Nova Scotia needs to expand its seafood trading partners.

That’s the message from Coldwater Lobster Association executive director Heather Mulock, as potential tariffs from the United States loom.

Mulock says what President Donald Trump is doing is frustrating, but it presents a silver lining.

“We need to invest in building relationships with the European Union, southeast Asia, as well as other areas to secure new and emerging markets,” said Mulock.

She says tariffs on seafood would also greatly impact New England, where a large percentage of lobster are caught, then processed in Canada.

Mulock notes there’s an uneasiness among seafood buyers.

“Nobody wants to hold a large percentage of lobster with that liability, if you don’t know if you’ll have markets to move that product. For both Canada and the United States, we need to avoid tariffs at all measures.”

She says in the end, tariffs would hurt us all.

“It’s hard to run a business if you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Provincial fisheries minister Kent Smith recently completed a trade mission to Europe.