US to remove 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods to help Republicans in midterms, WSJ reports

Oct 23 (Reuters) – The United States is expected to remove 50% tariffs on some Canadian agricultural and forestry products in a bid to help Maine Senator Susan Collins and other Republicans from northern US states in the upcoming midterm elections, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar.

The reductions could be balanced out by raising levies on other Canadian goods, the report said, adding that a proclamation altering the tariffs could come as early as Friday.

A White House official told the Journal that any tariff announcements would come directly from the administration and that any preliminary reporting is speculation. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Senator Collins, in a statement issued shortly after the WSJ report, said that nine categories of products, including blueberry, potato, apple, and seaweed producers, will be exempted from U.S. tariffs on Canada.

The Commerce Department did not immediately provide a comment on her announcement, which comes as she is trying to win a sixth term to the senate in Democratic-leaning Maine.

Republican candidates in ​northern US border states most affected by the tariffs are trying to strike a balance between appealing to Trump’s loyal base and winning independent voters.

The economies of Michigan and Maine have long been intertwined with Canada’s, covering everything from auto parts to lumber to fruit-picking equipment. That has raised the stakes in two states that Republicans will likely need to win in the November 3 elections if they are to hold the US Senate.

US President Donald Trump ​said on Friday that Canada is ‌working on a trade deal with the United States, though the two nations ​have been locked in a ​standoff since talks broke down in August, triggering new ‌tariffs ⁠and retaliation on both sides of the border.

(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Barcelona;)

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