07.25.18

Grijalva, House Democrats Urge Trump to Offer Same Tariff Relief to Fishing Communities He’s Now Offering to Farmers

Washington, D.C. – Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and three key House Democratic colleagues sent a letter to President Trump today urging him to extend financial relief to American fishermen and women reeling from his failed tariff battle with China. The letter points out that Trump’s tariffs on steel have impacted the price of boats, fishing hooks, and lobster and crab traps, and that China’s 25 percent retaliatory tariff on 170 American seafood products has had an already crippling effect on waterfront economies around the country.

The full letter is available at http://bit.ly/2mGzPAd.

The lawmakers – Grijalva and Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) – write to Trump that his trade war “is at odds with your stated priority to reduce our nation’s $14 billion seafood trade deficit.” The lawmakers urge Trump to end his destructive trade war and to focus on trade policies with strong environmental and labor protections that help American fishermen and women access new markets.

“As a country that imports more than ninety percent of the seafood products it consumes, it is unclear how your administration plans to reduce the seafood deficit while simultaneously disadvantaging American fishermen’s ability to sell their seafood to the largest market,” the lawmakers write. “We respectfully request that you give the same consideration to the hardworking fishermen and women of America who are being hurt by your policies and direct the U.S. Department of Commerce to provide emergency assistance to working families of the water.”

Support for fishermen and women is especially appropriate now, the lawmakers write, because China is the world’s top seafood consumer and number one importer of American seafood. Currently, the United States exports $1.3 billion worth of seafood products to China, and a tariff war can only damage America’s seafood economy.

Press Contact

Media Contact: Adam Sarvana (Grijalva)

(202) 225-6065 or (202) 578-6626 mobile

Victoria Bonney (Pingree)

(202) 774-5019 or Victoria.Bonney@mail.house.gov

Alexa Shaffer (Huffman)

(202) 225-5161 or Alexa.Shaffer@mail.house.gov

Matt Corridoni (Moulton)

(202) 225-8020 or Matt.Corridoni@mail.hous