Trump Lifts Some Canada Tariffs After Collins Lobbies for Maine Farmers. Relief Is Good, Trade by Favor Is Not.

The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.

The Trump administration will lift its 50% tariffs on a handful of Canadian products starting Oct. 30, after Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she lobbied for the relief. At the same time, the White House is adding new tariffs on other Canadian goods, the BBC reported.

The change comes less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Collins is in a race against Democrat Troy Jackson that Maine Public says is widely considered a tossup.

What is coming off, and what is going on

Collins said the exemptions cover nine categories of products. They include corrugated paper and paperboard cartons, plastic boxes and crates, sacks, agricultural cleaning and grading machinery, packing and wrapping equipment, and seaweed and algae products for human consumption, Maine Public reported. She said some of them matter to Maine's blueberry and apple growers, potato farmers and seaweed producers.

Collins said, for example, that Maine's blueberry growers rely on specialized Canadian-made harvesting boxes that work with existing processing equipment. She also said a U.S. supplier of cardboard totes used widely in agriculture recently stopped making them, "leaving producers with no choice but to turn to Canada," CBC News reported.

The White House also announced new 50% tariffs on other Canadian products, including certain valves, carpets and waste products. CBC reported that the six-page list also includes shampoos, cocoa powder products, window air conditioners, archery equipment and canoes less than 7.5 meters long. The White House said the new duties continue "addressing Canada's discriminatory treatment of U.S. commerce," according to CBC.

How we got here

The United States put a 50% levy on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods after trade talks collapsed in August, and Canada answered with countermeasures, the BBC reported. This is the second time in less than two months that Collins has claimed credit for carve-outs. An earlier round covered road salt, cement and pulp used by Maine paper mills, according to Maine Public.

"I will continue working directly with Administration officials to seek additional relief from tariffs and encourage a broader trade agreement with Canada, our neighbor, ally, and largest trading partner," Collins said in a statement, Maine Public reported.

Her opponent was not impressed. "Susan Collins enabled this chaos, voted to confirm the people behind it and now wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put out the fire," Jackson said, the BBC reported.

Collins is not the only Republican in a border state pushing back. Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers has publicly called for an end to the trade war, saying the tariffs have raised prices, CBC reported. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada is open to a deal but in no hurry. "We could sign it this afternoon if the U.S. were there," he said.

Opinion: Relief for farmers is good. Trade policy by favor is not.

Start with what is right about this. A Maine blueberry grower did not start a trade war. If the only boxes that fit his processing line come from New Brunswick, taxing them at 50% punishes him, not Ottawa. Collins went to bat for her farmers, and the relief is real. Credit where it is due.

But look at how it happened. One senator in a close race asks, and nine categories of goods come off the list days before the election. Other categories go on the list the same day. Canoe makers and shampoo buyers did not have a senator in a tossup race. A sound trade policy should not depend on whose seat is in danger.

The numbers deserve honesty too. CBC reported that Trump claimed Canada makes "$90 billion a year" from the United States, while his own trade representative puts the goods deficit with Canada at $48.3 billion, much of it from American refineries buying discounted Alberta oil. You can believe in tough trade bargaining and still insist on accurate figures.

Scripture warns against unequal measures: "Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD." The Constitution gives Congress the power to lay duties. As this magazine noted in Cheese Importer Sues Over Trump's 50% Tariffs on Canadian Goods, Congress should settle who holds that power. Do that, and farmers in every state, not only swing states, can plan their seasons on rules instead of favors.