Sen. Susan Collins and Gov. Janet Mills criticized President Donald Trump’s retaliatory 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada, which is set to take effect Saturday.
Trump said the 25 percent levies against Canada and Mexico, and 10 against China, are a response to what he says is a failure by those nations to prevent the flow of undocumented migrants and illegal drugs, like fentanyl, across U.S. borders.
In a post on X, Collins, a Republican, called Canada Maine’s “most important trading partner,” and said some of the tariffs “will impose a significant burden on many families, manufacturers, the forest products industry, small businesses, lobstermen, and agricultural producers.”
Specifically, Collins pointed to fuel imports, noting that 95 percent of heating oil used by Mainers to heat homes, along with jet fuel used at the Air National Guard Base in Bangor, comes from refineries in Canada.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills on Friday said she is “deeply concerned” that the tariffs — “especially those on Canada — will increase prices for Maine people at a time when they can least afford it.”
Mills also noted that Canada is Maine’s largest trading partner and that economies of the U.S. state and its northern neighbor are “deeply intertwined” with Maine relying on Canada for fuel.
“The president campaigned on bringing down the price of eggs, bread, heat, housing and cars,” Mills said. “These tariffs will do the opposite.”
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
