FFAW, seafood producers unite against Trump tariffs

Two heads of Newfoundland and Labrador's fishing industry say they need immediate, private meetings with senior government officials to figure out how the fishery can survive U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

"This is, arguably, the most serious threat to the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery since the cod moratorium," said Jeff Loder, the head of the Association of Seafood Producers. 

It's a sentiment shared by the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union.

"These are conversations that need to start happening immediately," said union president Dwan Street.

In a rare display of solidarity, Street and Loder sat side by side at a joint press conference Monday morning — a testament to how damaging tariffs could be to the province's fishery. 

Trump signed an executive order Saturday imposing a 25 per cent tariff on virtually all Canadian goods imported to the U.S.

The move will be a massive blow to Newfoundland and Labrador's fishery, which last year exported around 90 per cent of its snow crab to the U.S. 

The fishery is worth big money, with the provincial government valuing the snow crab season alone at $761 million in 2022. 

"As much as we want to preach 'buy local,' I don't think there's the buying power in Newfoundland and Labrador — or in Canada — to absorb that volume of such a niche product," said Street.

Neither Street nor Loder would say exactly what they're asking for, other than a private roundtable with government — what Loder called a war room — focused solely on helping the provincial fishery navigate the new international reality.

"We need to figure out how to have a fishery and protect the fishery, and reduce the risk related through the actual tax that will have to be paid — but also other potential issues that may come about from a fundamental change in the way the United States is dealing with trade," said Loder.

Right now, fish processors are arranging temporary foreign workers and preparing for the upcoming snow crab season, which both parties hope will start on March 15. 

"The clock is ticking," said Loder. "We cannot, as it stands right now, sign a contract — which is what we do in Newfoundland and Labrador, between harvesters and processors — without a much more clear understanding of the risk profile."

Loder and Street say the fishery needs to find new markets, and it needs money to make that happen.

They want government to revive a fund to help with marketing Newfoundland and Labrador crab, and to protect the industry here against price drops on the world market. That's something Loder thinks could happen if, among other things, the U.S. lifts a ban on the import of Russian crab, brought in after the country invaded Ukraine.

"If we're in this position three or four years from now, somebody will need to be blamed. And I can tell you it will not be the two people sitting at this table," said Loder.

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