Trump to scrap tarrifs on some Canadian products: U.S. senator

Hello, I'm Andrew Nicholls. This is CBC News Network. We are tracking some breaking news on the U.S.-Canada trade war. A senator from Maine says some Canadian agricultural products will now be exempt from U.S. tariffs. Republican Susan Collins made the announcement on social media. For more, let's bring in journalist Nick Harper in Washington. So, Nick, what exactly is Senator Collins saying about this tariff exemption? Yeah, Andrew, a very big announcement. this, suggesting a thaw in US-Canada trade relations. Susan Collins says that she asked the US trade representative, Jameson Greer, and the Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, specifically to look into the issue of tariffs and how they affected her state of Maine, a border state. I mean, it's interesting to note that the top export and import partner of Maine is Canada, more so than any other country around the world. So this is a hugely important issue, not just for Canada, but for people in Maine as well. She says that this means tariff exemptions for a number of products that are crucial to Maine's agricultural industry. She says in particular, the blueberry, potato, apple, seaweed industries, all of them will be helped by this new announcement. She says that those farmers and growers simply don't have access to the type of things she needs from American manufacturers. And that's why she looks across the border to be able to get those products in from Canada, but those products have been facing a 50% tariff. So nine categories are now exempt, things like corrugated paper that make cartons and boxes to put blueberries into, plastic boxes, plastic packing bags and refrigeration units, a whole load of things that very much help those industries. In a statement, she said, in my repeated conversations with Ambassador Greer, Secretary Lutnick and other senior administration officials I have asked for tariff relief for these important products and i will continue working directly with administration officials to seek additional relief and encourage a broader trade agreement with canada our neighbor ally and latest trading largest trading partner the suggestion there at the end of that statement that potentially this is the start of more exemptions to follow however there is a possibility that with the reduction in these areas, the Trump administration may look to add on other tariffs on other Canadian products in other areas. They did this last month when they removed tariffs from a number of different products, including road, salt and cement. They did that. But to balance things out, they added tariffs in other areas. Yeah. Yeah. And of course, the timing of all this is very interesting. We're just over a week away from the midterms. We know that trade talks are at an impasse. So why would the White House agree to this exemption now? Well, the hope is this is going to be a vote winner. I mean, there's that international component, Andrew, the trade with Canada, but there's also the domestic component. The fact that the Republicans know this is one of the most competitive races nationwide. The Senate seat that Susan Collins is trying to hang on to, trying to beat off the Democratic challenger, Trey Jackson, they're tied in the polls. And this is one of the seats that democrats hope to flip in their hopes to be able to take control not just of the house of representatives but potentially the senate as well so it seems to be almost a tacit acknowledgement from the Trump administration that Donald Trump's trade policies has hurt his ability to gain votes in this midterm election so now giving a sweetener to Republican voters in the state of Maine who may be wondering whether now is the time to vote for the Republican Party considering what has happened with tariffs and trade. I mean, it will help Maine, but it may help other Republican candidates in other border states like Michigan and New Hampshire that do a lot of cross-border trade with Canada. We could see candidates there on the Republican side getting a boost as a result of this announcement that's come out this afternoon from Susan Collins and the Republican Party. And of course, there's no sense with a mercurial US president on how long this exemption would last. Nick, thank you. That is journalist Nick Harper in Washington.