Canada hits Maine farmers with 250% tariffs — and JD Vance is over it

Canada often enjoys a reputation as America's friendly neighbor, but Vice President JD Vance says the relationship has been anything but fair for U.S. workers and farmers.

In a recent speech on cross-border trade, Vance went in on Canada for imposing steep tariffs on American products while benefiting from the security and economic advantages provided by the United States.

The recent tariffs include 250% on Maine dairy while providing a free pass for Chinese goods through the back door and zero reciprocity.

“First of all, I’d say we’re very mindful of the fact that Maine is a border state with Canada. There’s a lot of cross-border transactions between Maine and Canada. And what we’re trying to do here is just make sure that Maine actually gets a fair deal,” Vance began.

He went on to say that not just Canada but China have “been the two worst countries when it comes to trade policy anywhere in the world.”

“Canada is a country that has underinvested in its military that quite literally would get invaded by a foreign country were it not for the umbrella of protection provided by the United States of America,” he said, asking, “And so how does Canada actually respond to that? By treating the people of Maine fairly?”

“No, they apply ridiculous tariffs and other nontariff duties on Maine products coming into Canada and they don’t expect Maine or anybody else to fight back,” he answered.

“We’re sick of that. We are actually going to fight back against unfair trade practices whether it’s coming from China or Canada,” he added.

“Good. And that is true. He’s absolutely right about that,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray comments.

“And by the way, it’s not just Maine products. It’s all U.S. products,” he adds.

Vance continued to explain that while you buy “dairy, cheese, butter, milk that comes from Canada into Maine, you probably are buying a product that has 0% tariffs on it.”

However, he went on, “If a Maine farmer sends dairy products into Canada, they could be paying as much as a 250% tariff.”

“Now, how is it fair to the farmers of Maine that they pay 250% when the Canadian farmers pay nothing? That unfairness is something that we just have to fix,” he added.

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