Any way you slice it, Chilean salmon sold in America generates
at least $81 million in U.S. personal income and over 5,000 jobs for U.S.
citizens.
Yet a small coalition of Maine and Washington salmon farmers has brought
legal action to force tariffs and trade restrictions on farmed Atlantic
salmon from Chile.
That’s bad news for anyone who buys, sells,
or eats salmon.
Its also shortsighted. Neither Maine nor Washington has the production
capacity to satisfy the growing demand for consumer-friendly products -
such as fillets - being met by Chilean salmon.
The fact is, Chile's favorable climate, state-of-the-art processing
facilities, and overall economies of scale have made it the world's most
efficient producer of farmed salmon. And the Chilean industry has benefited
all salmon producers by supporting 75 percent $1.2 million - of a year-long
salmon marketing campaign in the United States.
So, in reality, a victory in blocking Chile's access to the U.S. market
would not really help the U.S. industry - but it would hurt American pocketbooks.
