Nova Scotia lobster industry surprised, elated by suspension of Chinese tariff

In 2024, live lobster exports to China represented 40 per cent of Nova Scotia's export market, generating about $600 million in revenue.

Key players in Nova Scotia’s lucrative seafood industry are celebrating Ottawa’s successful bid to persuade China to temporarily drop a painful 25 per cent tariff on Canadian lobster and crab.

Stewart Lamont, managing director of the Tangier Lobster Company, says the tariff has cost the province’s economy more than $400 million since it was imposed in March.

In 2024, live lobster exports to China represented 40 per cent of Nova Scotia’s export market, generating about $600 million in revenue, while the U.S. market accounted for another 40 per cent.

Lamont says that since April, most Nova Scotia exporters selling to Chinese buyers were barely covering their costs and some were selling at a loss to maintain their link to a market with 1.4 billion people.

Kris Vascotto, executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance, says he did not expect the delegation led by Prime Minister Mark Carney make such substantial progress in China.

Vascotto also welcomed the tariff reduction on lobster and crab, and he says the province’s fishers can look forward to higher prices at the wharf.

But Vascotto says he’s concerned that China agreed to suspend the tariff only between March and the end of this year, and he says it remains unclear whether the suspension applies to other Canadian seafood exports.