We should lament President Trump’s introduction of a new 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum imports. This is Trump’s foreign policy at its worst, unbound from strategy and used solely as a tool for short-term domestic populism.

Trump sees it differently. Announcing the restored tariffs during a campaign stop to Ohio on Thursday, the president suggested that Canada was flooding the U.S. market. His implication: that Canadian aluminum exporters are benefiting from government subsidies to unfairly undercut their U.S. competitors. One problem: it’s not true. China is the subsidy fat cat, Canada is not. The real issue here is that Canada is offering a better service at a lower cost and thus out-competing American aluminum manufacturers.