Susan Collins Blasts Trump’s Canada Tariffs as a ‘Mistake’: ‘I Thought We Had an Agreement’

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) slammed President Donald Trump’s Canada tariffs as Vice President JD Vance campaigned for her in what is shaping up to be a tight race to keep her seat in the Senate.

Collins told reporters on Monday that she believes Trump’s recently announced tariffs against Canada are a “mistake.” Trump announced the 50% tariffs on steel imports and more and Canada has vowed to match the tariffs “dollar for dollar.”

The new tariffs dropped after trade negotiations between the two countries fell apart.

“I still think imposing new tariffs on Canada is a mistake,” Collins said. “I met recently with the Canadian ambassador. I urged him to make sure that Canada dealt with one barrier that they do have, and that is to dairy products. And I encouraged him to take care of that because I really want us to go back to the very friendly, economically beneficial relationship that we have with our Canadian neighbors.”

Collins warned that the tariffs could eventually lead to some major cost increases for Mainers.

She said:

We produce a lot in Maine, our blueberries, our potatoes, our lobster, our lumber. That is processed across the border. If it comes back with a huge tariff on it, perhaps as much as 50%, that increases the cost of eating, building homes, and merchandising our best known products. So I have voted repeatedly against the Canadian tariffs. This has been really up and down. Yesterday I thought we had an agreement. This morning I read that it had collapsed. So who knows what tomorrow will bring, but I hope it will bring an agreement.

Collins told reporters she was not joining Vance at a campaign rally in Brewer due to a scheduling conflict. Vance praised the nearly-30-year senator as polling has shown her race is tightening with Democrat candidate Troy Jackson, who replaced scandal-plagued Graham Platner after he was accused of sexual assault.

A Fox News poll this month found Jackson leading Collins by 2%. A July survey from the University of New Hampshire showed the Democrat with a 3% lead.

Watch above via C-SPAN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!