Lumber tariffs up to 24% are being imposed by Trump on Canada.
During his presidential run, Trump repeatedly spoke of “America first,” and threatened tariffs on China and Mexico. These threats received voter support, but the first tariff imposed by the president was on the U.S.’s northern neighbor.
The lumber tariffs were announced Monday after trade talks on dairy products fell through.
There is talk of a trade war between Canada and the U.S. Currently, the two nations and Mexico are preparing to renegotiate NAFTA.
The U.S. government is thought to be motivated by a desire improve prospects for American lumber companies, who complain that subsidies provided to Canadian companies by the Canadian government create an unfair playing field. Canada exported a reported $5.6 billion worth of softwood to the U.S. last year.