Not too long ago, the President of the United States was quoted as saying, “There are legitimate concerns and anxieties that the forces of globalization are leaving too many people behind and we have to take those concerns seriously and address them. But the answer isn’t to turn inward and embrace protectionism. We can’t just walk away from trade.”
Unfortunately, the year was 2016 and the President was Barack Obama. Oh, how the times have changed.
Jump ahead to present day and economic protectionism, under the current sitting U.S. President, is alive and well.
As part of an April 2025 Executive Order, signed by Donald Trump, it was stated that “The United States should be the world’s dominant seafood leader. But in addition to overregulation, unfair trade practices have put our seafood markets at a competitive disadvantage. Nearly 90 per cent of seafood on our shelves is now imported and the seafood trade deficit stands at over $20 billion. The erosion of American seafood competitiveness at the hands of unfair foreign trade practices must end.”
And it appears lawmakers south of the border are taking those words to heart in proposing and implementing protectionism regulations that will boost domestic seafood production, while alienating traditional industry import practices.
For now, the vast majority of Canadian seafood exports into the U.S. are protected from crushing tariffs by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
However, many American politicians are taking advantage of these xenophobic attitudes being projected by the Commander-in-Chief to advance domestic agendas in the seafood industry.
For example, Maine’s lobster industry stands to make gains after recently announced funding from the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who chairs the committee, announced that funds will be available for the following areas:
- $30 million to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission for research and monitoring related to North Atlantic right whales.
- $80 million for the National Sea Grant Program, which in Maine supports sustainable fisheries, working waterfronts, and coastal economies.
- $2 million for research on American lobster populations in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank through the Maine Sea Grant. This includes $300,000 for a program that uses modern technology on commercial fishing vessels to collect biological, environmental and fishery data on American lobster and Jonah crab.
In addition to the above funding outlined, Collins has also secured more than $73 million for Congressionally Directed Spending projects in Maine under the same appropriations bill, including:
- $5 million to expand the ocean observation system in the Gulf of Maine, which is vital for fishing and maritime operations.
- $1 million to grow the University of Maine’s American Lobster Settlement Index collector survey.
- $129,000 to support bluefin tuna research in Maine.
However, the Republicans are not the only ones pushing their seafood industry agendas. In July, Maine Democratic Congressman Jared Golden called on lawmakers to extend a federal pause on new lobster fishing regulations aimed at protecting North Atlantic right whales.
Golden worked alongside Maine Governor Janet Mills in 2023 to create the current moratorium, which is set to expire in 2028. Now, he’s urging the House Natural Resources Committee (HNRC) to extend the pause until 2035 through a proposed amendment to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
“It was only three years ago that Maine’s lobster industry was on the verge of shutting down because of a regulatory process that was based on flawed interpretation of the MMPA and biased modeling that relied heavily on hypothetical threats that fisheries posed to the right whale,” Golden said.
He also introduced a letter signed by key industry stakeholders who support the proposed amendment, including the Maine Lobstering Union, Maine Lobster Association, New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, and Downeast Lobstermen’s Association.
“Success is becoming harder to achieve in an increasingly burdensome regulatory environment. And for the fisheries that compete with large, subsidized foreign fleets, these regulatory challenges create distinct disadvantages that are almost impossible to overcome…The Draft Bill reflects a positive and necessary step toward helping to ensure the future success of American fisheries,” the letter reads.
Subsidized foreign fleets? I wonder who they are referring to?
