Tariffs

“The price hikes that will happen for Maine families, every time they go to the grocery store, they fill their gas tank, they fill their heating oil tank, will be so harmful. And as price hikes always do, they will hurt those the most who can afford them the least.”

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) made these remarks in support of Senator Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) proposal to repeal the Emergency Declaration on the Northern Border that President Trump announced in February. You can watch her full presentation here.

The Canadian tariffs remain in effect, even as other, even higher, tariffs on other countires have been put in place and then removed. In her remarks, Collins also gave a thorough review of the impact on businesses statewide, from Aroostook County to Old Orchard Beach. Lobster processing was one of her main concerns. While she endorsed building more processing plants here in Maine, she acknowledged that those plants cannot appear overnight.

There are many more tariffs, other than the Canadian tariffs, that will also affect our lives here. All of those items we have come to rely on acquiring at low prices – from shoes and jeans to cell phones and television sets – will cost us more. If we end up restoring some industries lost to overseas firms (this will take time), those products will be even more expensive, as American laborers want and deserve to earn a living wage.