Some Canadian imports get tariff exemptions days before Maine election

Maine's wild blueberry growers rely on specialized harvesting boxes from Canada, a small cross-border dependency that has now become campaign-season tariff policy.

Starting Oct. 30, the White House will remove some Canadian goods from the 50% tariffs imposed after U.S.-Canada trade talks collapsed in late August. The exemptions include corrugated paper, plastic boxes and packing bags, refrigeration equipment, packing and labeling machinery, and seaweed or algae products. Sen. Susan Collins said the change would help Maine blueberry, potato, apple and seaweed producers.

Why it matters: Collins says many Maine farmers and growers depend on Canadian equipment and packaging that American suppliers do not offer or that would be costly to replace. In a border-state economy, a box is not just a box when it is part of getting a crop from the field to a buyer.

The Republican senator, seeking a sixth term against Democrat Troy Jackson on Nov. 3, said she had repeatedly asked U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other administration officials for relief. The exemptions take effect four days before Election Day. Democrats have characterized the move as political help for Collins, while the White House said it was refining the tariffs and responding to what it calls Canada's discriminatory treatment of U.S. commerce. The Wall Street Journal reported the exemptions were intended to help Collins and other Republicans.

The catch: This is a tariff reshuffle, not a broad retreat. The White House said certain valves, carpets and waste products will be added to the tariff list as the exemptions begin. CBS News reported that the added categories also include shampoo, vinyl flooring, coffins and window-unit air conditioners.

Jackson said Trump's trade wars had made life harder and more expensive for Mainers and accused Collins of seeking credit for insufficient relief. Collins said she will keep pushing for further exemptions and a broader trade agreement with Canada. The next practical date is Oct. 30, when the revised list takes effect and businesses can see which side of it their imports landed on.