BREWER, Maine — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said she’s urging the Trump administration to de-escalate a trade war with Canada, whose retaliatory tariffs on more than $20 billion in American goods went into effect Tuesday.
“I think that we need to remember that Canada is not China,” she told reporters Tuesday at a campaign event in Brewer. “It is not our adversary. It is our friend, our neighbor, and our closest trading partner.”
The push to de-escalate comes as the five-term Republican faces a challenge from Democratic former state Senate President Troy Jackson, who has accused the senator of being a rubber stamp on Trump’s agenda, particularly on economic issues hitting struggling Maine consumers and businesses. Collins has emphasized her opposition to sweeping tariffs, but Jackson has highlighted their impacts as another link between the senator and a White House he argues she has not blunted.
Both Collins and Jackson oppose Trump’s latest round of tariffs on Canada, warning they could further undercut a host of Maine industries such as construction, agriculture, tourism and lobstering. Collins last week urged Trump administration officials to get back to the negotiating table after talks collapsed ahead of Canada’s retaliatory action.
She said Tuesday that she’s been speaking with U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer, highlighting specific trade impacts on a range of goods in Maine.
“I told him … what the tariffs back and forth on road salt means to small towns, something that wouldn’t necessarily be on his agenda,” she said.
She cited Frenchville, a northern Maine town of about 900 people, which could be on the hook for about $10,000 in additional road salt costs this winter. She also cited rising costs for potato and blueberry growers, and manufacturers relying on concrete facing $150,000 in additional monthly costs.
“I’m trying to be very precise in giving them examples so that they look at the impact on a micro-level … exactly what it means to people in Maine, rather than focusing on the broader macro approach,” she said.
Jackson also says Trump’s tariffs exacerbate higher fuel and gas prices during an unpopular war with Iran. Collins joined Democrats on a war powers resolution the day before the war exceeded 60 days, the deadline for Congress to approve military action under the War Powers Act. The war has continued despite ceasefire agreements and ongoing negotiations.
With Trump repeatedly calling for tariffs and frequently battling online and in the press with Canada, which he has pushed to be the 51st state, it remains to be seen whether Collins and other lawmakers on both sides of the aisle can be effective in curbing tariffs.
There are no public signs of negotiations picking back up soon. Greer recently told CBC there were “no open channels,” but said he had a good relationship with Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
Trump threatened Canadian aircraft builder Bombardier on Monday, saying on Truth Social that “if they want our market, they must build here” and encouraging his followers to fly on U.S. airliners and enjoy American liquor.
Jackson, who held three town halls last week, recently told MS Now that he stands with working Mainers, and the senator stands with the wealthy. He accused Collins of aligning with billionaires “fighting for tax cuts for Elon Musk, taking away our health care, doing tariffs, doing the Iran war.”
The former Allagash logger has also made the case that Collins could do more as Appropriations Committee chair to blunt Trump’s agenda. Collins told reporters this past weekend that when it comes to tariffs, it’s the Finance Committee that handles tariff revenue bills, not Appropriations.