龍蝦行業(yè)有過(guò)幾年的好時(shí)光，特別是經(jīng)銷(xiāo)商一直設(shè)法在中國(guó)發(fā)展人脈從而擴(kuò)大業(yè)務(wù)規(guī)模的情況下。貿(mào)易爭(zhēng)端開(kāi)始后，中國(guó)從2018年7月6日開(kāi)始對(duì)包括甲殼類(lèi)動(dòng)物在內(nèi)的許多美國(guó)產(chǎn)品征收25%的關(guān)稅。這個(gè)市場(chǎng)在一夜之間崩塌了，而且中國(guó)對(duì)美國(guó)的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手加拿大敞開(kāi)了大門(mén)，后者也在捕撈和運(yùn)輸僅存在于北美東北部的龍蝦。

威奇塔州立大學(xué)國(guó)際商業(yè)巴頓杰出講座教授及管理學(xué)教授烏莎·海利說(shuō)：“中國(guó)用加拿大龍蝦取代了美國(guó)龍蝦?！泵绹?guó)的龍蝦出口量已經(jīng)從2018年6月的1200萬(wàn)磅（約544萬(wàn)公斤）降至今年6月的220萬(wàn)磅（約99萬(wàn)公斤）。

和農(nóng)業(yè)、制造業(yè)以及美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)中的其他主要行業(yè)相比，龍蝦行業(yè)或許很小，但對(duì)從業(yè)者來(lái)說(shuō)可不是這樣?，F(xiàn)在他們正在設(shè)法尋找維持行業(yè)運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的途徑。

龍蝦批發(fā)商Maine Coast的銷(xiāo)售和營(yíng)銷(xiāo)副總裁希拉·亞當(dāng)斯說(shuō)：“加征關(guān)稅后我們對(duì)中國(guó)的銷(xiāo)售比以前少了80%左右。”約占該公司總業(yè)務(wù)量的8%?！耙郧拔覀兠恐芏糩直接]向中國(guó)大陸銷(xiāo)售龍蝦?！爆F(xiàn)在和中國(guó)做生意的機(jī)會(huì)只出現(xiàn)在中國(guó)買(mǎi)家無(wú)法從加拿大獲得所需產(chǎn)品的時(shí)候。

由于龍蝦行業(yè)自身的獨(dú)特性，美國(guó)仍然在間接向中國(guó)銷(xiāo)售龍蝦。緬因州龍蝦經(jīng)銷(xiāo)商協(xié)會(huì)的執(zhí)行董事安妮·特斯里基斯說(shuō)：由于供給不穩(wěn)定，“過(guò)去30年這個(gè)行業(yè)建立起了既協(xié)作又相互競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的機(jī)制。加拿大有40多個(gè)龍蝦捕撈區(qū)，但各個(gè)捕撈區(qū)的作業(yè)時(shí)間只有很短暫的重疊。緬因州和新罕布什爾州允許全年捕蝦，而美國(guó)的其他州一般都有禁漁期。

這讓美國(guó)的龍蝦供應(yīng)更為充足，還可以在加拿大龍蝦供不應(yīng)求時(shí)作為補(bǔ)充進(jìn)入加拿大市場(chǎng)。在這些進(jìn)入加拿大的龍蝦中，有很小一部分現(xiàn)在銷(xiāo)售到了中國(guó)，因?yàn)樗鼈儾皇荜P(guān)稅影響。但多了一個(gè)中間環(huán)節(jié)就意味著每單生意賺到的錢(qián)變少了。對(duì)捕撈者來(lái)說(shuō)價(jià)格挺好，因?yàn)樗麄兛梢园巡稉扑孟?shù)售出。亞當(dāng)斯說(shuō)：“受擠壓的是我們這一塊?！?/p>

并非首次受到打擊

這并不是貿(mào)易性不利因素在近些年給龍蝦行業(yè)帶來(lái)的唯一打擊。2008年，美國(guó)食品與藥品管理局（FDA）建議消費(fèi)者不要食用龍蝦肝，也就是龍蝦體內(nèi)一塊軟軟的綠色物體，原因是可能積累造成麻痹性貝類(lèi)中毒的毒素。龍蝦肉仍然是安全的，但美國(guó)食品與藥品管理局的公告說(shuō)的不夠清楚。

