Former President Donald Trump’s preference for heavy tariffs on foreign-made goods may play well in Maine, where bipartisan opposition to free-trade deals has been a decades-long theme. The Republican is looking to greatly expand on the tariffs that he put into place during his first term and that President Joe Biden’s administration has mostly kept them in place . But the Trump-era tariffs prompted a trade war that at least initially hurt lobstermen, wild blueberry farmers and others in legacy industries that enjoy solid support from politicians here.
Economists believe that Trump’s plan would lead to a lower gross domestic product, higher prices and another trade war that could reduce access to foreign markets. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, has criticized that plan. Yet Trump’s tariffs are supported by both candidates in Maine’s swing congressional race.
Maine’s congressional delegation and state lawmakers have leaned toward “populism and trade protectionism, but at same time, we have our leaders saying we really need more market access,” Kristin Vekasi, a University of Maine political scientist and trade expert, said. “Like many places, we’d like to have it both ways,” Vekasi said. As Trump faces Harris in a race that national polls deem a coin toss, Trump said he wants 10 percent to 20 percent tariffs on foreign countries “that have been ripping us off for years.
He wants more than 60 percent tariffs on Chinese imports. Harr.