OTTAWA—Canadian dairy farmers say they’re concerned about Donald Trump’s “attacks” on their industry, as the U.S. president once again singles out Canada’s supply management system in an escalating trade war. Trump took to Twitter Saturday to accuse Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of being “dishonest and weak” at the G7 summit in Charlevoix, Que., where leaders discussed the U.S. decision to slap steep tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Despite the U.S. government’s justification that the tariffs were necessary for “national security,” Trump said the move was a response to “270 per cent (tariffs) on dairy” — an apparent reference to the system of quotas and tariffs that support the Canadian dairy, poultry and eggs sectors.It is not the first time a U.S. president has taken aim at supply management, but the show of derision sent jitters through industries that benefit from the decades-old trade barriers.Pierre Lampron, president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, criticized Trump’s logic that Canadian protections hurt American farmers. “Canadian dairy farmers and their families are concerned by the sustained attacks by President Trump with an aim to wiping out dairy farmers here at home,” Lampron said, adding that 10 per cent of the Canadian dairy market is open to imports without tariffs, compared with just three per cent in the U.S.There is also some dispute over the figures Trump cited. In a bulletin to clients Monday, Scotiabank suggested it’s “disingenuous” to use the 270 per cent tariff figure to “besmirch Canada’s overall trade policies.”“Trump is quoting a figure that applies to milk that accounts for a tiny fraction of Canada’s $33 billion of goods imported from the United States each month,” the bank wrote in its analysis. “Better judgment would question whether an entire trading relationship n ...
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