Politics

Trump blasts Canada on trade, calls its actions a 'disgrace'

Key Points
  • Trump on Thursday criticized Canada for its trade policies, singling out multiple industries in that country.
  • Trump said "what they have done to our dairy farmer workers is a disgrace."
President Donald Trump (R) listens to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a joint news conference at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017.
Carlos Barria | Reuters

President Donald Trump on Thursday criticized Canada for its trade policies, singling out multiple industries in that country and saying among other things that "what they have done to our dairy farmer workers is a disgrace."

Trump frequently singles out individual countries, including close allies, with claims that they're taking unfair advantage of the United States. He often does so without citing specific evidence.

"We're not going to let Canada take advantage [of the U.S.]," Trump told a group of reporters at the White House after a closed meeting with steel executives, vowing to get to the "negotiating table" swiftly.

Trump added that Canada was hurting U.S. timber and lumber jobs as well.

The president has revived his tough talk against the North American Free Trade Agreement of late, after earlier tempering his rhetoric about the trade deal by saying the administration was looking only at "tweaking" parts of NAFTA pertaining to Canada.

"What's happened to you is very, very unfair," Trump told a crowd in Wisconsin, home to more than 1 million dairy cows, earlier this week. "It's another typical one-sided deal against the U.S., and it's not going to be happening for long."