The federal government is not ruling out the possibility of imposing retaliatory measures to fight back against the increase in US tariffs on Canadian lumber.
At least that’s what Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland promised in the House of Commons on Thursday, according to Global News.
“We will do precisely what we have done successfully with two previous US administrations: we present our case in a clear and rational manner,” said Chrystia Freeland.
“We’re also making it very, very clear that Canada is ready to fight back, to defend the national interest,” added Ms. Freeland.
Although she did not specify the details of these measures that could be considered by Ottawa, the Deputy Prime Minister alluded to the response of the Liberal government to the former administration of Republican Donald Trump over the punitive tariffs on the steel and aluminum.
Trump’s decision came in the middle of the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations in 2018.
The arrival of Joe Biden’s new administration does not appear to be a game-changer, with Democrats known to be much more economically protectionist.
Washington has decided to reduce the combined countervailing duty rate on Canadian lumber to 17.9%, from 18.32%, when it was originally 8.99%.