Maine senator says U.S. will drop tariffs on nine categories of Canadian goods

Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins of Maine said on October 23, 2026, that she had successfully lobbied the Trump administration to drop tariffs on nine categories of Canadian products. Tariffs are taxes charged on imported goods.

Collins said the United States would stop tariffing Canadian seaweed. Her list also includes paperboard cartons, plastic crates, plastic bags, refrigeration equipment, agricultural sorting machinery and non-adhesive foil. She said Maine fruit farmers use some of these goods to harvest or package their products.

Collins said Maine blueberry, apple and potato producers cannot get these products anywhere except through Canadian imports. She has previously said Maine imports about $2 billion in non-petroleum products from Canada each year.

The change would build on an earlier step. Collins previously helped secure the removal of U.S. tariffs on Canadian road salt and other goods, according to The Globe and Mail. After that removal, the administration added tariffs to other goods, so the total value of tariffed Canadian products stayed the same, the newspaper reported. Collins has said small towns in Maine rely on Canadian road salt.

Wider changes are also in motion. Reuters reported that the United States is expected to remove 50% tariffs on some Canadian agricultural and forestry products. Politico reported that President Trump will issue a proclamation, a formal presidential order, to roll back some of the 50% tariffs on Canadian goods.