Trade war woes: Maine lobster exports to China down 84%

Maine's lobster exports to China have plummeted following punitive tariffs placed on a variety of U.S. goods, Maine International Trade Center data reveals.

Details: Before the tariffs were enforced in July 2018, Maine was forecast to have a record year, with $87 million of lobster expected to export through mid-2018 — nearly double the year prior. Maine's ability to compete with Canadian lobster exporters has since dwindled, though the industry continues to aggressively pursue other markets to recoup some of the financial burden from the U.S.-China trade war. "It's gone from very regular large-scale relationships, to very opportunistic," Sheila Adams, the vice president of sales and marketing for Maine Coast Lobster, told SeafoodSource.

Go deeper: China will raise tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods