President Trump is expected to lift 50% tariffs on some Canadian farm and forestry goods as early as Friday, a step the Wall Street Journal links to aiding Sen. Susan Collins.
The United States is poised to remove those levies on certain agriculture and forestry products, Just the News reported, citing a Wall Street Journal account built on unnamed sources.
Those sources framed the expected cuts as part of an effort by President Donald Trump to help Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who is running for reelection, along with other Republicans in the midterms. Scope and timing could still change, the Journal’s sources said.
A White House official pushed back hard on advance accounts. The official said tariff moves come straight from the administration and that reports ahead of any announcement are speculation.
"any tariff announcements come directly from the administration, and any reports ahead of announcements are entirely speculation."
Collins had already asked for relief from tariffs that hit Maine industries and consumers. The state’s economy depends heavily on trade with Canada.
She has also broken with Trump on tariff policy. That split did not stop her from seeking help for home-state producers and buyers caught in the crossfire.
Democratic challenger Troy Jackson has made Trump’s Canadian tariffs a core campaign issue. The expected relief lands squarely in a race where border trade is not abstract.
In late August, Trump applied 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods after U.S., Canada trade talks broke down. The new reports point to a partial unwind focused on agriculture and forestry lines, not a blanket rollback of every duty.
No full product list, legal instrument, or fixed calendar date beyond “as early as Friday” appears in the available reporting. The Journal account itself warned that details remain fluid.
That leaves two tracks on the record at once. Unnamed sources described a politically timed cut meant to steady a vulnerable Republican seat in a trade-exposed state. The White House called pre-announcement stories speculation and said real tariff news comes from the administration alone.
Collins still has to win in Maine. Jackson is still running on the tariff fight. And Trump still holds the pen on whether those 50% duties on farm and forest goods come off.
When Maine’s jobs ride on Canadian trade, ignoring the pain is not strength, fixing it is.
