BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Maritime industry workers in Whatcom County are voicing their concerns over federal policy changes.
U.S. Senator Patty Murray met with a group of maritime workers in Bellingham Wednesday, Sept. 2, for a roundtable discussion on recent hits taken by the industry.
Many of the roundtable members expressed dissatisfaction with the current unpredictability of the maritime industry. Topics of discussion at the meeting included tariffs on products crossing the Canadian border as well as heightened fuel prices as a result of the war in Iran.
Commercial fisherman Jamie Wurtz shared that he felt the business was turning unsustainable due to fuel and fish prices.
“The export market is paramount to making sure that we can sell our seafood to our trading partners and our allies at attractive prices,” Wurtz said.
Meanwhile, Ron Wille, President and COO of All American Marine, claimed that tariffs are leading his shipbuilding business to lose contracts and take on greater materials costs.
“The impact of the tariffs, especially with commodities like aluminum, occurs even before the tariff technically takes effect,” Wille said. “As soon as the announcement goes out, the price of these commodities are impacted. The costs of these ultimately have to be absorbed by someone. In this case it’s all of our customers or our company.”
Senator Murray has stated that she will continue to oppose the Trump administration’s trade war and the war in Iran.
