Why Canada? America's neighbor seems an unlikely target for a trade war

Canada is positioned as an unlikely target in a U.S. trade war, even though it is the No. 1 buyer of American goods and a major export destination for U.S. farmers. A North American trade pact negotiated by President Donald Trump during his first term allows most U.S. products to enter Canada duty-free. Yet Trump has accused Canada of cheating the United States and disrupting American industries, saying on Sept. 12 that he was considering leaving the three-way agreement signed in late 2018. Relations worsened after talks collapsed Aug. 21. The U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods three weeks ago, and Canada retaliated. Trump then moved to ban whey, most alcohol, and some vehicles from Canada, while removing products like toilet paper, bedsheets and fishing rods. Canada’s effective tariff rate was about 2.4%.