Maine Public interviews Bayer for article on steel tariff, lobster industry
Maine Public interviewed Robert Bayer, the executive director of the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine, for an article on the impacts the recently imposed steel tariff will have on the lobster industry, specifically on the production of traps. Nearly 100 percent of lobster traps are made of steel mesh, so the raw material will be subject to the tariff. This will have a direct impact on manufacturers and consumers of the traps, according to Maine Public. The price of the steel wire has almost doubled since the first quarter of the year, and there is a 25 percent tariff on Canadian steel. But even when the price of making traps increases, lobstermen cannot raise the prices of their catch to compensate. “The price of lobster is based on supply and demand. And it’s not related to your costs as a fisherman,” said Bayer. “It’s going to hurt a lot of people.” WGBH (NPR Boston) and Rhode Island Public Radio carried the Maine Public report.