White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett says a US-Canada trade deal is "very close," but the fine print shows the real priority: carving out tariff relief for a vulnerable Republican senator, not the American factory worker or small business owner watching costs climb.

Hassett, who leads the National Economic Council, told Fox News' The Sunday Briefing that negotiations with Canada have "picked up" and are "gathering steam," with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in contact with Canadian counterparts throughout the week. A US official confirmed that exchanges between Lutnick and Canadian minister Dominic LeBlanc have intensified — but cautioned that outcomes remain uncertain because, in the administration's view, Canada hasn't offered enough, and the president will only back a deal favorable to the US.

Favorable to whom, exactly? Two days before Hassett's upbeat TV appearance, the administration reworked Canadian tariffs at the explicit request of Senator Susan Collins, who faces a tight reelection race. The US is rolling back 50% tariffs on Canadian plywood, bleached paper and cartons, and certain agricultural machinery — moves Collins says will support Maine's rural and coastal economies. Last month, Trump lifted tariffs on road salt and other goods after Collins lobbied him, the same day he announced retaliatory measures following the collapse of US-Canada talks in August.

Hassett made the political calculus unmistakable. Supporting Maine and Alaska fisheries, he said, has been "almost above everything else that we've done at the National Economic Council" — a notably direct admission of priorities ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms. On Friday, the administration rolled out a broader "America First Seafood Strategy," and in April the USDA created its first-ever Office of Seafood. The infrastructure of incumbency is being built in real time.

Collins' Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, wasn't buying it. Collins "wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put out the fire," he wrote on social media, arguing she only acted because her seat is at risk.

Canada, for its part, is playing it cool. LeBlanc said Friday the latest US actions are under evaluation, adding that Canada stands ready to work "towards a more mutually beneficial trading relationship that respects Canada's interests." Prime Minister Mark Carney said he raised the trade file with Trump and is ready to negotiate — but only for "a deal that's in the interests of Canadians."

After August's talks unraveled, both countries deployed tit-for-tat measures. Canada later dropped seafood items from its counter-tariffs — a quiet concession that aligned conveniently with the administration's fisheries push.

The pattern is clear: tariffs go up, tariffs come down, but the people at the front of the line are the ones with a vote the White House needs. Everyone else — the small manufacturer, the contractor paying more for plywood, the farmer navigating shifting equipment costs — gets the deal the negotiators leave behind.

The open question is whether a final agreement delivers anything for the people who don't have a Senate seat to bargain with.