Press Herald - In a consequential decision for Maine, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that President Donald Trump cannot use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs....
Trump’s tariffs, a signature part of his economic and international relations platforms, have strained relationships with longtime trading partners, including Canada. A Politico poll released Thursday found that only 22% of Canadians agree that “the United States is a reliable ally.” More than half — 58% — disagreed.
Canada is by far Maine’s largest trading partner. In August, Trump raised the tax on goods imported from the state’s northern neighbor to 35%. Maine brought in more than $4.7 billion in Canadian goods in 2024, before the tariffs hit.
At the time, experts said many of the products Maine imports from Canada would be exempted from Trump’s tariffs because they are covered in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a major pact designed to alleviate trade barriers between the three countries.
The agreement covers roughly 86% of Canadian imports into the United States, according to an analysis by the Royal Bank of Canada. Broadly speaking, the agreement exempts products made entirely in Mexico and Canada. Some items made with components from other countries — but that are substantially changed by the manufacturing process — are also exempt.
Patrick Woodcock, president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, said the Trump administration’s use of emergency tariffs created a challenging regulatory landscape for local businesses.
“It has been a rollercoaster for a lot of Maine businesses,” he said Friday morning.
The chamber is generally supportive of tariffs that can level the playing field for Maine businesses in certain industries, such as those targeting softwood lumber, Woodcock said. But the sweeping and fluid nature of these emergency tariffs was difficult to plan around.
....James Myall, an analyst with the left-leaning Maine Center for Economic Policy, said the decision was “generally good news” for Mainers. He called it unsurprising, given the skeptical tone of justices’ responses to oral arguments in the case last year.
He said the USMCA exemptions have softened some of the effects of Canadian tariffs.
“The Canadian tariffs have actually not had as much impact as people worried they would,” Myall said. But “many Maine companies and businesses use goods that are imported from all kinds of other places as well.”
The full impact of tariffs on Mainers’ overall cost of living is still unclear, Myall said. It’s not clear whether Friday’s ruling could mean savings for consumers.
Senate Democratic Campaign Committee - Susan Collins just said she will support the Trump backed SAVE Act. If passed, this dangerous piece of legislation would force millions of Americans to jump through hoops to exercise their right to vote
Press Herald - Wabankai tribal leaders, lawmakers and Gov. Janet Mills might not be entirely on the same page. But they’re reading the same book. The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee heard from tribal leaders and their allies Thursday during a hearing on two bills. One would make federal Indian law broadly applicable to the Wabanaki Nations. The other would lift restrictions on tribal land acquisition and expand tribal authority over hunting and fishing on their lands.
Some civilian workers at the government-owned Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery recently got bonuses of up to $25,000 from the Department of Defense. Others did not, and they’re not happy about it. The selective bonuses have prompted complaints of favoritism and discrimination. The program, rolled out in December by the Trump administration, was a way to recognize “our very best civilians with meaningful monetary awards.”
It will be another weekend of good sledding and snowblowing in southern Maine. The National Weather Service forecasts a large swath of the region to receive at least 3 inches of snow Friday night into Saturday, while some areas may receive up to 8 inches. The highest totals are expected in southern Oxford County, northwestern York County, and a slice of western Cumberland County.
Press Herald - Maine Gov. Janet Mills won’t attend an annual governors meeting Friday at the White House, declaring that she refuses to attend an event she says “that has turned into an unproductive vanity project for the President.”
The governor’s announcement followed weeks of back and forth over whether she and other Democrats would attend. The National Governors Association previously backed out of the meeting, which Mills and several other Democratic governors are boycotting after Trump declined to invite two Democrats.
Press Herald - A sculpture planned near the new bridge linking Brunswick and Topsham will honor its historic predecessor, using steel recycled from the soon-to-be-dismantled Frank J. Wood Bridge.
Brunswick Public Art announced its choice for the bridge memorial at Tuesday night’s Town Council meeting after months of planning and collaboration with artists.
The organization chose a design by the Seattle-based artist team of Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan, BPA President Sarah Brayman announced Tuesday.
The artists have several public art works in their portfolio. A Bowdoin College graduate, Haddad also has ties to the Midcoast.
“The community has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reuse actual Frank J. Wood bridge parts to create a distinctive structure commemorating this iconic structure that has been a dominant aspect of the Brunswick-Topsham landscape and an essential economic asset for the previous 100 years,” Brayman said.
