Some Republicans are opposing Trump on tariffs. Maine's Susan Collins just got him to back down on Canadian levies.

By Victor Reklaitis

As she faces a tough midterm race, the five-term GOP senator is touting her successful lobbying effort against certain tariffs on Canada

One closely watched race in this fall's midterm elections is the U.S. Senate race in Maine between Republican incumbent Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is in a tight re-election fight in Maine, announced Friday that nine categories of products crucial for her state's agricultural industries will be exempted from President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada, saying the shift comes after she repeatedly lobbied Trump administration officials.

The move by Collins is a fresh sign of how some Republican candidates are showing a willingness to oppose Trump on certain tariffs, even as import taxes are among his favorite policy tools.

The GOP's Senate nominee in Michigan, former Rep. Mike Rogers, has released an ad in which he says: "Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war now." Rogers is in a similarly tight race, facing off against Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a former local health official.

In New Hampshire's Senate race, Republican nominee John Sununu has said it "doesn't make any sense to engage in a trade war with Canada." Sununu's midterm contest against Democratic nominee Chris Pappas, a congressman, is rated as "leans Democratic" by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, while the races in Maine and Michigan are rated as "toss-ups."

The GOP candidates who question Trump's tariffs appear to be putting themselves in alignment with most voters. An AP-NORC poll in September found that 64% of U.S. adults think Trump has gone too far in imposing new tariffs on other countries, up from 58% in January.

The challenge for these Republican politicians is they have to address the widespread view that tariffs lead to higher prices, but "there are certain sectors where these tariffs could be strategically popular," said Nathan Dean, a senior government analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. "And so they have to balance that line."

Dean told MarketWatch that the GOP candidates need to distance themselves from the president "enough for the election," but not so much that they're "out of step with him next year," when tariffs look likely to ramp back up.

In a statement on Friday, Collins noted that she previously secured tariff exemptions for other Canadian products that are crucial for Mainers - namely road salt, cement and wood pulp - and promised to "continue working directly with administration officials to seek additional relief from tariffs and encourage a broader trade agreement with Canada, our neighbor, ally and largest trading partner." The five-term senator said the categories of products receiving exemptions include corrugated paper cartons, plastic boxes, plastic bags, refrigeration and freezing equipment, packing and wrapping machinery, and seaweed and algae products.

Her Democratic opponent, Troy Jackson, criticized Collins over her announcement.

"Trump's trade wars have made life harder and more expensive for Mainers. Susan Collins enabled this chaos, voted to confirm the people behind it, and now wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put out the fire," said Jackson, a former state legislator, in a social-media post.

"We deserve a senator who stands up to Trump - not one who rubber-stamps his agenda and begs for relief from the chaos she helped create," he added.

The White House didn't immediately respond to MarketWatch's request for comment on Collins's announcement. The tariff reductions that Collins is celebrating may be balanced out by raising levies on other Canadian goods, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Trump's trade fight with Canada went to a new level in August after negotiations on a trade deal broke down, and it escalated further in September with Trump's bans on Canadian dairy products, some alcoholic beverages and other goods.

-Victor Reklaitis

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10-23-26 1650ET