日本厚生勞動(dòng)省建議買(mǎi)家對(duì)龍蝦肝進(jìn)行測(cè)試，這造成購(gòu)買(mǎi)量大幅滑坡。亞當(dāng)斯說(shuō)：“這是美國(guó)有能力扭轉(zhuǎn)的問(wèn)題。加拿大很快就改變了局勢(shì)，但這10年美國(guó)食品與藥品管理局一直毫無(wú)作為?！?/p>

特斯里基斯指出：“[在這個(gè)問(wèn)題上]我們?nèi)匀惶幱谕顟B(tài)?！?/p>

接下來(lái)，歐洲又出了問(wèn)題。加拿大和歐盟簽訂了新的貿(mào)易協(xié)議，降低了龍蝦的關(guān)稅，而美國(guó)還沒(méi)有這樣做。這再次讓美國(guó)批發(fā)商處于價(jià)格劣勢(shì)，并且損失了更多生意。

和種植業(yè)不同，龍蝦行業(yè)的規(guī)模較小，幾乎不受政客們關(guān)注。為彌補(bǔ)利潤(rùn)損失，批發(fā)商不得不把重點(diǎn)放在尋找新市場(chǎng)上，這項(xiàng)工作既耗時(shí)又花錢(qián)。海利教授說(shuō)：“美國(guó)龍蝦行業(yè)花了6-12個(gè)月才找到其他買(mǎi)家?！钡娲呶幢啬軌蛱峁┩瑯拥膬r(jià)格。

批發(fā)商Boston Lobster Company也損失了大量中國(guó)銷(xiāo)售額。該公司的銷(xiāo)售人員布倫特·林肯說(shuō)：“我覺(jué)得在開(kāi)始征收關(guān)稅后，我個(gè)人的業(yè)務(wù)減少了大概70%?，F(xiàn)在我不得不將重點(diǎn)放在其他地區(qū)?！?/p>

Boston Lobster Company曾經(jīng)想辦法繞過(guò)限制——他們把龍蝦經(jīng)水路運(yùn)往河內(nèi)，再用卡車(chē)運(yùn)進(jìn)中國(guó)。這種做法持續(xù)了五個(gè)月，隨后被政府部門(mén)叫停。林肯用了很多時(shí)間來(lái)尋找進(jìn)入新加坡和韓國(guó)等其他外國(guó)市場(chǎng)的切入點(diǎn)。

此外，美國(guó)批發(fā)商都在相互挖對(duì)方的國(guó)內(nèi)客戶，造成龍蝦價(jià)格下跌。林肯說(shuō)：“會(huì)買(mǎi)東西的人，每次下訂單時(shí)都會(huì)[找好幾家供應(yīng)商]來(lái)詢(xún)價(jià)。他會(huì)讓批發(fā)商相互競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，說(shuō)：‘哦，老天，人家都賣(mài)7美元，你能幫個(gè)忙嗎？’”

就算貿(mào)易爭(zhēng)端最終結(jié)束，而且中國(guó)降低關(guān)稅，龍蝦行業(yè)也會(huì)受到長(zhǎng)期損害。美國(guó)的大型機(jī)場(chǎng)和海外航線較多，因此對(duì)加拿大擁有空運(yùn)優(yōu)勢(shì)。但亞當(dāng)時(shí)指出，加拿大“正在為改善這一點(diǎn)而大舉投資” ，而這有可能讓龍蝦生意永久性地向加拿大傾斜?！叭绻岩粋€(gè)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手?jǐn)D出了市場(chǎng)，[其他人]就會(huì)獲得增強(qiáng)實(shí)力的機(jī)會(huì)?！?/p>

林肯說(shuō)：“我們一直在想辦法讓自己保持積極的心態(tài)。”如果關(guān)稅下降而且加拿大出現(xiàn)糟糕的捕撈季——龍蝦行業(yè)時(shí)不時(shí)地會(huì)出現(xiàn)這樣的問(wèn)題，他希望中國(guó)會(huì)有人給他發(fā)電子郵件或者打電話說(shuō)：“你有什么產(chǎn)品可以賣(mài)給我們嗎？”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

The lobster industry was enjoying some good years, especially with the work distributors had done developing contacts to grow their presence in China. And then came the trade war and the July 6, 2018 start of China’s 25% tariff on many U.S. goods, including the crustaceans. That market sank overnight and opened the door wide to competition from Canada, the other country in the business of catching and shipping the lobsters found only in the northeast region of North America.

