Trump Pulls Canada Tariffs Off Gear Maine Farmers Need, Then Hits 100 Other Canadian Products

President Trump signed an order Friday taking his 50% tariff off a short list of Canadian goods that Maine farmers say they can't get anywhere else, from blueberry harvesting boxes to potato-sorting machines. In the same order, he put that same 50% tariff on a much longer list of other Canadian products. Both changes start Oct. 30 (White House).

By our count of the order's product list, 22 items are coming off and 100 are going on. Out go thin plywood, corrugated cartons, plastic crates and bags, refrigeration gear, packing and labeling machines and food-grade seaweed. In go cocoa powder, paint, caulk, shampoo, soap, lubricants, carpets, vinyl flooring, fiberboard, canoes, archery gear and even Canadian municipal waste and sewage sludge (White House, Annex I; Supply Chain Dive).

It's a swap, not a retreat. Think of a coach pulling one tired player off the field and sending in four or five fresh ones. The pressure on Ottawa doesn't drop; it just lands somewhere that won't hurt a Maine farm.

Who asked for it

The relief came at the request of Sen. Susan Collins, the Maine Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and is in a tight reelection race against Democrat Troy Jackson. The Wall Street Journal first reported the move, and Collins announced it Friday before the White House released its fact sheet (CNBC; AP).

"Many of our farmers and growers rely on specialized equipment, packaging materials, and other products from Canada that are either unavailable from American suppliers or cannot be replaced without incurring significant expense," Collins said. "In my repeated conversations with Ambassador Greer, Secretary Lutnick, and other senior Administration officials, I have asked for tariff relief for these important products and stressed the burdens additional costs impose on Maine businesses and families" (Sen. Collins).

Her office gave real examples. Maine's wild blueberry growers use specialized Canadian harvesting boxes built to fit their existing processing equipment. The only American maker of certain cardboard farm totes recently stopped making them. And a tariff on Canadian seaweed had put "dozens of Maine jobs at risk" in a young industry. It's her second win of this kind in under two months, after earlier carve-outs for pulp, road salt and cement (Sen. Collins; Maine Public).

Why the tariffs exist

Trump first hit roughly $20 billion of Canadian imports with the 50% tariff on July 20, over what the White House called Canada's discriminatory treatment of American cars, alcohol and dairy. It was the first known use of Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a law that lets a president answer a country that treats American goods unfairly (White House; Reuters).

Talks broke down in August when Prime Minister Mark Carney called his negotiators home. The White House says Canada "walked away from a near-final trade deal." Canada then put its own "dollar for dollar" tariffs on about $20 billion of American goods, including steel, dairy and farm equipment, starting Sept. 8 (White House; Reuters).

Friday's order keeps the teeth in. The tariffs still apply even to goods that qualify under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, and they stack on top of other U.S. duties (White House). "President Trump continues to address Canada's discriminatory treatment of US commerce," White House spokesman Matthew Middleton said (BBC).

Ottawa's answer, and the election

Canada's trade minister, Dominic LeBlanc, said Ottawa would "assess these latest steps" and "stands ready to work constructively and in good faith." Carney said he's in no hurry. "We could sign it this afternoon if the US were there. If it has to be months from now or longer than that, or another administration, before a proper deal comes into place, we will do that," he said (BBC).

That "another administration" line lands as the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa accuses Canadian leaders of trying to sway the Nov. 3 midterms. "The Canadian government brushes off concerns about potential interference in U.S. elections, even as its ministers and premiers openly describe plans to influence American politics in official documents and public appearances," the embassy said Wednesday. Carney called the claims without "merit" (AP; CBC).

Yet a day later, Canada's ambassador in Washington, Mark Wiseman, told Carney's business advisers that American public opinion was finally turning Canada's way, according to four sources who spoke to CTV News. An industry source told the network the tariff fight is coming up in U.S. races well beyond the border states (CTV News).

Trump, for his part, said Friday that Canada was "working very hard" on a deal (BBC). Until one is signed, the new list takes effect Oct. 30: lighter on Maine's farms, heavier on everything else.