Trump, Trudeau Talk Dairy, Softwood Trade
President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke by phone on April 25 about dairy trades, as well as lumber imports from Canada, the White House said (here). While the announcement described the call as “very amicable,” Trump spoke to a meeting of agriculture leaders on April 25 and said then that the U.S. is “not going to put up” with Canada’s unfair dairy trade-related practices, which he said have “been going on for a while,” according to a report from the dedicated White House press pool. "People don't realize Canada's been very rough on the United States ... they've outsmarted our politicians for years,” Trump said, also referencing countervailing duties the Commerce Department set on Canadian softwood lumber April 24 (see 1704250034).
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A Canadian announcement about (here) the call between Trump and Trudeau said the leaders "reaffirmed" the importance of the bilateral relationship, but added that Trudeau "refuted the baseless allegations" of Commerce alleging improper Canadian subsidization of softwood lumber exported to the U.S. Trudeau reportedly told Trump he would defend Canadian softwood interests. The announcement also stated that bilateral dairy trade "heavily favors" the U.S., noting that the U.S. exports $550 million in dairy products to Canada each year, while importing more than $110 million.
Another press pool report cited Trump as saying he doesn’t fear a trade war with Canada, because it has a “tremendous surplus” in trade with the U.S. “We have massive trade deficits,” Trump said. “So when we’re the country with the deficits, we have no fear.” The U.S. posted a $2.1 billion trade deficit in goods with Canada in February, the most recent month for which Census data (here) was available. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross during an April 25 White House press briefing (here) said that the Trump administration believes Canada’s softwood lumber and dairy trade practices are the only unfair bilateral trade actions in which the country is currently engaging, adding, “We certainly hope so.” He said any Canadian retaliation would be “totally Canada’s decision,” but added that he’s not “aware of anything that we’ve violated, so I don’t know what it is that they could do that would be a legitimate action.”
The government of Canada “disagrees strongly” with the U.S.’s CV duties assessed against Canadian softwood, which are “baseless,” Canada's Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr and Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland said in an April 24 statement responding to the duties. Carr and Freeland said Canada will “vigorously defend” Canadian softwood interests, including “through litigation,” after several international tribunal rulings over the last 35 years have “disproved the unfounded subsidy and injury allegations from the U.S. industry. We have prevailed in the past and we will do so again.” The two also called for a new U.S.-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement, saying they have tabled proposals with the Trump administration that are “responsive” to U.S. industry views and ensure supply security at fair prices to U.S. consumers and companies after the last Softwood Lumber Agreement expired in October (see 1610120020).
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of Carr's and Freeland's statement.