President Trump on Tuesday touted his administration’s decision to tax Canada on imports of softwood lumber, arguing the Canadian government has previously out-maneuvered the U.S. when it comes to trade.
“People don’t realize Canada’s been very rough on the United States. Everyone thinks of Canada being wonderful and civil. I love Canada,” Trump told a group of farmers and agriculture policy experts at the White House on Tuesday. “But they’ve outsmarted our politicians for many years, and you people understand that.”
Trump highlighted the increased tariff his Department of Commerce will soon levy on softwood lumber imports in retaliation for the subsidies the U.S. has accused Canada of paying to its lumber producers.
“We will be putting a very big tariff on lumber, timber coming into this country,” Trump said.
The president also noted a trade dispute between Canada and the U.S. over milk and cheese, in which Canada has effectively prevented U.S dairy producers from exporting products into Canada by hiking milk prices.
“America’s noble farming tradition stretches back to its earliest days. Farmers led the way across the Great Plains and put down roots from coast to coast. Today, America’s farmers feed not only our nation, but millions of people around the world, and we’re going to open that up much more for you folks because, as you know, it’s not totally open, to put it mildly,” Trump said.
“We learned that yesterday, frankly, with Canada, with the dairy farmers up in Wisconsin, Upstate New York, different places, our border states in particular, are not able to sell their dairy products into Canada,” he added. “This has been going on for a while and we’re not going to put up with it.”
Trump has recently focused attention on the dairy dispute by expressing outrage in a tweet and mentioning it to reporters.
The president has promised to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, which includes Canada, due to what he sees as terms that harm the U.S. economy.
