The Trump administration has granted tariff exemptions for nine categories of Canadian products used by U.S. agricultural businesses, including corrugated cartons, plastic crates and boxes, sacks, packing and wrapping equipment, and agricultural cleaning and grading machinery. The exemptions were announced by Maine Senator Susan Collins and are intended to benefit blueberry and apple growers, potato farmers, and others who depend on Canadian-sourced packaging and equipment.
The move is notable because packaging costs have been a compounding pressure on growers already dealing with higher input costs, fuel, and labor. Many produce operations in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest source significant volumes of packaging materials from Canada, and tariffs on those inputs had been adding to landed costs.
This is a concrete, if targeted, piece of trade relief for the produce supply chain — especially for berry and apple operations in the Northeast. Watch whether similar exemptions are extended to other produce-adjacent categories or regions as U.S.-Canada trade tensions continue.