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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 7 N OV E M B E R 2 7 , 2 0 1 7 Lobstermen boiling over trade agreement A new trade agreement between Canada and the European Union that has cut tariff s on imports of Canadian lobsters could give Canada's lobster industry the edge over Maine's. e New York Times reported the agreement, which went into eff ect in September, eliminated an 8% European tariff on live lobster and frozen and pro- cessed Canadian lobster. e tariff will be phased out in the next three to fi ve years. e elimination of European tariff s is "the single-most challenging issue" for the American lobster industry, Annie Tselikis, the executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers' Association, told the New York Times. Tselikis said the pact was encouraging American companies to invest in new facili- ties in Canada to qualify for the lower European tariff . "It does open up a number of opportunities for Canadians that clearly aren't going to be available to Americans in the foreseeable future," John Weekes, Canada's North American Free Trade Agreement negotiator in the 1990s, told the newspaper. Worker shortage continues e state's unemployment rate remains historically low, with the Maine Department of Labor reporting a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.5% for October, which was down slightly from 3.7% for September and 3.9% one year ago. e number of unemployed was down 2,200 over the year to 25,000. e unemploy- ment rate has been at or below 4.0% for 25 consecutive months. e U.S. preliminary unemployment rate of 4.1% for October was little changed from 4.2% for September and down from 4.8% one year ago. e New England unemploy- ment rate averaged 3.8%. October unemployment rate estimates for other states in the region were 2.7% in New Hampshire, 2.9% in Vermont, 3.7% in Massachusetts, 4.2% in Rhode Island and 4.5% in Connecticut. Around the state, the lowest rate was 2.4% in Cumberland and Sagadahoc counties and the highest was 4.8% in Washington County. e unemployment rate was below the statewide average in the Portland-South Portland (2.4%) metro area and close to the average in the Lewiston-Auburn (2.8%) and Bangor (3%) metro areas. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub, with locations in Auburn, Augusta, Biddeford and Topsham, announced that it raised $490,000 during October's annual Boys & Girls Club Fundraiser. S T A T E W I D E Fast-paced arena football franchise coming to Portland — The search for the next Kurt Warner starts next season Committee recommends that Bar Harbor buy ferry terminal — Cruise ships bring in the dollars Phish drummer opens Lincolnville store — He can add 'shopkeeper' to a resume that includes rockstar and town selectman BIW bidding on $19B Navy contract involving new class of frigates — Contracts mean jobs, lots of jobs Portsmouth Naval Shipyard looking to fill 800 new jobs in 2018 — Like we were saying (see above) Boothbay appeals board halts $30M Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens' expansion — Will neighbors get the last word? L-A merger soundly rejected in both cities — What's next for the two cities? Arrest made in arson fire at former Lincoln mill, DEP worried about contaminants — A whole lot of bad stuff in one headline Canada's trade agreement with Europe pinches Maine lobster industry — Open borders for some lobsters Eastport boatbuilder required to auction boat molds — An attempt to recoup some public incentive money C R E D I T S & D E B I T S 1-877-722-6243 | sbsavings.bank OUR BANK'S TIGHT-KNIT BECAUSE OUR IS TOO. Our focus is on you—our friends and families. We see how much you love it here and we do too. As the oldest bank in Maine, we've been here for over 190 years. And we'll be in it together for 190 more.

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