Trump lashes back at Canada after Trudeau’s tariff criticism

In the statement, Trump called out Trudeau by name: “The United States has been taken advantage of for many decades on trade. Those days are over. Earlier today, this message was conveyed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada: The United State (sic) will agree to a fair deal, or there will be no deal at all.”

In the tweet, Trump returned to his familiar complaints about Canadian agriculture.

“Canada has treated our Agricultural business and Farmers very poorly for a very long period of time. Highly restrictive on Trade!” he wrote. “They must open their markets and take down their trade barriers! They report a really high surplus on trade with us. Do Timber & Lumber in U.S.?”

U.S. data has consistently shown that the U.S. has a trade surplus with Canada. Canadian data, calculated differently, has shown that Canada has the surplus. Regardless, economic analysts agree that the relationship is largely balanced and that the existence of a surplus or a deficit is not a good way to measure the quality of a trade relationship.

Trump has periodically complained about Canadian agriculture policy, particularly with regard to milk. His administration is demanding changes to Canada’s supply management system as part of the ongoing negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trudeau vowed to retaliate against Trump’s tariffs with Canadian tariffs on more than 100 U.S. products, from steel items and strawberry jam to coffee, sleeping bags and washing machines.

Trudeau had long attempted to maintain a positive posture toward the impulsive president, responding only indirectly to Trump’s jabs at Canada. The prime minister’s remarks on Thursday represented his sharpest criticism to date.