AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) The impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on softwood lumber from Canada is unclear in Maine, where sawmills and logging businesses on both sides of the border are intertwined.
But it’s created new tension between Maine’s governor, who claims Americans are being gouged, and others who say it’s good for the state’s industry.
Republican Gov. Paul LePage now claims there’s been more fallout, with the state losing revenues because it’s unable to process all the wood it’s cut on public lands.
Former state economist and Bureau of Public Land director Lloyd Irland says tariffs are not the main cause of rising lumber prices that builders are facing. He says it’s still unclear how the tariff will end up impacting Maine consumers.
