Maine manufacturers from craft beverage makers to industrial suppliers are bracing for disruptions from President-elect Donald Trump’s declaration of war against imports from China, Mexico and even Canada — the state’s largest trade and investment partner.
Trump threatened a blanket 60% tariff against China during the campaign, upping that by 10% after winning the election on a platform to put “America first.” He added 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada over illegal immigration and drugs to the playbook, which would flout a regional trade accord that he negotiated during his first term. The arsenal also includes 100% tariffs on the nine-nation bloc of BRICS countries (including China) should they create a currency to rival the U.S. dollar.
But in his cabinet selections, the president-elect sent mixed signals. While there are trade hawks on the team, Trump picked a hedge fund manager wary of across-the-board tariffs as Treasury secretary and an old-school internationalist to run the White House economic council. Those rivals are likely to duke it out over policy.
While it’s impossible to predict whose prices will go up and whose exports will go down if Trump makes good on his threats and countries retaliate with taxes on U.S. goods, Maine manufacturers — even ones with diversified supply chains — know it won’t be business as usual over the next four years.