It didn’t take long for Canada to wind up in the Donald’s cross hairs.
We knew it was coming.
U.S. President Donald Trump made it well known during his election campaign that he’d be gunning for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and trade partners Canada and Mexico.
While Canada has not yet received the promise of a border wall, we are, apparently, “a disgrace” for looking after our own interests, be it in softwood lumber, energy or dairy.
“What happened to our dairy farmers in Wisconsin and New York State, we’re not going to let happen here,” said Trump. “We can’t let Canada or anybody else take advantage and do what they did to our workers and to our farmers. And again, I also want to mention: included in there is lumber, timber and energy.”
If there’s one thing the U.S. is good at, it’s finding foreign bad guys to blame for shortcomings at home.
Regarding lumber, for years U.S. lumber lobbying groups have been arguing Canadian softwood lumber is unfairly subsidized. In 2006, a NAFTA dispute resolution panel concluded the U.S. was “improper in its assessment of significant subsidies to Canadian Softwood lumber producers.”
The current president’s attack on that industry comes as the U.S. housing market is picking up and U.S. companies want to shut out competitive imports.
Over the past week, Trump has been milking Canada’s dairy industry for powerful, nationalist sound bites.
I’m not sure what atrocities Canada has committed against the good, working/farming folk of Wisconsin (though I’m pretty sure the Trump administration could make something up that the media has failed to report on.)
From what I’ve read, the president’s Canadian lactose intolerance has to do with our nation’s supply management system.
In place since the 1970s, this quota system does a few things. One, it keeps our dairy farmers from flooding the market with unsalable product. Two, it sets up import quotas to limit foreign product coming into Canada. And three, it establishes product pricing.
These last two parts are particularly diabolical, as they enable Canadian dairy farmers to earn a decent living.
Ironically, while Trump is threatening to drink our milkshake, some of those hardworking Wisconsin farmers are looking to Canada’s supply management system as a possible fix for the real problem in the U.S. – overproduction.
A headline from the Dec. 26, 2016 edition of the Chippewa Herald pretty much sums it up: Overproduction of milk leaves farmers struggling.
Stephen Harper stood up for Canadian dairies and supply management when he was prime minister. Justin Trudeau appears to be doing the same, arguing the U.S. subsidizes its agriculture industries, including dairy, “to the tunes of hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions.”
It’s one thing to stand on guard for thee, and another to attack your neighbour and not fix what’s happening in your own backyard.