The Trump administration said Tuesday that recent trade disputes with Canada over lumber and milk bolstered President Trump’s argument that it is time to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“It shows NAFTA has not worked as well as it should,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters at the White House.
The Trump administration slapped a punitive tariff of up to 24 percent on Canadian softwood lumber Monday over allegations that the country’s government subsidized lumber industry undercut U.S. prices.
The move followed a breakdown in U.S.-Canada talks about ending a Canadian tariff on U.S. dairy products.
Renegotiating NAFTA was a top campaign promise from Mr. Trump.
Mr. Ross said that he didn’t think the dispute were the beginning of a U.S.-Canada trade war.
“We don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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