An oil tanker hooks up to an offshore station that pipes crude oil underground to large storage tanks in St. John, Nova Scotia. Fuel and oil are Maine’s biggest imports from Canada and could be hard-hit by proposed tariffs. Gordon Chibroski/Portland Press Herald, file

Gov. Janet Mills and most of Maine’s congressional delegation are urging President Donald Trump not to follow through on his plans to impose 25% tariffs on most Canadian goods this week.

Energy resources from Canada will have a 10% tariff, the administration says.

Mills said in a radio address that the tariffs — which Trump said would take effect Tuesday — would increase prices on a range of goods in Maine, including heating oil and gasoline, more than 80% of which Maine imports from Canada. The tariffs, which would also target China and Mexico, would also increase the price for food and building supplies, she said.

Mills said the price increases will come “at a time we can least afford it.”

“These tariffs clearly will result in higher prices on everything from fruits and vegetables, flat-screen TVs, and auto parts and building supplies,” the governor said. “This will cost more than $1,200 annually in purchase power for the typical United States household; I would estimate more for Maine households given our interrelationship with Canada.

“I can’t be clear enough: The president’s broad tariffs on Canada, as well as China and Mexico, will increase costs on Maine families and Maine businesses who can ill afford them, and they will cause great harm to our state’s economy.”

Mills’ statements echoed similar concerns expressed by Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, and independent who caucuses with the Democrats, and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, in a Feb. 28 letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer.

The delegation wrote that Maine and Canada exchanged over $6 billion in two-way trade last year, which they say “propels” manufacturing and production in the state, providing for more than 60,000 good-paying jobs. They urged the administration to work with Canadian officials to resolve any disputes, rather than sparking a “tit-for-tat” trade war.

“Given the deeply integrated nature of our economies, any tariffs on imports from Canada — and any retaliatory measures by Canada in response — may raise prices on gasoline, energy, groceries and much more,” they wrote. “We acknowledge that targeted and strategic tariffs can be an important tool to address unfair trade practices. However, small businesses and families in Maine and across the country will be caught in the middle during a time when so many are struggling to put food on the table and keep the lights on.”

Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, was the only member of the congressional delegation who did not sign onto the letter. He has previously expressed support for tariffs, albeit at a lower level, as a way to encourage more businesses to make their goods in the United States.

In a written statement last month, Golden said 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,” Golden said at the time.

“By privileging our own production and industries — something other countries already do — tariffs can help us rewire our economy for production, not just consumption. 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.”

Golden has said that the federal government should use revenue from tariffs to offset costs for consumers and invest in American jobs and industries.