Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Jared Golden (D-Maine) are calling on the Biden administration to hold China accountable for breaking promises to the Maine lobster industry and provide much needed transparency on a 2020 trade deal – in the wake of a disclosure that China has failed to hold up its side of the deal with the United States. In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai, the lawmakers express their serious concern that China failed to live up to their $200 billion import promise made through the 2020 Economic and Trade Agreement, asked the USTR to disclose the total dollar value of lobster that China agreed to purchase, and called on the Administration to take steps that will ensure China begins to fulfill their agreements. This letter comes after the lawmakers urged former USTR Lightizer in 2020 to share the undisclosed details on China’s lobster purchase commitment in the deal. 

“We write with serious concern regarding China’s failure to live up to its commitments under the Economic and Trade Agreement of January 15, 2020 (the “Phase One Deal”).  Particularly troubling to us is the fact that China purchased, on aggregate, none of the $200 billion in additional American goods that it committed to buy under the Phase One Deal – including almost no lobster above 2017 levels,” began the Maine lawmakers. “While we understand that the Phase One Deal as negotiated by the prior Administration lacked key enforcement mechanisms, we urge you to hold China accountable for its purchase commitments under the Deal.”

“Immediately following the Trump Administration’s announcement of the Phase One Deal in January 2020, we wrote to your predecessor asking that – as a measure to promote Chinese accountability and to aid in Deal enforcement – he make public the specific dollar amount lobster that China would buy,”  the lawmakers continued. “USTR Lighthizer never complied with our request. To this day, we, along with our constituents, do not know how much lobster China agreed to purchase.”

“Maine’s lobster industry deserves far better than yet another promise broken by the Chinese government. Prior to 2018, when China imposed retaliatory tariffs on American lobster, our constituents worked hard to develop the Chinese market for Maine lobster. Now, they have lost years of promising market growth – and hundreds of millions of dollars – due to continued tariffs and our government’s continued inability to hold China accountable,” the lawmakers concluded. “We call on you to take concrete actions that ensure China increases and sustains purchases of Maine lobster in accordance with its broader Phase One Deal commitment to buy $200 billion in additional American goods.”

In concluding their letter, the lawmakers asked U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to answer two questions: 

1. What is the dollar value of lobster that China agreed to purchase under the Phase One Deal?
2. What specific steps will you take to ensure that China fulfills its Phase One Deal purchase commitments in the future, and specifically its promise to purchase lobster?

The Maine lawmakers have been steadfast supporters of the Maine lobster industry. After the Economic and Trade Agreement of January 15, 2020, they urged former USTR Lightizer to provide much needed clarity on the lobster provisions in the trade deal – and have urged the USTR to prioritize lobster in any trade negotiations with China.

The full letter can be read HERE and below. 

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Dear Ambassador Tai: 

We write with serious concern regarding China’s failure to live up to its commitments under the Economic and Trade Agreement of January 15, 2020 (the “Phase One Deal”).  Particularly troubling to us is the fact that China purchased, on aggregate, none of the $200 billion in additional American goods that it committed to buy under the Phase One Deal – including almost no lobster above 2017 levels.  While we understand that the Phase One Deal as negotiated by the prior Administration lacked key enforcement mechanisms, we urge you to hold China accountable for its purchase commitments under the Deal.

The Phase One Deal was opaque and questionably enforceable from the outset. Immediately following the Trump Administration’s announcement of the Phase One Deal in January 2020, we wrote to your predecessor asking that – as a measure to promote Chinese accountability and to aid in Deal enforcement – he make public the specific dollar amount lobster that China would buy. USTR Lighthizer never complied with our request.  To this day, we, along with our constituents, do not know how much lobster China agreed to purchase.  

Maine’s lobster industry deserves far better than yet another promise broken by the Chinese government.  Prior to 2018, when China imposed retaliatory tariffs on American lobster, our constituents worked hard to develop the Chinese market for Maine lobster.  Now, they have lost years of promising market growth – and hundreds of millions of dollars – due to continued tariffs and our government’s continued inability to hold China accountable.  

More broadly, the United States – across two Administrations – has failed to ensure that China fulfill its purchase commitments under the Phase One Deal.  According to the Peterson Institute of International Economics, “China bought none of the additional $200 billion of exports [over 2017 levels] Trump's deal had promised.”  Specifically, China agreed to buy $227.9 billion in U.S. goods in 2020 and $274.5 billion of U.S. goods in 2021.  China’s actual purchases: $134.4 billion in U.S. goods in 2020 (below the 2017 level of $151.2 billion) and $154.4 billion in 2021. 

We call on you to take concrete actions that ensure China increases and sustains purchases of Maine lobster in accordance with its broader Phase One Deal commitment to buy $200 billion in additional American goods.  Please answer the following questions no later than March 15, 2022:

1. What is the dollar value of lobster that China agreed to purchase under the Phase One Deal?
2. What specific steps will you take to ensure that China fulfills its Phase One Deal purchase commitments in the future, and specifically its promise to purchase lobster?

Thank you for your efforts to hold China accountable to its trade commitments.  We look forward to your reply.

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