(The Center Square) — Maine Sen. Susan Collins is urging the Trump administration to make a deal with Canada to end the trade war as she battles for reelection in a state hit hard by the president's latest round of tariffs targeting its northern neighbor.

In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Collins said President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs targeting Canadian goods has been "disastrous" for her state and called on the administration to return to the negotiating table.

"I urge the administration to resume negotiations with Canada and to reach a fair trade agreement that prevents these damaging tariffs from taking effect," Collins wrote. "The consequences of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs are severe for Maine businesses."

The GOP senator acknowledged Canada’s decision to remove seafood and fish products from its retaliatory tariff list, saying the tariffs "would have caused tremendous harm to Maine’s lobstermen, disrupting one of their most important markets during the fall fishing season." She urged the Trump administration to respond to the act of "good faith" by "returning to the negotiating table and working to amicably resolve this trade dispute."

"Maine’s economy is uniquely intertwined with Canada, and the consequences of an escalating trade dispute will be felt by American families, businesses, workers, and communities across the state," she wrote. "Thousands of American jobs and businesses across a variety of sectors are at risk."

Collins is facing a challenge from Democrat Troy Jackson, an Allagash logger and former state Senate President, who was chosen by the party to replace disgraced Senate candidate Graham Platner after he dropped out of the race in early July amid allegations of sexual assault.

The Maine Senate race is considered a must-win contest for the Democratic Party as it pushes to retake the U.S. Senate, where Republicans currently have a 53-45 majority. Both parties are channeling tens of millions of dollars into a crush of TV and digital advertising to sway undecided voters ahead of the election.

Collins is the only Republican senator running for reelection this year in a Democratic-led state that Kamala Harris carried in the 2024 presidential election.

The latest poll shows a competitive race with Jackson ahead of Collins by more than two percentage points, but within the margin of error.

The president's tariffs are also impacting a key U.S. Senate race in neighboring New Hampshire, where Republicans are hoping to flip a seat held by outgoing Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

Former Sen. John E. Sununu, a Trump-endorsed Republican facing former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown in the Sept. 8 primary, has also called on the president to end the trade war with Canada.

"It doesn't make any sense to engage in a trade war with Canada," Sununu said in an interview with New Hampshire's WMUR-TV that aired Sunday. "They're one of our closest allies. An important trading partner for New Hampshire. A source of tourism for New Hampshire. So, I don't think that the trade fight and the trade war with Canada makes any sense at all."

Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, who will face the winner of the GOP primary, has criticized Sununu and other New Hampshire Republicans for supporting the president's economic agenda, including the tariffs.

This story originally appeared on thecentersquare.com.