Politics

Maine Lobster Fishermen Caught Between Trump Tariffs and Senate Race

By Andy Hirschfeld

Senator Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson are at odds over tariffs that could hurt Maine’s lobster industry ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. David Horner, a lobster fisherman who has voted for President Donald Trump three times, supports the president’s rollback of environmental regulations that affect commercial fishing. However, he is disappointed with Trump’s hostile stance toward Canada, a key partner in Maine’s lobster trade. "I never heard anything about all this Canadian animosity in the campaign. I don’t know where that came from," Horner told Al Jazeera. "As far as taking on Canada in this huge hostile trade war, I’m totally against it."

Rising diesel prices, driven by global tensions involving the U.S., Iran, Russia and Ukraine, have more than doubled the cost of fuel for fishermen. Diesel averaged $3.08 per gallon in September before the U.S. and Israel began their war on Iran, and has now risen to $6.29. The cost of bait has also climbed.

Maine’s lobster fisheries generated $461 million in 2025, underpinning a seafood economy that depends on the crustacean. The industry was rattled when Trump announced tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods in August, prompting Ottawa to retaliate. Canada later lifted the levies on seafood that month. Although seafood was ultimately exempted from the U.S.–Canadian trade war, the threat of tariffs raised fears in the industry and put pressure on Collins, who is in a close Senate race with Jackson.

The Senate race is tight. Jackson, the former president of the Maine State Senate, holds a slight advantage. A recent CNN poll suggested Jackson was leading by four percentage points, and a Marist poll indicated a two‑point lead, both within the margin of error. Collins has a reputation for voicing concerns about Trump’s policies while supporting his agenda when it comes to voting. She has voted in line with Trump on 92 percent of Senate votes during his second term, which began in January 2025. However, she has broken with Trump on tariffs on several occasions. In April 2025, she voted to overturn tariffs on Canadian goods. Later that month, she supported a resolution to end Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, and in August, she pushed back against the White House over tariffs affecting seafood.

Beyond Canadian tariffs, levies on foreign steel and aluminium add costs for Maine’s lobster industry, which relies on the metals to manufacture fishing traps. Jackson has criticized Collins for not doing enough to challenge the president’s trade measures. During their most recent debate, Collins highlighted her efforts to secure tariff exemptions for products such as road salt, while Jackson countered, "We can’t eat road salt."

Trump removed 50 percent tariffs on some Canadian goods, including certain machinery and packaging products, on October 30, ahead of the midterm elections. At the same time, his administration extended tariffs to other Canadian goods, including certain waste products. "The Canada tariffs are just the dumbest thing in the world. I don’t think there’s anybody up here, Republican or Democrat, who can imagine why we’re involved in this thing," Maine Republican strategist Lance Dutson told Al Jazeera. "I don’t think that’s something people are going to point to Susan Collins on, though. I think she’s made it pretty obvious that she’s worked to try to mitigate those things."

The tariffs risk undermining the competitiveness of U.S. exporters over the long term. Trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. have led Ottawa to deepen ties with other countries like China, potentially putting U.S. exporters at a disadvantage. "Our competitors, namely Canada, are now trading for the most part with those countries tariff‑free or with very low tariffs. If we can’t compete with that, we have fewer markets to sell to, which puts downward pressure on the prices paid to fishermen," Snyder, a Democratic strategist, said.

In China, one of the world’s biggest markets for lobster, Canadian lobsters face a 7 percent tariff, significantly lower than the 17 percent levied on Maine lobsters. "They have friendlier trade relations with some of these countries as the U.S. has become antagonistic toward some of its trade partners, giving them a competitive advantage," Snyder added.

Climate change also pressures the industry because lobsters thrive in colder waters and are migratory. Maine remains a major lobster‑producing region, but warming waters could push lobsters farther north, making Canadian waters more abundant in the years to come and putting pressure on Maine’s industry.

Jackson has alleged Collins has not done enough to address the underlying causes of heightened prices for Mainers in the lobster industry and beyond, including tariffs. "Troy spent most of his life working along the Canadian border, so he knows how important this relationship is to Maine’s economy, and he sees Trump’s tariffs for what they are: a tax on Maine families and small businesses," a spokesperson for Jackson said in a statement provided to Al Jazeera. The Collins campaign did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

On the lobster boat, rising costs make it harder to know whether a day at sea will pay off for Horner. He plans to vote for Collins, but his support for Trump has grown increasingly complicated. "I wish I could forget about everything else. I would be OK with him," Horner said. "The high diesel fuel is the biggest enemy of the fishing industry."