A 30-day pause on planned tariffs on Canadian products was announced late Monday, but Mainers filling up at the pump earlier that day had mixed reactions to the idea of rising fuel costs if the tariffs were enacted.
Tony of Millinocket, who declined to give his last name, was pumping gas in Bangor with his dog, Titan, and said he “loved” President Donald Trump in his last term and voted for him again in November because he believed his promise to lower prices for Americans.
The impending tariffs, however, would only raise prices for Americans, Tony said.
“It’s not a matter of if, it’s when,” he said. “The companies won’t pay the difference, they’ll pass it on to us.”
A few pumps over, Peter Graffam of West Enfield said he was optimistic about the potential tariffs on Canada because he believes tariffs will eventually cause fuel prices to drop.
While the tariffs may raise fuel prices initially, Graffam believes placing a tariff on Canada will lead the U.S. to harvest its own fuel domestically, which would cause prices to eventually decrease.
“Sometimes you have to give a little to get a lot,” Graffam said. “I think the tariffs will make things better for us. We have a lot of fuel available to us in the United States.”
On Saturday, Trump signed an order imposing a 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy products and Chinese imports, while all other goods coming from both Canada and Mexico have a 25 percent tariff. On Monday, however, Trump agreed to delay the tariff on Mexico for a month, followed by a similar 30-day pause for tariffs on Canada later that afternoon.
Trump claimed this tax is designed to pressure Canada, China and Mexico to stop fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration into the U.S. Other Canadian goods likely to be affected by tariffs include lobster and lumber.
If the tariffs are implemented after 30 days, Mainers could see prices spike at the gas pumps and on their heating bills just days after they’re enacted, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said.
This is because New England, unlike other parts of the country, doesn’t have enough refineries to meet demand and relies heavily on Canada for refined products such as gasoline, heating oil and jet fuel, De Haan said. This is especially true after the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery shuttered in 2019.
“New England is one of the few areas that actually gets refined products from Canada, whereas much of the other parts of the country gets crude oil from Canada,” De Haan said.
Prior to the news of the 30-day pause on Canadian tariffs Monday, De Haan predicted the cost of gasoline in Maine could hike by 10 to 20 cents per gallon while a gallon of heating oil could leap by 20 to 30 cents. A gallon of jet fuel and diesel, meanwhile, could see an uptick by 10 to 25 cents, he said.
Aimee Thibodeau, spokesperson for the Bangor International Airport, said the airport doesn’t yet know how much fuel prices could rise if Trump’s tariffs take effect and how that could trickle down to local consumers.
The airport receives more than 10 million gallons of jet fuel each year from Canadian-based Irving, Thibodeau said, and more than half of the airport’s fuel budget goes to the Department of Defense.
