U.S. Rep. Jared Golden listens to a question from the media on Nov. 6 during a news conference at his campaign office in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Rep. Jared Golden broke with fellow Democrats and with the rest of Maine’s congressional delegation Thursday, downplaying concerns that the tariffs unveiled by President Donald Trump this week would automatically prompt manufacturers to raise prices.

And if they do, he said, Mainers would swallow increased costs in the short term to bring back good-paying manufacturing jobs.

“To just say there’s no recourse other than to raise prices is a little bit of political spin,” Golden said in an interview. “It seems like most people who are reporting on this have just accepted the premise that prices will go up and that it was inevitable and it wasn’t a choice. It’s almost like there’s no choice involved here and that’s just not true. It’s not a foregone conclusion.”

Golden’s position represents a high-profile break with congressional Democrats, Gov. Janet Mills and Maine’s congressional delegation, including Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who warned that placing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada would hurt businesses and families in Maine.

“They will hurt those the most who can afford them the least,” Collins said during a Senate floor speech Wednesday.

Mills criticized the tariffs on social media Thursday, saying “the President’s reckless tariffs are essentially a tax hike on the American people. They are creating significant economic uncertainty that will harm Maine people, businesses and our economy.”

Golden’s defense of tariffs caught the attention of the White House, which cited him by name in a written statement Thursday touting bipartisan support for Trump’s policy.

The nod to Golden came a day after Trump personally blasted Collins and three other Republican senators who opposed his tariffs, calling on them to “get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change” and “FINALLY adhere to Republican Values and Ideals.”

Golden, who represents Maine’s more conservative 2nd District, which shares a border with Canada, discussed his position on tariffs at length in a 30-minute interview with the Press Herald. He said tariffs are needed to restore American manufacturing and make the U.S. a country of producers, rather than consumers of cheap foreign goods.

Golden has introduced a bill that would add a 10% universal tariff on all imports as a way of returning manufacturing jobs to the United States that were lost with the North American Free Trade Agreement. He plans to continue pushing for that bill’s passage, saying it will give businesses more stability and predictability than an executive order, which can be overturned by future presidents.

Trump’s plan includes a broad 10% tariff on all foreign goods but adds additional tariffs for certain countries. Golden said he’s reserving judgment on the details of the president’s plan, which caused a plunge in global stock markets and prompted economists to warn of a global recession.

“I’m not ready to say that he overshot with this,” Golden said. “I’m not ready to say that 20% or 25% is too aggressive compared to some of the practices that we have faced from places like China.”

A spokesperson for the Maine AFL-CIO, a federation of more than 200 labor unions in the state representing over 42,000 workers and retirees, agreed that the U.S. needs to update its trade policies to better help workers. But he criticized Trump’s approach, calling it “a recipe for widespread economic pain for working-class people.”

“When tariffs are deployed strategically and smartly targeted they can protect jobs at home and build industries that support well-paying jobs, especially if they include policies that encourage investment in manufacturing and support the right of workers to form unions and bargain for a fair share of the wealth we create,” Maine AFL-CIO spokesperson Andy O’Brien said.

“Unfortunately, President Donald Trump is using tariffs as a blunt instrument while also attacking workers’ rights to form unions and eroding critical investments in U.S. manufacturing. The president’s economic policies are a recipe for widespread economic pain for working-class people. We need trade policies that prioritize the interests of working people without causing economic turmoil for Maine families.”

Golden said Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are part of a negotiating tactic to correct the nation’s trade deficit. He hopes the tariffs will increase pressure on Canada and Mexico to agree to concessions during the ongoing renegotiations of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, pointing to Canada’s unfair advantage in the wood products and lobstering industries.

The tariffs, which do not apply to products covered under that agreement, would also discourage Canada and Mexico from helping China avoid steep tariffs as they did during Trump’s first term, Golden said, in part by changing supply lines to Asia.

“It’s a really simple message,” he said. “If you want to be with China, you will face high tariffs, and we will find new trading partners who want to be with us. If you want to be with the United States, then these tariffs probably go away.”

Golden said he has been contacted by lumber and lobster processing companies that assured him they have the capacity to process these resources in Maine if the tariffs help bring those business activities back. One lumber company told him that they could create a second shift within a year to process more lumber.

Golden’s assessment differs starkly from the one Collins laid out on Wednesday during a Senate floor speech that directly defied Trump’s demand for loyalty.

Collins, who is from Aroostook County in the 2nd District, described how a paper mill in Madawaska is literally split between Maine and Canada. The Madawaska Paper Mill pipes pulp across the border on a regular basis. She also said potato farmers and blueberry growers rely on Canadian fertilizers and companies to process their products.

And, she said, 95% of the home heating oil used by Maine homes comes from Canadian refineries, while Canadian-based Irving Oil operates 150 gas stations in the state.

“The price hikes that will happen for Maine families, every time they go to the grocery store, they fill their gas tank, they filled their heating oil tank, if these tariffs go into effect, will be so harmful,” Collins said. “And as price hikes always do, they will hurt those the most who can afford them the least.”

Golden, however, sees opportunity in those same tariffs. He wants the administration use the import tax revenues to help families that may struggle to pay higher costs, should they come to fruition. The funding could also be used to bolster unions, he said.

“We could do things in Congress in the next few years to drive down the price of making things in America,” he said.

Republicans in Congress appear to have other plans for the revenues. Not only are they looking at extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which disproportionately benefited the wealthy, they’re also looking to add another $1.5 trillion in tax cuts in their budget bill.

Golden is betting that his constituents will see the possible long-term benefits of tariffs, even if it means pain in the short term.

“I have a lot of confidence that I have a lot of constituents that understand this trade-off,” he said.