With the nation in chaos, President Trump is keeping his eye on … the lobster.
Speaking from an elaborate set that involved a fishing boat and carefully-positioned lobster traps, Trump announced that he is creating a new task force designed to crack down on illegally harvested fish as well as reopening a fragile marine conservation area off of Cape Cod, the Northeast Canyons, to commercial fishing — a move environmentalists say could do damage that takes centuries for the region to recover from, if it does at all.
During the roundtable, Trump expressed interest in the industry, asking if lobsters harvested in Canada and lobsters harvested in the adjoining state of Maine "are … the same lobster, would you say, basically? Would you say they're equivalent as lobster? Is there a difference in size, or type?"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump additionally threatened to impose auto tariffs on the European Union if the bloc doesn't lift its duties on lobsters imported from the U.S., expressing frustration that the EU does not charge Canada such a tariff. "Peter Navarro's going to be the lobster king now, okay?" Trump said.
Notably, Canada and the EU drew up the trade agreement that gave Canada an advantage over American lobster back in 2017, partially as a result of Trump's tough trade terms. Additionally, while Maine used to export lobster heavily to China, the trade war with Beijing prompted the country to slap a retaliatory 25 percent tariff on U.S. lobster. Sales to China decreased by 70 percent while at the same time Beijing "cut the Chinese tariff on lobster bought from Canada, Maine's fierce rival in the lobster business," The Atlantic reports. "As a result, Canada has seen its lobster exports to China nearly double. Maine may never recover its previously dominant position in this export market."
-
5 hastily redrawn cartoons about redistrictingCartoons Artists take on Donald Trump's draughtsmanship, the White House ballroom, and more
-
Bonnie Blue: taking clickbait to extremesTalking Point Channel 4 claims documentary on the adult performer's attention-grabbing sex stunts is opening up a debate
-
Crossword: August 9, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance mergerSpeed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profitsSpeed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new highSpeed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliablespeed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutinySpeed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress codespeed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
