Nova Scotia says immediate effect of Chinese seafood tariff remains unclear

Nova Scotia Fisheries Minister Kent Smith is downplaying the potential short-term effects of a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian seafood products that is scheduled to be imposed by China on Thursday.

Smith spoke with reporters Wednesday after attending a major seafood expo in Boston with Premier Tim Houston over the previous three days.

"I went to the show thinking that it was going to be mostly doom and gloom, and the feedback I got from most of our Nova Scotian companies was that of cautious optimism," Smith said.

Live lobster shipments dominate Nova Scotia's trade with China, but Smith said "lots of opportunity" remains to find other markets.

The minister said one promising alternative is the Philippines, and he knows of at least two Nova Scotian companies that are in discussions with importers from the Asian country.

Smith said that while international demand for live lobster remains strong, there will likely be a market price adjustment, although he refused to speculate on which way prices would go.

"At least two of the companies that I spoke to already have had orders fulfilled and they are going to carry on business because the demand is so strong," he said.

The government will have to see how the situation develops over the next week, Smith said, adding that if necessary it can provide assistance from its $200-million contingency fund established to deal with the impact of tariffs.

Unwanted obstacle

"It's a resilient industry that's been through a lot over the last hundreds of years and this is another obstacle that is unwanted, but we'll get through it."

Meanwhile, Houston said any potential discussions with Chinese officials would be carried out through the federal government, which has the responsibility for international relations.

"We step in where we can and when we have opportunity, but the federal government will lead that file for sure," the premier said.

Opposition NDP Leader Claudia Chender said while it's clear the province needs to diversify its seafood markets, it also needs to do all it can to protect a lucrative sector, and that includes reaching out to contacts in China.

The Chinese duties are to take effect on a long list of products including lobster, snow crab and shrimp, as well as on niche products such as sea cucumber, whelks and prawns.

According to the federal government, China is Canada's second largest fish and seafood export market after the United States, with $1.3 billion in products shipped there last year.