Susan Collins Says The White House Has ‘underestimated’ Impact Of Canada Tariffs

WINDSOR, Maine — Sen. Susan Collins says the White House doesn’t understand how its trade war with Canada is affecting Maine.

The five-term GOP incumbent told POLITICO she has spoken with Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer about the escalating tariffs between the two countries, which come as Collins faces a heated reelection race in a state that has close economic ties with Canada. But the White House has shown little sign of relenting on what has been a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s trade policy, and Collins hasn’t spoken with Trump himself.

“I think the administration has very much underestimated the impact on Maine families, on small manufacturers, on our agricultural products,” Collins said in an interview over the weekend. “And that's what I'm trying my best to educate them about. They look at this issue as a macro issue. And in fact, the micro impact on a state like Maine is considerable.”

She added that she had encouraged Vance and Greer to reopen negotiations with Canada.

A spokesperson for Vance didn’t respond to request for comment.

A U.S. trade official, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said the trade office regularly engages with members of Congress and defended the White House’s strategy.

“For years, states like Maine have faced unfair treatment by Canada, including limited access for U.S. dairy exports and floods of dumped and subsidized lumber,” the official said.

Collins has long publicly criticized tariffs on Canada, speaking on the Senate floor about the close economic relationship between Maine and Canada ahead of a symbolic vote against earlier tariffs last year. She and other Maine Republicans were quick to publicly push back on Trump’s decision to impose 50 percent tariffs on Canada in July.

The effects of the tariffs could be wide-ranging in Maine, raising costs on goods such as steel, paper and dairy products, along with road salt used for winter maintenance. Canada is Maine’s largest trade and investment partner, according to the Maine International Trade Center, a public-private partnership between the state government and private sector. Roughly 40 percent of all Maine’s goods exports go to Canada, the group calculates. That includes a range of agricultural goods as well as pulp and paper, with businesses now expecting a serious drop in demand.

That disruption creates a political opportunity that Democrats have sought to seize on. Troy Jackson, the Democratic Senate nominee running against Collins, criticized her at a weekend campaign event for voting to confirm high-level officials such as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has been a strident proponent of tariffs.

“I do find it really hypocritical to say, ‘Well, I don't support this bill,’ or ‘I voted against this law,’ like Senator Collins does, when she helped appoint those department heads,” Jackson told supporters. “Every one of them told us what they were gonna do. They told us they were going to have tariffs.”