King Sends Letter to President Outlining Trade Priorities to Support Maine

Press Release

As rural communities across Maine continue to confront economic challenges created in part by unfair trade deals, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today sent a letter to President Trump outlining several trade reforms that he hopes the President will prioritize to support Maine industries and interests.

In his letter, Senator King outlined three priorities that could bolster ongoing efforts to assist trade-sensitive industries and their workers in Maine, including: 1) Negotiating smarter, more transparent trade agreements; 2) Strengthening trade enforcement capabilities; and 3) Supporting domestic industries. Within each priority, Senator King identified specific steps that the President and his Administration could take to put the interests of Maine workers first.

"Traditional industries across Maine have felt acutely the negative effects of unfair free trade agreements as well as expanded international trade with increasingly competitive exporters like China. Since my 2011 column expressing skepticism of the benefits of trade liberalization, 6 paper mills have closed in Maine in addition to further decline in forest products manufacturing, an industry that has brought prosperity to rural Maine for generations. The mill closures and associated job losses have been nothing short of devastating to rural communities across Maine," Senator King wrote in his letter. "As I have previously stated, it is an economic crisis of unprecedented magnitude. While the crisis can be attributed, in part, to the rise in technological advances within the industry; the slow recovery from the recession; and the global decline in demand for printing and coated paper, some of the industry's challenges must also be attributed to the effects of globalization and past trade deals.

"Efforts to help diversify and modernize Maine's trade-sensitive industries - and the trade-sensitive industries of other rural communities in the U.S. - will fall short of their full potential until we get serious about building a trade agenda that carefully and responsibly assesses how best to improve existing trade agreements and how to craft new ones; more consistently prioritizes the enforcement of our existing trade agreements; and better supports domestic industry and American exporters," he continued. "Though you possess the statutory power to unilaterally carry out many of your preferred trade policies, I strongly urge you to consult closely with Congress in order to learn how particular trade reforms might impact key state industries and economies."

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