Trump says he will suspend trade negotiations with Canada
President Trump announced an immediate suspension of trade negotiations with Canada after a television ad aired opposing U.S. tariffs. The ad, which ran in Canada, quoted former President Ronald Reagan in a 1987 speech where he said, “trade barriers hurt every American worker.”
Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, said, “President Trump’s decision to walk away from trade talks with one of our closest allies over an ad quoting President Reagan’s own words is petty and dangerous for the American people. The quote is real, and rather than throw a fit, the president might reflect on what he’s done to necessitate this wake-up call from Canada. Our strength has always come from partnership, not petulance.
“We cannot afford to turn our backs on the North American alliance, especially as we enter the colder months, with many families in New England already facing higher energy costs. Now is the time to channel President Reagan, do the patriotic thing, and end Trump’s trade war.”
Ethan Lane, National Cattlemen’s Association Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, said details are still emerging about the suspension.
“The U.S. cattle industry has a lot of supply chains that snake back and forth like other industries across those borders,” he said. “A lot of eastern calves go north to Canada to feed out – about 4 or 500,000 a year – and then come back down to the U.S. to be processed. The Pacific Northwest has a robust trade back and forth as well, so that’s something that’s going to weigh heavily moving forward as we start trending more toward what is going to prove to be unsure and incredibly contentious USMCA negotiation both with Canada and Mexico in the near future.”
Lane said the trade negotiation suspension comes on the heels of the President saying the cattle industry “ought to take less money for our product” and his subsequent quadrupling of the quota on Argentine beef, neither of which sat well with cattle producers.
Agriculture economist Dr. David Kohl, recently drew some similarities between the current agriculture economy and the farm crisis of the 1980s. Kohl said the closures of export markets and low commodity prices are reminiscent of the crisis years. The difference, according to Brian Duncan, Illinois Farm Bureau president, is the interest rate level and the availability of risk management tools now available.
Lane said the timing of both the suspension of trade talks with Canada and the president’s quadrupling of quotas on imported Argentine beef come at a terrible time for cattle producers. He said he doesn’t get the sense this week that historical price movements in the agricultural commodities are something (Trump) has spent a lot of time studying.
