Sen. William S. Cohen blamed the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement for the decision by Cavendish Farms Ltd. to build a $50 million potato processing plant in New Brunswick instead of Maine.

Cohen said in a press release that Canadian subsidies “distort the balance of trade,” luring the Irving-owned firm to opt for St. Andre on the Canadian side of the border as a construction site. The firm earlier had considered locating a new plant in northern Maine, a move that would have brought 150 new jobs to Aroostook County, Cohen said.

“The reason for Cavendish Farms’ decision appears to be Canadian subsidies,” said Cohen. “I understand that the New Brunswick government promised $19 million in grants and $8 million in low-interest loans.”

In 1988, Cohen opposed ratification of the Free Trade Agreement, particularly because it failed to address the problem of Canadian subsidies.

Bernard Valcourt, Canada’s federal minister of Oceans and Fisheries, said last week’s announcement by Cavendish justified his faith in the free-trade pact. He said the Cavendish facility would have been constructed in the United States had it not been for the trade agreement. The pact would eliminate tariffs between the United States and Canada within 10 years.

The Cavendish plant will be directly across the Trans-Canada Highway from the biggest New Brunswick plant of McCain Foods Ltd.

“We’re asking a lot of questions,” Archie McLean, McCain senior vice president, said earlier this week. “This is a chaotic deal put together on the back of an envelope. Our federal politicians have good judgment, and I personally believe that if our federal politicians render a true and sound judgment … they’ll get out of the french-fry business. They’ll let industry run the business.”

“It’s absurd that, in the name of free trade, Canada continues to subsidize its industries, allowing them to undercut their U.S. competitors,” said Cohen. “As long as Canadian industries are heavily subsidized, they will always have an unfair competitive advantage over their U.S. counterparts.”