November 13, 2017
Yep, that seems to be the point of a major NYT article highlighting increased sales of Canadian lobsters in Europe. The point is that a trade deal between the European Union and Canada eliminated a 7 percent tariff on Canadian lobsters, which remains in place on U.S. lobsters.
To put in some of the perspective that is altogether lacking in this piece, the lobster industry in the United States is a bit under $500 million annually. Or, to put this in some context that might make sense to most NYT readers, it amounts to less than 0.003 percent of US GDP. In other words, the tariff is an issue that might make a difference to a small number of lobster trappers in Maine, but it matters pretty much not at all to the economy. (Actually, the rest of us will pay more for lobster if the tariff on U.S. lobster was eliminated, but the NYT forget to mention this fact.)
Anyhow, the proposed EU–U.S. trade deal, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Pact (TTIP), actually had very little to do with trade, since trade barriers in almost all areas are already relatively low. The deal was about putting in place a pro-business structure of regulation. Among other things, it would set up special tribunals for investors that would override domestic laws in both the EU and US. It was also protectionist in that it would lock in longer and stronger patent and copyright protections.
Major media outlets, like the NYT, have been strong proponents of this deal using both their news and editorial pages to push it. This piece is an example of a pro-TTIP article that wrongly implies the U.S. is suffering major economic damage as a result of not pursuing TTIP. That is not true.
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