Trade tensions spike as Trump picks trade fight with Canada

Washington

TRADE tensions spiked between Washington and Ottawa on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump accused Canada of being "very rough" on America and threatened to retaliate against restrictions on US dairy products.

Mr Trump also touted his administration's surprise decision late on Monday to rekindle an old trade conflict with America's second largest trading partner by slapping new tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber.

"People don't realise, Canada has been very rough on the United States. Everyone thinks of Canada of being nice but they've outsmarted our politicians for many years," Mr Trump told a group of farmers at the White House.

He said that Canada was hurting American dairy farmers near the border, from Wisconsin to New York, by blocking dairy exports "and we're not going to put up with it". His aggressive comments echoed a tweet that he sent earlier in the day, just hours after the Commerce Department announced that it was imposing tariffs of up to 24 per cent on Canadian sof…