Donald Trump took on America’s greatest threat in his Tuesday morning tweet session—Canadian dairy farmers. Later in the day, Trump slapped a stiff tariff on Canadian lumber. It’s a move that mimics actions of George W. Bush … losing actions.
The Trump administration is hitting Canada with stiff tariffs of up to 24% on lumber shipped into the United States. […]
Canada has consistently denied it subsidizes its lumber companies. The World Trade Organization sided with Canada in 2004 and the two sides came to a temporary agreement in 2006, which expired last October.
In an effort at intracontinental detente, Trump shared a phone call on Tuesday with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. So how did that go?
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke today. The two leaders discussed the dairy trade in Wisconsin, New York State, and other places. They also discussed lumber coming into the United States. It was a very amicable call.
A pleasant chat about cheese and trees. Sounds nice. Now let’s hear what those ever so polite Canadians had to say about the call. Probably, eh, that Trump, he’s a swell … oh. Maybe not.
One of these things … is not like the other.
Ottawa, Ontario
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with United States President Donald J. Trump.
The Prime Mininister and the President reaffirmed the importance of the mutually-beneficial Canada-US trade relationship. On the issue of softwood lumber, the Prime Minister refuted the baseless alligations by the US Department of Commerce and the decision to impose unfair duties. The Prime Minister stressed that the Government of Canada will vigorously defend the interests of the Canadian softwood lumber industry, as we have successfully done in all past lumber disputes with the US. The two leaders agreed on the importance of reaching a negotiated agreement, recognizing the integrated nature of the industry between Canada and the United States.
The Prime Minister and the President also discussed Canada-US trade in dairy products, trade which heavily favors the US: Canada imports over $550 million of dairy products from the US, but exports just over $110 million to the US. The Prime Minister reaffirmed that Canada upholds its international trade obligations, including the North America Free Trade Agreement, under which the US continues to have duty-free and quota-free access for milk protein substances, including diafiltered milk, and that Canada would continue to defend it’s interests.
The Prime Minister and the President agreed to continue their dialogue on these important bilateral issues.
US lumber firms have made allegations that Canada subsidizes the industry for decades, leading to at 30 percent tariff in 2002 and that subsequent loss by the US before the World Trade Organization in 2004.
US lumber firms were encouraged by Trump’s actions.
"Today's ruling confirms that Canadian lumber mills are subsidized by their government and benefit from lumber pricing policies," Cameron Krauss, legal chair for the U.S. Lumber Coalition, said in a statement.
It’s hard to see how the tariff confirms anything more than … Donald Trump put on a tariff.
Resolute, the Canadian lumber firm, denied it is subsidized. The Canadian officials called the subsidy allegations "baseless and unfounded."
Now this issue will likely go back before the WTO … so Donald Trump can complain about unelected foreign judges.