Trump Eases Canadian Tariffs In Likely Last-Ditch Attempt To Help Republicans In Tight Midterm Races

The administration of President Donald Trump announced on Friday that tariffs on certain Canadian products linked to agriculture would be lifted. The move is expected to help Republican candidates before the midterms, especially long-serving Republican Senator for Maine Susan Collins.

In order to "continue effectively offsetting the burden to U.S. commerce while better serving the public interest, President Trump is ... removing certain products — such as plywood sheets, some paper products, certain machinery and refrigeration equipment, and certain packing crates and boxes — from the scope of the Section 338 tariffs," the White House said on Friday.

These items will no longer be subject to the tariffs of 50 percent that were initially imposed on a range of Canadian goods in July. These tariffs were, according to the Trump administration, a "response to Canada's discriminatory treatment of American products."

However, the government also announced that there would be a new range of Canadian goods subject to the 50 percent levy, such as "certain valves, carpets, waste products, and others."

The news was welcomed by Republican candidates who are facing tight races against Democrat challengers in key states in the November midterm elections.

Susan Collins, who is facing a tough electoral challenge from her Democrat opponent Troy Jackson as she seeks to win a sixth term as a Maine senator, responded particularly favorably to the news, posting on X on Friday that she was "pleased to have secured additional tariff exemptions products crucial to Maine's agricultural industries, including blueberry, potato, apple, and seaweed producers."

"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.

Collins noted that she had repeatedly asked for, and would continue to lobby for, tariff relief.

The tariff war between Canada and the U.S. has become a key political issue in other races too; in Michigan, both Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and his Republican opponent Mike Rogers have criticized the Canadian tariffs and the financial pressure they exert on Michiganders.

Following the administration's change of tariff policy, Rogers reiterated on Friday that he had "called for an end to the tariff war," but praised the Trump administration for placing new tariffs on Canadian "trash trucks," claiming that Canadian trucks have been using Michigan's landfills to dispose of garbage for "decades."

According to a White House proclamation, "residual products of the chemical or allied industries," which are likely the products Rogers is referring to, will now face the 50 percent fine.

A Fox News poll released on Thursday showed Collins and Jackson tied at 49 percent apiece in the Maine Senate race, whereas El-Sayed is leading Rogers by approximately three percentage points in the Michigan race as of October 24, according to MSNOW's Michigan poll tracker.