Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she’s worried new U.S. tariffs will damage some of Alaska’s biggest industries, especially commercial fishing.
“We send a lot of product to China, and we get a lot of it back from China," she told reporters in Anchorage Monday. "So this is something I think that's going to be very significant to us.”
President Trump this month announced a new 125% import tax on many Chinese goods, and China escalated its tariffs on imports from the United States as well. (Some Alaska fish is sent to China for processing. If those fish are sent back to the U.S. for sale, the Trump administration has said it won’t apply the tariff to the full product, only the added value of the overseas processing.)
While seafood was top of mind for Murkowski when reporters in Anchorage asked her about tariffs Monday, she said she’s also heard concern from the mining industry about the cost of imported machinery and equipment. She said the worries extend beyond the resource sector, too.
“What I'm hearing from just the average Alaskan in the airport is: What is it going to mean to me, just for the price of consumer goods, and everything from a new car to being able to remodel my house, to what I'm paying for groceries," she said.
Murkowski is nearly alone among Republican senators in her outspoken criticism of the Trump administration, on a host of policies. The other members of Alaska's congressional delegation echo some of President Trump's arguments in favor of tariffs.
Sen. Dan Sullivan declined an interview request on the subject. Spokeswoman Amanda Coyne said by email that Sullivan believes in open markets but also believes that China cheats at international trade.
If Alaska fishermen are harmed by the tariffs, Coyne says Sullivan will try to get them whatever relief may become available for farmers.
Likewise, Congressman Nick Begich declined an interview request and sent an email. Begich says tariffs are needed to restore American manufacturing.
