Susan Collins Calls For End To Canada Emergency Declaration, Warns Tariffs Could Be 'Detrimental'

2 days ago

During remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) spoke in support of a resolution to overturn President Trump's emergency declaration being used to impose tariffs on Canadian goods.

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Transcript

00:00Senator Fremain. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the resolution

00:10introduced by my colleague from Virginia, Senator Kaine, to overturn the emergency

00:17declaration for the northern border that is being used to impose tariffs on goods imported

00:27from Canada. Mr. President, the Maine economy is integrated with Canada, our most important

00:37trading partner, from home heating oil, gasoline, jet fuel, and other refined petroleum products,

00:47to Maine's paper mills, forest products businesses, agricultural producers, and lobster men.

00:55The tariffs on Canada would be detrimental to many Maine families and our local economies.

01:06Mr. President, of course, I share the President's goal of stemming the tide of dangerous fentanyl

01:16that flows into the United States. I commend him for taking far stronger actions to halt

01:27this dangerous and deadly flow than did the previous administration. I do not, however,

01:36agree with his invoking the powers of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act

01:45to impose tariffs on Canadian goods and products. The fact is the vast majority of fentanyl in

01:55America comes from the southern border. In fiscal year 2024, less than one percent of fentanyl

02:06seizures occurred at our northern border, and our Canadian neighbors are working collaboratively and

02:16cooperatively with our government to stop that trafficking. Mr. President, one of the best

02:25examples of the intertwined relationship between Maine's economy and Canada can be seen at the

02:35Twin Rivers paper mill in Mattawaska, Maine, way in the north on the Canadian border. Twin Rivers produces

02:45lightweight specialty paper for packaging materials for our nation's newspapers and our

02:52retailers' catalogs, for food and environmentally safe papers used in restaurants, and for a wide

03:01variety of other paper goods that are used all over the country. The raw pulp for this paper mill

03:12in Maine is piped across the St. John River from Edmonston, New Brunswick to Mattawaska, Maine.

03:22There literally is a pipeline through which the pulp travels between these two sister mills.

03:33A tariff placed on this pulp would jeopardize the financial well-being of this vital paper mill,

03:42which employs more than 500 people in rural northern Maine. There is not another big employer

03:54in that area that could possibly compensate for the loss of those 510 direct jobs, and that doesn't

04:05include the indirect jobs, the truck drivers, the loggers, the restaurant owners who would be harmed

04:15by the closure or reduction in the operation of this vitally important mill. The tariff would not

04:26only devastate Twin Rivers, but also harm hundreds of Maine families. Another example of our integration

04:38with Canada is in energy. 95% of the heating oil that is used by most Mainers to heat their homes

04:50comes from refineries in Canada. Irving Oil, a Canadian-based company, has 150 gas stations in

05:01Maine and supplies two-thirds of the state's gas, diesel, and heating oil. This includes, Mr. President,

05:12100% of the jet fuel that is used by the Air National Guard Base in Bangor.

05:22Maine consumers, Maine businesses, and the U.S. Department of Defense, our own Department of Defense,

05:32would bear the cost of that Canadian energy tariff. Mr. President, Canadian tariffs would also

05:43harm many Maine farmers, lobstermen, and fishermen. According to the Maine Potato Board, 90% of the

05:53potash, which is the fertilizer used for growing potatoes, is imported from Canada. Fertilizer

06:03accounts for 11% of total input costs to grow our great Maine potatoes. Tariffs on imports like

06:14fertilizer will only hurt Maine potato growers. And, Mr. President, I grew up in Aroostook County.

06:25I know these potato growers. I picked potatoes as a school child when I was growing up.

06:35Just recently, a farmer from Mars Hill, Maine, told me that just the threat of tariffs is causing

06:43a price increase on seed and equipment. This farmer supplies potatoes to a Canadian company

06:52with facilities on both sides of the border. The different facilities have specialized equipment

07:00to process potatoes for different uses. Hash browns in one plant, curly fries in another.

07:10A tariff on potatoes as they cross back and forth between Maine and Canada

07:18would cause terrible harm to this and other growers. Other products are processed back and

07:28forth across the border as well. For example, many Maine blueberries are processed in Prince Edward

07:37Island. Maine also sends between 200 million and 400 million dollars worth of lobster to Canada

07:48each year for processing. There are 240 lobster processing plants in Canada, but only 15 in the

07:58United States. I share the President's goal of getting more of that manufacturing done in the

08:06state of Maine, done in the United States, but the fact is that if we impose these tariffs on Canadian

08:16processing, it's going to be our Maine lobstermen who will bear the cost. It's going to be consumers

08:25who bear the cost. I'd like to make mention of another industry that would be affected as well,

08:33and that is the aquaculture industry. In Washington County in far eastern Maine,

08:41Cook Aquaculture is one of the largest employers with more than 200 direct jobs throughout the

08:51state. While they have a processing plant in Machias, Maine, the first step of their salmon

09:00processing occurs in Canada before re-entering the United States for finishing. At a time when

09:09the Maine aquaculture industry is growing, these tariffs on Canada would jeopardize current jobs

09:19and also block future ones. Mr. President, close relationships between and among families on both

09:31sides of the border are very common in the state of Maine. It's typical of communities ranging from

09:40Calais in the east, Fort Kent in the north, and Jackman in the west. You see it all across the

09:50northern, eastern, and western parts of our state because our communities are so integrated. It is

10:00not surprising to me that I had a conversation with members of the tourism industry in Maine

10:08just this morning who told me that they're seeing cancellations by Canadian tourists who have come

10:17for years to vacation in Maine. Old Orchard Beach, for example, is known for the number

10:26of Canadian tourists. We don't want to discourage these Canadian tourists who are so vital to Maine's

10:36economy from vacationing in Maine because they are so angry at what has happened.

10:46Maine families benefit from more than $900 billion in goods and services that are exchanged between

10:55our two countries every year. It is crucial that we remain a dependent and vibrant global trading

11:04partner, particularly with Canada. Now, I want to distinguish that I think there is a strong case

11:14to be made for tariffs on Mexico, on our adversary China, but I don't see the case for Canada. There

11:26are areas where Canada does need to do better, and the dairy industry is one, and I hope that

11:35that we will see that result. And let me conclude my remarks by reaffirming my support for ensuring

11:48that the Department of Homeland Security has every tool at its disposal to stem the flow

11:57of fentanyl into our nation. But unlike Mexico and China, Canada is not complicit in this crisis,

12:10and we should continue working with our Canadian allies to secure the northern border,

12:18not unfairly penalize them. Our consumers, our manufacturers, our lobstermen, our blueberry

12:28growers, our potato farmers will pay the price. Mr. President, the price hikes that will happen

12:37for Maine families every time they go to the grocery store, they fill their gas tank,

12:44they fill their heating oil tank, if these tariffs go into effect, will be so harmful.

12:54And as price hikes always do, they will hurt those the most who can afford them the least.

13:05Therefore, I will support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do so likewise.

13:13Thank you, Mr. President.

Susan Collins Calls For End To Canada Emergency Declaration, Warns Tariffs Could Be 'Detrimental'

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