Trump's tariffs are unpopular in Maine. A Republican senator may pay the price

Millinocket was for decades a thriving paper mill town, until Great Northern Paper ceased operations in 2008. Its fenced-off property sits abandoned, and although there's a growing outdoor recreation sector in the town of 4,100, its economy has struggled ever since.

Then came a plan, backed in part by Norwegian investors, for a $300 million US aquaculture venture repurposing the giant lagoons on the old mill site, to be called Great Northern Salmon.

"It was a marriage made in heaven," said Gail Fanjoy, the president of the local chamber of commerce. "Out of the gate, they were going to employ 50 people. That's a home run."

The project was about 80 per cent toward completion when the company announced last month it was pausing indefinitely , resting blame squarely on the uncertainty caused by the Trump administration's tariffs. Much of its salmon farming equipment was to be imported from Canada.