PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Go down any produce aisle, and you’ll see all manner of fruits and vegetables with tags declaring “Product of Canada” or “Product of Mexico.”
That’s not unusual in Maine, or in other places where the climate forces grocers to buy goods from elsewhere.
But last week, the Trump administration enacted tariffs on goods from many countries, including Canada and Mexico. Federal leaders say the tariffs will eventually spark U.S. growth by decreasing dependence on other countries.
Many Mainers fear their effects on energy prices, lobstering and more, right down to the shelves of local grocery stores.
That was clear in one Aroostook County food market on Friday, where even shoppers who support the broader aim of the tariffs said their wallets will take a hit in the near term.
“I know that in the end the tariffs are going to work for us,” Lori Sullivan of Westfield said as she shopped at Star City IGA in Presque Isle. “But before they start working for us, prices are going to go up.”
Grocery prices have already risen exponentially in recent years, she said: a large load of groceries that would have cost $200 in the past recently cost her $400.
Sullivan hopes the trade levies will force other countries to drop their tariffs on the U.S. But that will take time, she said.
People are already starting to hurt because of the tariffs, Jeremiah Donovan of Presque Isle said. He doesn’t agree with the administration’s tactics.
“Countries have been cheating us all along, and we’re trying to get some of that back,” he said. “But I think it’s going to backfire.”
Food prices that have been steadily rising anyway are increasing more, he said. And in Aroostook, which so closely borders Canada, many businesses buy heavy equipment and parts from Canada, and they too will pay more.
Janet Sullivan of Fort Fairfield doesn’t think higher tariffs will spur U.S. business. If anything, Americans will pay more not just for food, but for goods such as lumber and other building materials.
“I think it’s bad for business,” she said. “We get things here that only come from Canada, and with the tariffs that only makes it more expensive.”
Taking one vegetable as an example, a shelf of red and yellow peppers at the store was priced at $4.99 a pound. Just three years ago, red peppers averaged $1.87 a pound, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.
Josh Tweedie, owner of the Presque Isle store as well as Mars Hill IGA and Hillside IGA in Fort Fairfield, was unavailable for comment on Friday.
So far, it’s been hard to assess how some of Maine’s larger food growers feel about the tariffs. Attempts to reach more than a dozen farmers about how the trade issue could affect their operations were unsuccessful. The Maine Potato Board did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The shoppers interviewed on Friday differed on how the tariffs might affect the agriculture industry. Lori Sullivan, who supports the tariffs, argued that some farmers who stopped growing as much because they couldn’t sell their goods at a fair price may start planting more.
But Donovan believes farmers will bear the brunt of negative effects, such as Aroostook growers who buy a lot of fertilizer from Canada. On a national level, if produce imports diminish because of the extra costs, U.S. farmers won’t be able to grow enough to keep up with the demand, he said.
