In 30 days, President Donald Trump will impose a 50% tariff on a variety of goods coming from Canada. This move is in response to what he refers to as Canada’s unfair treatment of U. S. cars, dairy, and alcohol.
Patrick Woodcock, President of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, mentioned that he has reviewed the list of affected items. Fortunately, two out of the three major imports for the state-energy, fisheries, and forest products-aren’t included.
“There are some forest products included on the list but they are mostly end-use products rather than the inputs like pulp that go into some of the main products that feed into our paper mills and manufacturing processes,” Woodcock said.
Woodcock hopes both sides can sort things out before these tariffs come into play.
However, he expressed concern about escalating tariffs. The evolving relationship between Canada and China alongside the U. S.’s conflict with Iran makes any new trade policies tricky.
“It was a trade dispute last year,” Woodcock said. “Trying to see how they can have a working relationship that doesn’t have collateral damage for a trading partnership that is so important to Maine is going to be critical.”
Trump is also set to impose tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% on around 60 trading partners worldwide that use forced labor for their products, affecting more than 99% of U. S. imports.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
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