Can lobster raise tariffs and stick to the United States "wishful abacus"?

　(Financial World) Can the "Ruyi abacus" of the United States be reconciled because of the lobster's tariffs?

　　China News Agency, Beijing, June 8 (Reporter Li Xiaoyu) The United States has raised the tariff stick again, this time for lobster.

　　US President Trump recently threatened to impose tariffs on EU-made cars and unspecified Chinese products if the EU and China do not immediately reduce tariffs on US lobster.

　　The American lobster was originally popular in the Chinese market. According to reports, China's lobster imports accounted for only 1% of the total US lobster exports in 2000, and by 2016 this proportion had reached as high as 15%. In 2017, the total value of US lobster exports to China exceeded US$140 million. However, since mid-2018, as the Sino-US trade frictions have increased, the US lobster industry has been hit hard. In the first half of last year, US exports of lobster to China fell by more than 80% year-on-year.

　　Anne Zelikis, president of the Maine Lobster Merchants Association, said there are about 4,500 certified shrimp farmers in Maine, and about 10,000 to 12,000 people were employed in the lobster industry in 2018. "Re-entering the Chinese market is very important for our long-term economic growth." She said.

　　At the same time, Canadian lobster exports to China are booming. In the first half of 2019, Canada exported lobsters to China at about 13,600 tons, almost equivalent to the total exports to China in 2018.

　　However, using the tariff stick to regain the lost market share of the American lobster, the United States' "wishful abacus" may not succeed.

　　This is not the first time the United States has threatened the EU with auto tariffs. As early as 2018, the United States claimed to impose tariffs on EU cars. In 2019, the United States once again threatened to impose tariffs on cars imported from Europe if no trade agreement is reached with the EU.

　　At that time, Juncker, then chairman of the European Commission, responded that if the US imposes tariffs on European cars, the EU will reduce the purchase of US soybeans and liquefied gas. A few months later, the EU further stated that as a countermeasure, the EU is ready to impose tariffs on US products worth 35 billion euros.

　　Perhaps it is the fear of "injuring the enemy by one thousand and self-destructing by 800" that the "big stick" of auto tariffs raised by the United States against the EU has not really fallen, which makes the EU's attitude towards the threat of the United States seem to have changed.

　　Bloomberg said EU officials and lawmakers stopped taking this threat seriously a few months ago. In 2019, US negotiator Robert Lighthizer tried to reach a small agreement with the EU to reduce trade barriers to the US lobster. The proposal failed to receive support. In recent months, the two sides have started negotiations on trade agreements, but little progress has been made.

　　As for China, it will not sacrifice its legitimate rights and interests under the threat of tariffs. This position has been clearly expressed on many occasions by officials, and has also been proved by action.

　　Analysts believe that when the epidemic is gradually stabilized and the economies of all countries are still waiting for development, strengthening cooperation and working together are the way to promote an early economic recovery. The United States has repeatedly threatened other countries with large tariff sticks, not only for its own benefit, but also for the world.

　　Cui Hongjian, director of the European Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of International Studies, said that the United States has adopted a "non-discriminatory approach" to its traditional ally, the EU, which has led to economic and trade friction between the two sides from implicit to dominant. Over time, the so-called community of interests in the United States and Europe will crack, and the trans-Atlantic economic foundation will gradually be lost.

　　Wang Shuo, deputy director of the European Institute of the China Institute of Modern International Relations, also believes that if the United States does not change the practice of using tariff sticks to "rip off" and exert extreme pressure, the United States and Europe will become more and more distracted, and even eventually move towards "look" If you don’t agree with God, you’re away." (Finish)