Canadian Trade Dispute: Trump Administration Proposes Lumber Tarriffs

WASHINGTON, DC — The Trump administration will levy tariffs of up to 24 percent on Canadian softwood lumber imported to the United States, in response to what Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross called the "dumping" of the product into American markets. The tariffs will affect five different Canadian lumber companies.

"It has been a bad week for U.S.-Canada trade relations," Ross said in a statement. At a press briefing Tuesday, he noted that Canada is "generally a good neighbor."

President Trump later told reporters that Canada has "outsmarted our politicians" for years.

Trump also tweeted Monday about Canadian dairy imports. He's threatening a more aggressive posture toward our northern neighbor, despite initially showing signs of camaraderie with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Asked whether the tariffs could be the start of a trade war with Canada and make renegotiating NAFTA more difficult, Ross said these issues are very complex and it's difficult to predict the consequences. The U.S., though, has not broken any trade protocols with Canada, Ross said, so he sees no potential justification on its end for retaliatory measures.

But Ross also noted that the decision to levy the tariffs against Canada was not a "presidential action" but an administrative decision warranted by Canada's behavior.

Toward the end of the day, Trump spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The two governments released summaries of the call that were vastly different.

"The two leaders discussed the dairy trade in Wisconsin, New York State, and various other places," said the White House version. "They also discussed lumber coming into the United States. It was a very amicable call."

The Canadian version described something less than amicable.

"The Prime Minister refuted the baseless allegations by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the decision to impose unfair duties," it said.

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