Donald Trump’s trade war with China has economic salvos striking in places you’d never expect. Like, say, the retaliatory tariffs that are bursting over the New England lobster industry.
In September 2017, US lobstermen shipped over 1,100 metric tons to China alone. Distributors selling more lobsters resulted in beneficial stable prices for lobstermen and more money circulating in fishing ports hurt by federal groundfish regulations.
But all that has changed as a result of Trump’s trade war. Trump first imposed tariff increases against Chinese exports in July 2018. China responded by both increasing the duties paid on American exports and decreasing tariffs on the rest of the world.