US-Canada trade war hurting Maine businesses, workers and consumers
Posted on August 25, 2026 | News
Maine Public | By Carol Bousquet
Published August 24, 2026 at 4:33 PM EDT
Collapsed trade talks between the U.S. and Canada have resulted in 50% tariffs from the Trump administration on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports. And now Prime Minister Mark Carney is promising matching tariffs on U.S. imports beginning Sept. 8.
U.S. companies are checking to see whether Canadian goods they need are among the Canadian imports subject to new tariffs.
Mark Segrist, U.S. Customs and International Trade Attorney with Sandler, Travis and Rosenberg, said the free trade agreement known as USMCA had acted as a shield in past tariff rounds, but not this time.
“That tells me the administration has ratcheted these tariffs up a little bit higher this time. In some of the previous ones, if your goods qualified for USMCA you wouldn’t be charged for tariffs, but that isn’t the case this time, unfortunately,” Segrist said.
Segrist said he believes this will prompt some U.S. importers to choose cheaper alternatives to Canadian goods, leading to the disruption of supply chains. He urged importers to hold off on ordering goods in case a deal is reached.
Lee Umphrey, president of Eastern Maine Development Corporation, said the folly of the trade war is hurting businesses, workers and families.
“The businesses we work with are facing economic hardships now. I think there’s a feeling these transactional one-sided trade policies compounded with trash talking are harming our relationship and reliability with partners and that starts with Canada,” Umphrey said.
Umphrey said he fears rising costs of wood products and energy may lead companies to lay off workers. He said the war in Iran and federal cuts continue to generate economic uncertainty for businesses and consumers.
“At this time, highly integrated, cross-border industries like lobster, fish, and energy do not appear on the list,” Wade Merritt, president of the Maine International Trade Center, said in a statement. “While the proposed 50% tariffs do not suggest a direct, widespread impact on Maine’s economy, the potential for deep impact on individual businesses and indirect impacts do exist. Economy-scale, indirect impacts are possible based on tariff impacts on other U.S. states in supply chains that provide manufacturing inputs for Maine businesses.”
The Canadian Press reported that New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said that her government is working with Prime Minister Mark Carney on how to hit the United States hard with retaliatory tariffs that have an impact.
She said the new U.S. duties could put about 500 New Brunsiwck jobs at risk, but her government will work to cushion the blow.