Fresh-picked Maine blueberries. | Maine Morning Star
Gov. Janet Mills warned Mainers over the weekend that they are likely to pay more for everyday essentials if President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canada go into effect tomorrow.
Since the start of his term, Trump has said he would impose a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico — with a lower 10% tax on Canadian energy products such as oil and electricity — but postponed implementation after talking with those country’s leaders. However, the president said last week that the tax on imported goods will start Tuesday.
In a radio address, Mills explained how Maine’s economy is intertwined with Canada. Last year, the two traded more than $6 billion in goods, she said. This includes about $1.5 billion in exports of many products from the state’s heritage industries including blueberries, lobsters and forest products, according to a fact sheet from the Canadian government.
Maine relies on its northern neighbor for about $5 billion worth of imports including heating oil, natural gas and electricity. Maine homes are highly dependent on oil and more than 80% of the state’s heating fuel and gasoline is imported from Canada.
“I can’t be clear enough: the president’s broad tariffs on Canada as well as China and Mexico will increase costs on Maine families and Maine businesses who can ill afford them, and they will cause great harm to our state’s economy,” Mills said.
Concern about how Trump’s trade war with Canada will impact Maine industries
Mills gave a similar address in early February after Trump decided to postpone the tariffs on Canada by 30 days. She spoke of the president campaigning on lowering costs for Americans, which she supports. Though the month-long delay in imposing the tariffs offered a “temporary reprieve,” Mills said she hoped the president would decide not to pursue the tariffs and instead work with Congress to bring down costs.
In social media posts, the president has said the tariffs, especially with bordering countries, will force them to crack down on illicit drug trafficking such as fentanyl. Trump also plans to double the 10% tariff imposed on China on Tuesday.
When Maine businesses pay higher tariffs to import materials such as building supplies or pay to export their products, those costs get passed along to consumers, Mills said, adding that it comes “at a time when we can least afford it.”
Before the tariffs were postponed in early February, the Maine Office of Public Advocate raised concern about how it would affect energy customers, especially 58,000 ratepayers in Aroostook and Washington counties who live along the border and have little choice but to rely on Canadian energy to keep their lights on.
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