SIDNEY — Maine farmers aren’t major exporters to China, but that doesn’t mean they’re immune from the effects of a trade war.
Dale Cole of Cole Farm in Sidney, which supplies milk to Oakhurst Dairy, said China’s retaliation against President Trump’s tariffs by imposing higher tariffs on $60 billion worth of American goods is bad news for farmers.
He told News Center Maine that even those who don’t trade directly with China will feel a trickle-down effect on the prices of parts, labor and cattle that could make business “unsustainable.”
The director of the Bureau of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources says the impact of tariffs will be bigger on farmers in the Midwest. Nancy McBrady says Maine’s biggest trading partner is Canada, not China.
McBrady said wild blueberries and potatoes are Maine’s only agricultural exports that are large enough to feel a significant impact.
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