More than $900 million worth of items entering Maine, including automobiles and auto parts, medications, clothing, and raw materials, may be impacted by the recently announced 15% tariffs on EU exports to the United States.
James Myall works at the Maine Center for Economic Policy as a Senior Policy Analyst. According to him, American automakers who pay more for steel or auto parts will probably pass those savings on to consumers.
“Those impacts tend to be largest on Americans or Mainers with the lower household incomes because they’re spending more of their money on physical goods that are subject to tariffs,” Myall stated.
It will take time to increase manufacturing capacity in the United States, according to Myall, but tariffs do have a place in the global economy when they are used to counteract unfair trade practices by some nations.
According to Myall, senior Mainers who depend on certain European drugs will be forced to pay the increased costs in the interim.
It would have a particularly strong effect on Mainers. Many older Mainers have specific medicines that they need to fill and are often dependent on some of these,” he said.
