It was an ideal summer to cut trees.
asserted
It → cut → trees
Yet even as the county’s wood had grown to an ideal size to harvest, the machines Molly London typically uses sat idle.
asserted
London → grow → size
London and her husband, Alex, who started a logging business nearly 10 years ago, had been waiting weeks for replacement machine parts that were no longer stocked locally because tariffs had made them too expensive.
asserted
them → start → parts
By August, she and her husband decided to shut down their business, WW London Woodlot Management Company, exhausted after years of fighting ever-climbing costs.
asserted
she → decide → costs
“It just didn’t feel right any more,” she said.
asserted
she → feel → ?
“We’ve been losing for a long time, and this is just getting worse.”
asserted
this → lose → time
For centuries, Maine’s economy has been inextricably tied to logging.
asserted
economy → tie → logging
Penobscot styled itself the “lumber capital of the world” in the 19th century, and today, hulking timber lorries still take up half of the road when they charge down Maine’s rural interstates.
asserted
they → style → interstates
The aroma from spruce and fir trees can be smelled through a closed car window.
asserted
aroma → smell → window
Logging’s health is a crucial bellwether for the overall state of its economy, and things are looking bleak in the midst of a trade war with Canada and record-high diesel prices.
asserted
things → look → Canada
Democrats are hoping the frustration will finally unseat Republican Susan Collins, whose loss is crucial in helping the party win a majority in the US Senate.
asserted
party → hop → Senate
But after the fallout of Graham Platner, who dropped out of the race in July amid sexual assault allegations, the party has been scrambling to make up for lost time.
asserted
party → drop → time
In his first campaign ad, Troy Jackson – formerly the state’s senate president who lost a bid to be the state’s governor earlier this year – immediately labeled himself as a “fifth-generation logger”.
asserted
who → lose → logger
“Susan Collins is just a rubber-stamp for the wealthy elite in this country,” Jackson said in another campaign ad.
asserted
Jackson → say → ad
Sara Gideon, a former state representative, had run similar attack ads in 2020, telling voters that Collins is “Not For You Anymore” – an attempt to tie her to Trump and the wealthy elite.
asserted
Collins → run → Trump
It didn’t work.
asserted
It → work → ?
Though the state voted for Joe Biden, it re-elected Collins at the same time, though no public polls had showed her with a lead in the race.
asserted
polls → vote → race
This election, Collins continues to highlight that she is a girl from Caribou who hails from a lumber family.
asserted
who → continue → family
Her seniority in the Senate has also given her power: Collins has been a senator for 29 years, making her the fifth longest-serving senator, and is the chair of the Senate’s powerful appropriations committee.
“I am a county girl,” Collins said, while sat on a pile of potatoes for a recent campaign ad featuring Mainers saying the senator is “just like us”.
asserted
senator → give → us
The state, with a population of 1.4 million people, leans Democrat, driven by strong liberal support along its coast, and has not voted for a Republican president since George HW Bush in 1988.
asserted
state → lean → 1988
Unlike their more liberal counterparts down south, Mainers pride themselves on having a more independent streak.
asserted
Mainers → pride → streak
While it’s still unclear how voters in the state will turn out in the midterms – Collins and Jackson are currently neck-and-neck in the polls – some voters have been feeling left behind.
“It feels like the things that were promised to get into office now don’t come through,” London said.
uncertain
London → ’ → office
“I think this area is definitely feeling the impact of that.”
asserted
area → think → that
Maine’s economy is deeply intertwined with Canada, sending roughly 40% of its exports to its northern neighbor, according to the Maine International Trade Center.
uncertain
economy → intertwine → Center
But their relationship goes far beyond trade.
asserted
relationship → go → trade
This is a state where Canadian and American flags can be seen flying side by side, where entire towns cater specifically to Canadian tourists.
asserted
towns → see → tourists
We share our largest border with Canada.
asserted
We → share → Canada
A lot of Mainers can trace their history through Canada,” said Patrick Woodcock, the president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.
asserted
Woodcock → trace → Commerce
We have a little bit of a shared destiny together.”
asserted
We → have → destiny
That relationship has been sorely tested by the breakdown in relations by Trump’s trade war.
asserted
relationship → test → war
After negotiations between the two countries broke down at the 11th hour, Trump announced a 50% tariff on select Canadian goods that began 22 August.
asserted
that → break → goods
In response, Canada introduced its own retaliatory tariffs, ranging from 15% to 50%, targeting $20bn worth of American imports with levies that took effect earlier this month.
asserted
that → introduce → effect
For Maine loggers, this means many of the parts and equipment they usually buy from Canada and other countries have been hit by tariffs, said Dana Doran, the executive director of the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast.
asserted
Doran → mean → Northeast
Loggers report seeing prices for equipment, parts and trucks go up between 30% and 50%, since Trump’s tariffs were first announced.
asserted
tariffs → see → 30
“Those prices have not come down.
asserted
prices → come → ?
That for them is more directly impacting them day to day, and their cost of doing business,” Doran said.
asserted
Doran → impact → business
The US is also “exceptionally reliant” on Canadian lumber mills to process wood used for housing, Doran said, but increasing duties imposed by the US court of international trade – not Trump – have led to a dramatic decline in Canadian-manufactured wood coming back into the US.
asserted
duties → process → US
But still, demand for wood has declined as homebuilding has slowed considerably over the last few years, he added.
asserted
he → decline → years
“When interest rates drop and the economy changes, and building construction comes back, will we have enough manufacturing?
asserted
we → drop → manufacturing
I would say we don’t,” Doran said.
asserted
Doran → say → ?
…and 52 more, not listed.
The Aporia
