President Trump on Tuesday ramped up his criticism of Canada’s trade relationship with the United States, less than a day after imposing a new tariff on Canadian softwood lumber.
“Canada has made business for our dairy farmers in Wisconsin and other border states very difficult. We will not stand for this. Watch!” Trump tweeted Tuesday.
The tweet came about 12 hours after Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the retroactive imposition of a 20 percent tax on Canadian softwood lumber that is imported to the United States. Wilbur said there’s a need to impose a retroactive tax to counteract a Canadian subsidy on its soft lumber industry to the tune of $1 billion.
Ross called it a “bad week” for American trade relations with Canada. He also criticized the Canadian decision to “cut off” the last dairy products being sent from the United States to Canada.
One of Trump’s most prominent messages during the campaign was his criticism of the North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Trump promised to pull the United States out of the agreement in order to protect American industry.
The Washington Examiner reported on Monday that a tax on Canadian specialized milk, used to make cheese, is expected to come soon from the Trump administration.
