The United States is in an escalating dispute with ... Canada? The two nations have been clashing over trade policy in regard to the lumber and dairy industries, with the US slapping tariffs on timber from its second-largest trading partner and President Trump sounding off on what he views as unfair practices. A look at what's going on:
- Trump and Trudeau spoke by phone Tuesday, and the US and Canada then issued two very different readouts, notes Business Insider. The US deemed it "amicable" in a short synopsis, while Canada's went into more detail and complained about "unfair" American actions and "baseless" accusations.
- The Washington Post explains the wonky dairy dispute. It notes that Canada's industry "is one of the world's most highly protected," and US farmers think it unfairly freezes them out. One recent sticking point revolves around a cheese-making product called ultrafiltered milk. It was a money-maker in Canada for US farmers until the Canadian government reclassified it and made it subject to heavy import taxes, reports Slate. Canada, for its part, thinks the US floods the global market with too much milk.
- As for lumber, one key difference explains the problem, per the Atlantic: US lumber companies generally harvest trees on private land, while Canadian companies do so on public land. US companies say this amounts to a subsidy that allows Canadian firms to flood the US market with cheap wood.
- A post at the Canadian site Maclean's thinks Trump is going to go after wine sales in British Columbia next, arguing that the Canadian product has an unfair advantage over US wine because of grocery store rules.