Sen. Susan Collins secured additional exemptions for Maine from tariffs on Canadian products on Friday, specifically exempting Maine from tariffs on products essential to the state’s agricultural industry.
[RELATED: Collins Presses for Trade De-Escalation with Canada as Maine Industries Face Tariff Pressure…]
“I am pleased to have secured additional tariff exemptions for products crucial to Maine's agricultural industries, including blueberry, potato, apple, and seaweed producers,” said Sen. Collins on X.
“Many of our farmers and growers rely on specialized equipment, packaging materials, and other products from Canada that are either unavailable from American suppliers or cannot be replaced without incurring significant expense,” she added.
I am pleased to have secured additional tariff exemptions products crucial to Maine’s agricultural industries, including blueberry, potato, apple, and seaweed producers.
— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) October 23, 2026
Many of our farmers and growers rely on specialized equipment, packaging materials, and other products from…
Sen. Collins has consistently opposed the tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration on Canada and has sought to exempt Maine from the added costs she believes will hurt the state.
The new exemption applies to nine categories of products essential to blueberry, potato, apple and seaweed producers.
Those categories are:
- Corrugated paper or paperboard cartons and boxes
- Plastic boxes, cases, crates and similar items
- Plastic packing bags and sacks
- Refrigeration and freezing equipment
- Agricultural cleaning, sorting and grading machinery
- Filling, sealing, closing and labeling machinery
- Packing and wrapping machinery
- Non-adhesive plates, sheets, film, foil and strip
- Seaweed and algae products for human consumption
In her press release, Collins explained that those products sourced from Canada are needed for Maine’s agricultural industries and cannot be easily replaced with affordable U.S. alternatives.
She reported that the American supplier of cardboard totes used in agriculture recently shut down, leaving farmers no option to purchase the supplies domestically.
Collins secured the exemptions after speaking with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about the negative impact of the tariffs on Maine businesses and families.
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