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A small town in Maine has found itself inadvertently at the mercy of Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war with Canada – and it’s the parking that is suffering.
The town of York initially ordered 17 kiosks from MacKay Meters, a Quebec-based company, but has been forced to reduce the order to 13 due to the 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports threatened by the president. The result of the tariffs is a $20,000 increase in the cost of each kiosk.
Last week, a White House spokesperson confirmed the 25 percent tax on all steel and aluminum “for Canada and all of our other trading partners” would be implemented without exception, though Trump backtracked on his vow that the levy would be raised to 50 percent.
In Maine, the town is already feeling the squeeze that economists warned would come with Trump’s tariffs. Goods such as toys, lumber, syrup, cars, and home-building supplies are all at the mercy of price hikes thanks to tariffs.
In York, it’s their efforts to create revenue that first got hit.
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Foster’s Daily Democrat reported that assistant town Manager Kathryn Lagasse previously informed the town’s Selectboard that the estimated costs for the meter order would increase by $18,469 overall if the tariffs were implemented.
“I’m aware that the tariff on general imports has been delayed for at least 30 days,” Lagasse told the Selectboard on March 10, per the Daily Democrat. “After speaking with our representatives at MacKay, they’re not confident that we won’t face some type of increase.”
According to a memo from town staff, seen by the outlet, the Selectboard has access to $88,000 in contingency funds and $200,000 in supplemental contingency funds. That led to the decrease in orders from 17 to 13.
It is now considering looking for additional funds to cover the potential cost added by the kiosk manufacturer – thanks to the tariff-fueled price hikes.
In prior years, town officials have begun efforts to reduce the number of parking kiosks as part of a transition to app-based parking payments. The shift was also influenced by the maintenance costs and challenges of the kiosks.
Selectboard member Marla Johnson told the Daily Democrat that the kiosks still serve a purpose, especially for out-of-town visitors. “I think the more options we give the visitors the better,” Johnson said.
The Independent has reached out to York town officials for further comment on the kiosk order.
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Last week, in response to Trump’s universal steel and aluminum tariffs, Canada announced new retaliatory levies on $21 billion worth of U.S. goods, following similar measures taken by the European Union.
Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said that the tariffs – that took effect earlier this month – would cover steel and aluminum, as well as other items including computers, sports equipment and cast iron products. The latest duties imposed by Canada are on top of the 25 percent counter-tariffs already implemented by the province of Ottawa on $30 billion worth of U.S. goods on March 4.
The Canadian countermeasures remain in place, even though Trump issuing temporary exemptions for some of his tariffs on March 6 after the U.S. stock market tumbled.
Despite this, the president is expected to hit Canada with another round of tariffs on April 2.
