ANCHORAGE – Governor Walker is encouraged by the United States Trade Representative’s removal of Alaska salmon from the list of goods subject to new tariffs between the U.S. and China. Salmon filets join Alaskan cod and pollock in having potential tariffs lifted.

The USTR announcement came after advocacy from the Governor, industry partners, and Alaska’s Congressional delegation to protect access to some of the most important markets for Alaska’s fishermen.

Alaska exports more than one million metric tons of seafood each year, adding more than three billion dollars of foreign money into the U.S. economy. Some of that exported seafood, including salmon, is initially processed domestically, then sent to China for secondary processing to maintain competitive pricing, before re-importation to the U.S. Subjecting wild Alaska salmon to foreign tariffs as it returns to the United States would create serious negative financial consequences for the seafood industry, Alaska’s largest private-sector employer.

“We are very happy to see our efforts produce a win for Alaska, our economy, and our fishermen,” Governor Walker said. “With tariffs lifted on Alaska pollock, cod, and now salmon, we will continue to advocate for other important commercial species, particularly flatfish, to be removed from the tariff list. We are proud that Alaska’s exports, from seafood to oil, natural gas, and other natural resources, are part of the solution for our trade deficit with China. We want to keep growing that business, not limit it.”

The Alaska seafood industry directly employs 57,000 people, and harvests more than five billion pounds of fish each year – over 60 percent of the U.S. total seafood harvest.

  Alaska, China, market, seafood, tariffs, trade war, walker