“China replaced U.S. lobsters with Canadian,” says Usha Haley, professor and Barton distinguished chair in international business at Wichita State University. Exports from domestic waters dropped from 12 million pounds in June 2018 to 2.2 million pounds by the same time this year.

The lobster industry may be small compared to big agriculture, manufacturing, or other sectors of the economy, but not to those in it. And they’re trying to find ways to keep business afloat.

“About 80% of what we used to sell into China has stopped post tariff,” says Sheila Adams, vice president of sales and marketing at Maine Coast, a lobster wholesaler. That works out to about 8% of the company’s total business. “We used to do [direct] weekly sales into Mainland China,” she says. Now it’s only opportunistic business when Chinese buyers can’t get what they need from Canada.

There are still U.S. indirect sales to China because of the unusual nature of the lobster business. “The industry has for the last 30 years built up a system where we work together while we also compete against each other,” says Annie Tselikis, executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association. The reason is irregular supply. Canada has more than 40 designated areas for lobstering but only brief overlapping times when the different spots may be worked. Maine and New Hampshire allow year-round lobstering while other states typically have periods of the year that are closed to harvesting.

The U.S. as a result often has more available supply and sells into Canada to supplement when their availability runs short. Some portion of that lobster now heads to China because it is no longer subject to the tariff. But the addition of another middleman means fewer dollars per party. Prices are fine for the people fishing because they can sell everything they bring in. “Where the squeeze is happening is at our level,” Adams says.

Not the first blow

This isn’t the industry’s only recent brush with trade-related adversity. That was in 2008, when the Food and Drug Administration issued a consumer advisory against eating tomalley—the soft green material in the lobster body—because of a potential buildup of toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. The meat remained safe to eat but the wording was confusing.

Japan’s Ministry of Health suggested buyers test the tomalley, which greatly curtailed purchases. “That’s something within the USA’s power to rectify,” Adams said. “The Canadians rectified it quickly and ten years later the FDA has not.”

“We’re still at a standstill [there],” Tselikis says.

Then came problems in Europe. Canada signed a new trade deal with the EU, something the U.S. had yet to do, and got new lower tariffs on lobsters. Again, U.S. wholesalers were at a pricing disadvantage and lost more business.

Unlike farming, the lobster industry is relatively small and gets little attention from politicians. To make up for lost profits, wholesalers have focused on finding new markets—a time consuming and expensive undertaking. “It took about 6 months to one year for the US lobster industry to find alternate buyers,” Professor Haley says. But replacements don't necessarily offer equal value.

Boston Lobster Company is another wholesaler that lost significant sales in China. “I think about 70% of my personal business has been gone since the tariff was passed,” says Brent Lincoln, a salesperson at the company. “You have to look to other areas.”

Boston Lobster tried doing end runs around the restrictions by shipping to Hanoi and then trucking the lobsters over the border to China. That lasted five months until authorities shut down that avenue. Lincoln spends much of his time looking for additional entry into other foreign markets, such as Singapore and South Korea.

Then there are domestic sales as wholesalers try to poach each other’s U.S.-based customers, but that drives down prices. “If you’re a good buyer, every time you place an order, you reach out [to multiple suppliers] and say what’s your price,” Lincoln says. The buyer pits one wholesaler against another “and says, ‘Oh jeez, the other guy is at $7, can you help me out?’”

Even when the trade war eventually concludes and China drops the tariffs, there will likely be long-term damage. The U.S. has enjoyed an air shipping advantage over Canada, with a greater number of major airports and flight routes overseas. But Canada is “investing a lot to try to improve that,” Adams says, potentially marking a permanent shift toward Canada. “When you take a competitor out of the market, then it gives [others] an opportunity to build strength.”

“We’re trying to stay positive,” Lincoln says. If the tariffs drop and Canada has a bad season—a periodic problem in the industry—he hopes to get an email or phone call from someone in China who will say, “Do you have any product for us?”