There are escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that Canada and the U.S. could suffer a “thickening” border after the Trump administration announced it would impose new tariffs, up to 24 percent, on softwood lumber entering the U.S. from Canada. Trudeau says the tariffs will hurt people on both sides of the border, including Americans who will pay more for lumber, driving up the cost of new homes.
The U.S. and Canada typically enjoy a friendly trading relationship, but things have soured in recent months. Trump has been railing against Canada’s decision to change its policy on pricing domestic milk which helps producers in Quebec and Ontario better compete with farmers in New York and Wisconsin who have been selling milk products to cheese and yogurt producers in Canada.
Both of these trade disputes are playing out amid a much bigger trade issue, the North American Free Trade Agreement. As he did often during the campaign, President Trump said this past week the U.S. would pull out of NAFTA. He later backed off scrapping the deal, saying the U.S. will instead opt to renegotiate the trade agreement.