When Tariffs Hit Home: Why Seafood Exemptions Show Trade Policy Needs Rules, Not Chaos
Canada exempted seafood from retaliatory tariffs after industry pushback. It's a reminder: blanket tariffs destroy jobs in communities that can't recover.
By Common Good Policy Team · August 28, 2026 · Responding to The Hill (August 27, 2026)
Late Wednesday, Canada's government carved out seafood and fish from its retaliatory tariffs on US goods. The Department of Finance called it a response to "feedback" aimed at protecting "against broader economic harms."
Here's what that means in plain English: tariffs hurt real people. And when they do, even governments that impose them start making exceptions.
Why This Matters
The US seafood industry, processing plants, fishing communities, port workers, relies on Canadian trade and faces tariffs right back. A processor in Alaska or Maine doesn't have time to wait out a trade war. They need certainty. They need rules. They need a government that thinks two moves ahead instead of one.
This exemption is a small admission: blanket tariffs are a blunt tool. They don't distinguish between strategic retaliation and economic self-harm. They hit whoever's standing in the way, the worker whose plant closes, the small business that can't absorb the hit, the community that becomes a sacrifice zone.
The US has real leverage in trade. We produce more food than we consume, more energy than we need, more innovation than anyone else. But leverage only works if it's paired with a strategy that rebuilds trust and writes new rules instead of just punishing everyone in the room.
The Real Problem with How We Trade Now
Trade isn't inherently bad. The Common Good Party's trade policy starts with this reality: trade generated $2.6 trillion in gains for the US economy, but destroyed 2.4 million jobs in communities that never recovered. That's not an argument against trade. It's an argument against trading without rules, without cushions for workers, without a plan to help communities adapt.
When the Canadian government exempts seafood, it's essentially saying: we can't afford to hurt this industry right now. The US should be thinking the same way about every tariff: Who does this actually hurt? Can those workers find another job? Does this community have a recovery plan? Or are we just hoping the pain goes away?
Read the original reporting at The Hill.