US seafood jobs hit by China trade war

THE National Fisheries Institute in the United States is turning its official website into a jobs information hub because of the threat to employment posed by President Trump’s tariff-led trade war with China.
The website (AboutSeafood.com) now features video testimony from every aspect of the seafood workforce.
It explores the reality of tariffs on real American jobs, from fishmongers and truck drivers, to lobstermen, manufacturing workers and chefs.
The Institute says: ‘In recognition of the threat to the seafood community posed by new trade tariffs, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) has rebranded its AboutSeafood.com website to support the stories of American seafood workers.’
The effort is all part of its ‘See Jobs campaign’ and the site will be regularly updated with new videos.
NFI president John Connelly said: ‘To understand the negative impact these tariffs will have on American workers you have to go see them, you have to talk to them, you have to hear their concerns.
‘We’re bringing those stories to policy makers so they understand; this is not a theoretical, economic chess game.
‘These tariffs have the potential to do a lot of harm to the seafood community and that community’s jobs are right here in the US.’
He said the US cannot simply make more seafood and process it at home. While US waters were some of the best managed in the world, they were being fished to their sustainable limits.
‘To feed Americans, the seafood community must source seafood from countries around the globe, even as US harvesters tap global markets to sell their catch,’ Connelly added.
‘What’s more, the raw product that comes from valued global trading partners is the fuel that drives jobs in the US.
‘This is not a situation where the raw imported product is taking jobs away from American workers but just the opposite.
‘It is the material that keeps them viable. Jobs in processing, portioning, value adding, storing, delivering and serving all depend on seafood imports.’