On Tuesday, President Donald Trump imposed “25% tariffs on most imports from… Canada, along with a 10% tax on Canadian energy products.”¹ Christopher Burns reported how these tariffs will impact Maine for Bangor Daily News. “About 70 percent of imports come from Canada,” Burns explained, “and 30 percent of the state’s exports are destined to the north.” “Nearly all of Maine’s heating oil comes from Canada,” for example. “When Trump initially announced the tariffs, Irving Oil sent a notice to customers informing them that their bills would rise to offset the tariffs.”² Irving is based in New Brunswick, Canada.³ As predicted, Reuters reported, Irving “increased prices on fuel products on Tuesday to reflect the tariff costs.”⁴ Bangor Daily News expects customers to pay 20 to 30¢ more per gallon of heating oil, as well as 10 to 20¢ more for a gallon of gas.⁵ Although Reuters said gas may increase by as much as 40¢ per gallon.⁶

Tariffs will also disrupt the IAM-represented lobster industry. “Canada has a more robust lobster processing sector,” Burns explained. Maine lobstermen ship much of their product to Canada for processing before it hits the market. “Between $200 million and $400 million of lobster has crossed the border between Maine and Canada annually since 2013.”⁷

These are just a couple of specific examples. The Yale Budget Lab estimated average households will spend between $1,600 and $2,000 more a year under Trump’s tariff plan.⁸ You won’t see these costs reflected in your pay stub, but their impact will be no different than deducting more income taxes. The $2,000 figure represents 3% of a Grade 9 mechanic’s salary before paying any taxes.⁹ In other words, these tariffs are a 3% tax hike. For Grade 1 mechanics, tariffs represent a 3.8% tax hike.¹⁰ For anyone making the $14.65 minimum wage, tariffs will lead to a 6.7% tax hike!¹¹ As the Yale Budget Lab explained:

“Tariffs are a regressive tax, especially in the short-run. This means that tariffs burden households at the bottom of the income ladder more than those at the top as a share of income.”¹²

Maine hangs from one of the lowest rungs. Adjusted for the regional cost of living, Maine ranks 48th in the nation for average income.¹³ Grade 9 pay is a good benchmark, but it is not representative of the state as a whole. Your non-union neighbors and mechanics on the lower end of the pay scale are in for a hard time.

Also on Tuesday, Trump announced he “will create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives.”¹⁴ This follows the IAM’s call to revitalize the American shipbuilding industry.¹⁵ One of the biggest issues American shipyards face is finding people to work in dangerous conditions for low wages.¹⁶ Although we will receive a 4% raise in August, this won’t even be enough to break even under Trump’s tariff plan. Non-union shipyards will not fair any better. Trump’s efforts to revitalize the shipbuilding industry will remain in vain. It is not enough to offer corporations more tax breaks. Tax incentives neither attract nor retain workers. Shipyards must offer higher wages commiserate to Trump’s tariff plan.

None of this is news to the IAM’s International President, Brian Bryant. Bryant got his start as a pipefitter at BIW. As he worked his way up the ranks, Bryant must have realized how intertwined our economies are. Bryant knows tariffs on Canadian goods will be devastating to Maine families. He issued the following statement:

“The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Union strongly condemns the Trump administration’s reckless decision to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports. This harmful action threatens jobs, raises prices, and undermines the long-standing economic partnership between the United States and Canada.

“The IAM has always supported trade policies that protect and grow jobs in both nations. But these tariffs are an unjustified attack on a trusted ally.

“Canada is not the enemy. Canada is committed to fair trade practices that support workers and communities. This decision will disrupt industries that rely on integrated supply chains, hurting workers on both sides of the border.

“The IAM represents 600,000 workers, including tens of thousands in aerospace, defense, and manufacturing—industries that depend on strong U.S.-Canada cooperation. These tariffs will destabilize those sectors, putting livelihoods and our nations’ economies at risk.

“As our union has said previously, tariffs should be used strategically to counter bad actors, like China, that manipulate markets and undermine fair trade. 

“Targeting Canada with punitive tariffs is not only misguided, but dangerous. It weakens North American industry and puts working families in jeopardy.

“We urge President Trump to immediately reconsider these tariffs and pursue trade policies that strengthen, rather than weaken, the economic relationship between the United States and Canada.”¹⁷

1. Scott Horsley, “American businesses reel as Trump tariffs start to bite, NPR,“ March 4, 2025. ↩︎
2. Christopher Burns, “How Trump’s Canada, China and Mexico tariffs could affect Maine,” Bangor Daily News, February 27, 2025. ↩︎
3. “What we do,” Irving, accessed March 6, 2025. ↩︎
4. Nicole Jao, “US pump prices set to climb as new Trump tariffs kick in,” Reuters, March 4, 2025. ↩︎
5. Christopher Burns, “How Trump’s Canada, China and Mexico tariffs could affect Maine,” Bangor Daily News, February 27, 2025. ↩︎
6. Nicole Jao, “US pump prices set to climb as new Trump tariffs kick in,” Reuters, March 4, 2025. ↩︎
7. Christopher Burns, “How Trump’s Canada, China and Mexico tariffs could affect Maine,” Bangor Daily News, February 27, 2025. ↩︎
8. Yale Budget Lab, “The Fiscal, Economic, and Distributional Effects of 20% Tariffs on China and 25% Tariffs on Canada and Mexico,” report, March 3, 2025. ↩︎
9. Grade 9 mechanics make $32.08 an hour. Assume they take all 60 hours of unpaid (PB) time allowed, so they work 50.5 weeks out of the year. Take 50.5 weeks times 40 hours times $32.08 to figure pre-tax income: 50.5 × 40 × $32.08 = $64,801.60. Take $2,000 over $64,801.60 to see what that represents as a percent of a Grade 9’s salary: $2,000 ÷ $64,801.60 = 0.0308, or 3.08%. ↩︎
10. The math works the same as above, just replace $32.08 per hour with $25.73: 50.5 × 40 × $25.73 = $51,974.60, $2,000 ÷ $51,974.60 = 0.0384, or 3.84%. ↩︎
11. Again, the math works the same as above. For consistency’s sake, I am still assuming 1.5 weeks unpaid time: 50.5 × 40 × $14.65 = $29,593.00, $2,000 ÷ $29,593.00 = 0.0675, or 6.75%. ↩︎
12. Yale Budget Lab, “The Fiscal, Economic, and Distributional Effects of 20% Tariffs on China and 25% Tariffs on Canada and Mexico,” report, March 3, 2025. ↩︎
13. Libby Palanza, “Maine Ranks 48th in the United States for Average Annual Incomes,” Maine Wire, June 4, 2024. ↩︎
14. Quoted in Kanishka Singh, “Trump to create office of shipbuilding, offer tax incentives,” Reuters, March 5, 2025. ↩︎
15. Josh Boak, “Labor unions call on Trump to boost US shipbuilding against increasing Chinese dominance,” AP, February 19, 2025. ↩︎
16. See Nicole Foy, “Trump Has Promised to Build More Ships. He May Deport the Workers Who Help Make Them,” ProPublica, January 2, 2025. ↩︎
17. Brian Bryant, “IAM Union Condemns Trump’s 25% Tariffs on Canada,” news release, March 4, 2025. ↩︎