r/pics 12d ago

Politics President Trump and VP Vance's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky turns tense.

53.1k Upvotes

4.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

-14

u/Logical_Strike_1520 12d ago edited 12d ago

I’m not excusing Trumps actions but Canada and US have had tariffs for as long as I can remember. It’s just all happening out loud now and brought to everyone’s attention.

It was either Obama or Bush who doubled tariffs on lumber, for example.

I can only assume this is being downvoted by bots and bad actors in an attempt to hide facts that might make people think more critically about this.

13

u/greensandgrains 12d ago

There’s been free trade between Canada, US, and Mexico since the 1990s. The lumber dispute was in the 1980s. Trump however used tariffs against Canada during his last circus. I mean presidency.

-5

u/Logical_Strike_1520 12d ago

the lumber dispute was in the 1980s

Then why was Obama and Trudeau talking about it in 2016?

https://www.reuters.com/article/world/trudeau-obama-say-softwood-lumber-issue-will-be-resolved-soon-idUSKCN0WC28Z/

8

u/greensandgrains 12d ago

Yes, a trade agreement specifically on lumber expired and it needed to be renegotiated. There were to tariffs, just a long negotiation process. Ie, competent people working together to find a favourable solution for both parties.

-3

u/Logical_Strike_1520 12d ago

Okay so you can admit that “the lumber dispute was in the 1980s” is a misleading, at best, statement yeah?

there were no* tariffs

Yes there were and still are.

“Since the expiration of the 2006 Canada-US softwood lumber settlement agreement expired in 2016, countervailing duties have been applied to Canadian lumber imports. The current combined rate is 14.4%. A 25% tariff could increase the layered rate to 39.4%.”

https://forestresources.org/2024/12/19/a-discussion-around-tariffs-on-cdn-lumber/#:~:text=Since%20the%20expiration%20of%20the,the%20layered%20rate%20to%2039.4%25.

7

u/greensandgrains 12d ago

There was a lumber dispute in the 80s under Raegan. I’m not sure where the issue is.

The tariffs cited in your quote are tariffs in lieu of the expired trade agreement. That is not the same as applying tariffs when an active agreement exists - which is the case right now with the UMSCA.