Tijerina, Cody quoted in Press Herald report on trade war with Canada
The Portland Press Herald quoted Stefano Tijerina, a professor of political science at the University of Maine, and Howard Cody, a professor emeritus of political science at UMaine, in an article about the effects of Canadian tariffs on Maine exports. The tariffs, a response to tariffs placed on Canadian steel and aluminum by the Trump administration and set to go into effect July 1, will impact about $67 million worth of Maine products, according to the Press Herald. But these cover less than 6 percent of Maine’s total export value to Canada in 2017, avoiding critical goods such as lumber, lobsters and pulp and paper products, leaving Maine mostly unaffected by the trade war. “Businesses that are always looking for cutting costs would not be willing to play the ‘nationalist’ game; they are more interested in playing the game of the market,” said Tijerina. “At the end of the day, it is hard to dismantle all these little pieces that have been building an interdependent economy between the two since the 1850s.” While some businesses primarily selling products affected by the tariffs will suffer, there is a long-standing relationship between Maine and Canada that is unlikely to dissolve or turn sour over the dispute. “The economic integration between Maine and Canada is probably greater than just about any other state, I’d have to say,” said Cody. “There is this sense that Canada and Maine have always had a close connection, ancestrally as well as economically, and in a sense culturally.” Cody was also quoted in a Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel opinion column on relationships between Maine and Canada, and the people of both places.