The public was invited to speak in front of a Maine-Canadian Legislative Advisory Commission on the impacts they are seeing from the federal tariffs. The commission consists of legislators as well as experts in the industry. They took in suggestions from the community on legislative changes that the state can do to help combat the impact of the tariffs on Maine’s economy. Those who spoke said that the state has seen a decrease of 18% in exports to Canada with industries such as logging hurting the most.
“The reality is that Canada isn’t going anywhere and although the relationship may look different in the future, short term and long term, there are still significant economic opportunities that we and others are pursuing,” stated Director of International Trade for the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development Wade Merritt. “In April and again in December, delegations from Quebec came to Maine for business to business match-making programs demonstrating a clear desire to not only maintain relations but to expand them as well.”