U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), who is running for re-election, is being criticized by her Democratic opponent Troy Jackson for the letter she sent on Friday to President Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer after the Trump administration this week announced new 50 percent tariffs on Canadian imports and the Canadian government responded with retaliatory tariffs.
Collins asked Lutnick and Greer to restart trade negotiations with Canada, saying: “The consequences of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs are severe for Maine businesses, including our heritage industries.”
[NOTE: Maine’s heritage industries include forest products and seafood and fish products — most notably, lobster. Collins wrote, “I urge you to consider that more than 50 percent of Maine’s lobster is processed in Canada, and the industry supply chain includes American jobs in purchasing, processing, and trucking.” Collins’s emphasis on this critical Maine industry remained despite Canada removing seafood products from its retaliatory list on Thursday, a move the senator said she “very much appreciate[d].”]
Oh look, another strongly worded letter.
Give me a break. When Susan Collins had the chance to actually vote to stop Trump’s tariffs from driving up costs for Maine families and businesses, she voted NO.
Mainers don’t need more fake concern. https://t.co/iFcUcSdJo8
— Troy Jackson (@TroyJackson207) August 28, 2026
Jackson responded on social media: “Oh look, another strongly worded letter. Give me a break. When Susan Collins had the chance to actually vote to stop Trump’s tariffs from driving up costs for Maine families and businesses, she voted NO. Mainers don’t need more fake concern.”
[NOTE: In April 2025, Collins was among four Republican senators to vote to terminate the national emergency being used by the administration to justify Canada-specific tariffs. Jackson is referring to another vote that April when Collins voted against an amendment offered by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer aimed at “preventing Trump’s tariffs from increasing the cost of groceries and everyday goods for families.”]
New Troy Jackson TV ad going up today highlights his biography and work as a logger in the North Maine Woods. pic.twitter.com/XbJGGfJbZE
— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) August 26, 2026
[NOTE: Prior to launching his political career in 2000, Jackson was a logger in Maine. In 1998, he helped lead a one-week blockade along the Maine–Canada border, with 14 other Maine loggers, to block Canadian temporary workers, who were being hired over Maine loggers, from crossing the border.]