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Trump signs order: 22 categories of Canadian goods exempt from 50% tariffs, ~100 new categories added to the tariff list
Trump signed an order on Oct 23 removing 50% tariffs on some Canadian farm and forestry products (plywood, paper goods, packaging materials, refrigeration equipment, seaweed and 17 more categories), widely read as a boost for Maine GOP Senator Susan Collins's re-election bid; at the same time about 100 new product categories (carpets, paint, shampoo, cocoa powder, coffins, ice cream sticks, air conditioners, canoes) were added to the 50% tariff list. Changes take effect Oct 30, after the Nov 3 midterms.
Why it matters
This is Washington's first large-scale selective rollback since the US-Canada tariff war began: the exemption list precisely targets Maine's timber and paper interests, and US media read it as an 11th-hour rescue for Republican Senator Susan Collins's tight re-election race.
But the exemptions are no net giveaway: the White House simultaneously stuffed about 100 new product categories into the 50% tariff schedule, so the overall tariff burden barely changes and Canadian exporters' bills may not get lighter.
Full report
Reuters reported from Washington on Oct 23 that Trump signed an order removing 50% tariffs on some Canadian agricultural and forestry products. The 22 exempted categories include plywood, paper products, packaging materials, refrigeration equipment and seaweed.
To offset the revenue loss, the order adds roughly 100 new product categories to the 50% tariff list, including carpets, paint, shampoo, cocoa powder, coffins, ice cream sticks, air conditioners and canoes.
White House documents show the exemptions are essentially offset by the new tariffs, leaving expected tariff revenue unchanged; all changes take effect Oct 30.
The political timing is conspicuous: Maine is a key corridor for Canadian lumber and paper exports, and Collins's re-election fight is a toss-up; signing 11 days before the vote, with effect a week after, looks like textbook electioneering.
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