Maine legislative group on Canada assembles as tariff threats loom [Video]

AUGUSTA, Maine — As President Donald Trump vows to put tariffs up against America’s neighbors, the Maine Legislature is renewing its effort to strengthen relations with Canada, the state’s largest foreign trading partner.

This week, eight lawmakers were officially appointed to the Maine-Canadian Legislative Advisory Commission. The group is tasked with building rapport with Canada, often with legislators from the provinces of Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.

“We’re neighbors, and having a conversation on this level is really useful,” Republican State Senator Rick Bennett, who serves on the commission and has pushed for the group to take a more robust role after rarely meeting in recent years. “It’s a chance to talk about policy issues that affect us all because of the corner of the world that we …