How Donald Trump’s policies are slowing a Maine mill’s revival

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 26, 2026

The Iran war is delaying progress on a western Maine data center, the second time recently that President Donald Trump’s policies have interfered with the redevelopment of an old paper mill in a town that has staunchly supported him. A Pakistani company that bought the retired paper machinery can’t remove it so construction can begin. That’s because Iran has blocked ship passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime route, since the war started in February. Last year a separate project to redevelop the mill site fell apart when the Republican president’s tariffs became too burdensome for the forest products company that wanted to set up there. Trump’s policy decisions quickly threw wrenches into the town’s economic revival.