BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 22, 2020
Donald Trump promised that he would deliver “the greatest trade deals” in American history when he visited our state during his 2016 campaign. But after four years of historic failures, Trump has left Maine industries reeling. After he imposed tariffs on Chinese goods — and China retaliated — our lobster exports dropped by 50 percent. Our wild blueberry market contracted by a staggering 97 percent. Our dairy farms could lose an average of $50,000 a piece. And our manufacturing businesses are facing input price hikes of more than 40 percent. The president wreaked havoc on our farmers, our lobstermen and women, and our manufacturers. ~ Lee Webb, former senior fellow at Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at UMaine