Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has vowed to respond. Canada is expected to impose retaliatory tariffs of up to 50 percent on American products beginning September 8.
For Maine, the dispute carries especially high stakes.
The state shares a long border with Canada, and cross-border trade plays an important role in its economy. Among the products caught up in the latest tariff battle are pulp and paper goods, a major sector with deep roots in Maine.
Those products also rank among the state’s significant exports to Canada, meaning businesses and workers on both sides of the border could feel the effects of the escalating dispute.
Despite those risks, Golden is standing firmly behind the Trump administration.
“If Canada thinks they’re better off without our goods, I wish them good luck. I suspect in the long run, it won’t go well for them,” the congressman said in a statement to the Portland Press Herald.
Golden’s support is particularly notable because he represents a rural Maine district that has repeatedly backed Trump in presidential elections. Although he is a Democrat, his position on trade has often placed him outside the political mainstream in Washington.
He is also reportedly not seeking reelection, giving his latest stance even more attention as he prepares to leave Congress.
Within Maine’s congressional delegation, Golden has emerged as an outlier on the tariff issue. But this is far from the first time he has sided with Trump on using economic pressure against Canada.
Earlier this year, Golden was the only Democrat in the House of Representatives to vote against a resolution aimed at blocking Trump’s national emergency declaration used to support tariffs on Canadian imports.
The House ultimately passed that resolution by a narrow 219-211 margin, with six Republicans joining Democrats in opposition to Trump’s action.
Golden, however, refused to support taking tariffs off the table.
“I’ve loudly supported tariffs as a tool to make America more self-sufficient. I don’t have plans to take that tool out of the toolbox,” Golden said at the time.
His position reflects a broader argument that Trump and his supporters have made for years: America’s decades-long commitment to free trade and globalization came at a steep cost to domestic manufacturing, supply chains, and working-class communities.
Golden has previously argued that Trump was gaining valuable leverage in negotiations with Canada.
The earlier round of tariffs began at 25 percent in February 2025 and later increased to 35 percent for certain Canadian goods not covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Canadian energy imports were subject to a lower rate.
Trump cited concerns surrounding Canada’s handling of fentanyl flows as one factor behind the trade measures, while Golden continued to support the use of tariffs.
“President Trump campaigned on tariffs as a tool to level the playing field between American workers and industries and our foreign competitors. I don’t agree with Trump on everything, but he’s right that the old deal stinks, and we need a new one,” the congressman said at the time.
Golden went even further in laying out his argument against the economic policies that dominated Washington for decades.
“Tariffs push back against decades of free trade and globalization that prioritized low prices above all else. It was a race to the bottom that left America deep in trade debt and dependent on foreign nations and gutted our manufacturing sector, domestic supply chains, and entire middle-class communities. By privileging our own production and industries — something other countries already do — tariffs can help us rewire our economy for production, not just consumption,” he added.
For Golden, tariffs are not simply a negotiating tactic. He sees them as part of a larger effort to rebuild American production and reduce dependence on foreign nations.
“We can incentivize job creation and manufacturing while leveling the playing field and rebalancing our trade. These tariffs are also a leveraging tool to help crack down on the deadly flow of fentanyl into our country. Reversing the damage of decades of globalization will take time. In the meanwhile, every dollar raised in tariff revenue should be used to offset costs for Americans or invest in and protect American jobs and industries.”
Golden’s latest comments underscore an increasingly unusual political reality: on one of Trump’s most important economic issues, a Democrat from Maine is openly siding with the president while many members of his own party continue to oppose the administration’s tariff strategy.
As the September 8 deadline for Canada’s retaliatory tariffs approaches, the trade dispute could intensify further. But Golden has made his position clear.
For now, he appears willing to stand with Trump’s push to use tariffs as leverage — even if it means breaking sharply with Democratic leadership and much of Maine’s political establishment.
