Anger grows in Maine over Trump’s trade war with neighboring Canada

A Maine logging company, WW London Woodlot Management, has shut down after owners Molly and Alex London struggled with years of rising costs. They said tariffs made the situation impossible this year.

Replacement parts for their machinery were delayed for weeks because local suppliers no longer stocked them at prices customers could afford. Industry representatives say equipment, parts and truck prices have risen 30% to 50% since the US tariffs were announced.

Maine’s economic ties with Canada are unusually deep: roughly 40% of the state’s exports go north. The US imposed a 50% tariff on selected Canadian goods on 22 August, and Canada responded with tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on $20bn worth of American imports.

Rising costs squeeze logging

Dana Doran, executive director of the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast, said the US is heavily dependent on Canadian mills to process lumber used in housing. Demand has also weakened as homebuilding slowed, while Maine’s industry faces a shrinking workforce.

The Londons were already dealing with higher fuel, tyre and payroll costs after the Covid pandemic. In 2025, the family dropped its own health insurance to continue providing coverage for employees, while their children used free school food programmes for the first time during the summer.

Tariffs enter Senate campaign

The economic frustration could shape Maine’s contest between Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president and fifth-generation logger. Jackson has accused Collins of serving wealthy interests.

Collins, who has represented Maine in the Senate for 29 years and chairs the powerful Appropriations Committee, stresses her roots in a lumber family. The source says she and Jackson are currently neck-and-neck in polling.

Higher costs are also affecting fishing and restaurants. Fisherman Justin Allen Liddy said fuel can cost up to $2,500 per trip, while Portland restaurateur David Turin described falling consumer spending as a major strain on the industry.