A source document that cites President Donald J. Trump alleges Canada has imposed a slate of discriminatory trade barriers against U.S. goods and has “chosen retaliation over negotiation.” The document’s claims have not been independently verified by Digital Dredger.
What the document claims Canada did
The document alleges Canada “alone imposed discriminatory 25% tariffs and company-specific quotas on U.S. motor vehicles,” saying U.S. vehicle exports to Canada fell 22% over the last year as a result.
It further claims Canada “banned American wine, beer, and spirits in nearly every province and territory,” asserting U.S. alcohol exports to Canada collapsed 81% in a single year.
On dairy, the document says Canada uses “tariff-rate quotas far more restrictive than those given to Europe,” plus “over-quota tariffs of nearly 300%,” which it characterizes as a near-total ban.
The document also alleges Canada “targeted American aerospace manufacturer Gulfstream for years,” effectively prohibiting sales of its G500, G600, G700, and G800 models while “shielding its own competitor,” until what it describes as presidential intervention.
Claimed new Canadian retaliation
According to the document, Canada “just announced an additional $27.6 billion in tariffs on American businesses,” including a “50% tariff on American steel and aluminum,” and “25%” on American fish and tools.
What it says the U.S. offered
The source asserts that “last week, the U.S. offered Canada the most preferential market access of any country on Earth,” describing “deep cuts on steel, aluminum, autos, lumber, and more.” It characterizes Canada’s response as “unreasonable demands, walk-backs, and flat-out rejection.”
Numbers and leverage cited
The document claims Canada has “extracted a persistent average annual goods trade deficit of roughly $50 billion from the U.S.” and argues that “without the United States, Canada could not survive,” saying roughly three-quarters of Canadian goods exports go to the U.S.
It also states the U.S. economy is “approximately 13 times larger than the Canadian economy,” and cites an unnamed survey claiming “42% of Canadian manufacturers have already moved or are planning to move production to the U.S.”
Quote attributed to Trump
The document quotes President Trump: “Canada is easily the most difficult and unreasonable. They feel entitled, but they are not a State, and will be entitled no longer!”
