Sen. Susan Collins, who is currently locked in a tight race for reelection, said on Friday that she had convinced White House officials to exempt certain Canadian agricultural products from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The Republican senator has been vocal about how the U.S.’s trade war with Canada could affect residents of Maine and other states that border the country’s northern neighbor. The reductions come just over a week before Election Day, when Collins and other battleground Senate candidates will face tight reelection races — and as voters’ concerns about high prices reach a fever pitch.
Collins listed a number of items that would soon be exempted from Trump’s 50% tariffs, including certain paper and plastic packaging, refrigeration and freezing equipment, agricultural cleaning products, labeling and wrapping machinery and seaweed and algae products, among other agricultural supplies.
Maine’s blueberry, potato and apple growers rely on harvesting boxes from Canada that help bring produce to market, Collins’ office said in a news release.
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The situation became urgent after an American supplier of cardboard totes recently discontinued production, forcing producers to turn to Canada, the senator wrote.
“These producers are a vital part of our state’s economy and support our rural and coastal communities,” Collins said.
She added that a tariff on Canadian seaweed has already put dozens of Maine jobs at risk.
Collins previously secured tariff exemptions for pulp, road salt, cement and American seafood.
In September, Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs of 15%, 25%, and 50% on steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics, according to the Canadian government’s website, after Trump announced in July that he’d be imposing a 50% tariff on select Canadian goods.
The U.S. tariffs went into effect in August.
The Canadian tariffs are the largest the Trump administration has placed on any country since the Supreme Court limited Trump’s tariff authority in February.
In a phone call with reporters, a senior administration official said, “These tariffs are in response to discriminatory mistreatment by Canada against U.S. products.”
The official specifically cited Canada’s decision to limit the sale of American liquor in Canadian government-owned liquor stores and to put quotas on American vehicles and dairy products.
Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 allows the president to impose tariffs on countries that discriminate against U.S. commerce, they continued.
“These are defensive measures by the United States taken to remedy discriminatory actions by Canada, as the president has made very clear,” the official said. “Both in his campaign and during his administration for the past year and a half, the United States has taken action to protect its national security and to rebalance trade.”
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