via X, stating: "Canada has made targeted adjustments to protect our economy by removing seafood and fish sector products from our counter-tariff list. The fish and seafood sector drives Canada’s coastal economy. We will be there to protect Canadian harvesters, and all who rely on the fishery."
Canadian news outlet CBC reported that the decision to drop the seafood tariffs was met with relief by Canadian seafood industry representatives, including lobster and crab processors who rely heavily on trade and shared supply chains with the US.
Earlier this week, the Canadian government had announced measures to tariff a variety of goods imported from the US from 8 September, including numerous seafood categories, including Atlantic salmon, trout, lobster, crab, shrimp, oysters, scallops and mussels.
Other sectors affected by the tariffs, which come in at 15%, 25% and 50% rates depending on the product, include steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics. A full product list detailing the tariffs was published by Canada’s Department of Finance.
Canada's announcement came in response to US decision to impose new tariffs on CAD 27.6bn (USD 17.1bn/EUR19.9bn) of Canadian goods from 22 August.
