Trump's "Shock and Awe" Doesn't Reflect Dairy Reality: Gerry Ritz

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President Trump’s attacks on Canadian dairy are short-sighted and don’t reflect the reality of the Canada-U.S. dairy relationship, says former Canadian agriculture minister Gerry Ritz.

“This is typical President Trump. It’s all shock and awe, throw down the gauntlet and then really not have a lot of details that his assumptions are based on,” he says in the interview below.

Now leading the trade portfolio for the opposition Conservatives, Ritz says Canada’s dairy policy is in line with what Trump is talking about domestically.

“President Trump is all about buy America, hire America. That’s exactly what we do with our supply management system…so a bit of his own medicine coming back at him,” he notes.

Ritz joined us from his snowy riding of Battlefords-Lloydminster in west-central Saskatchewan to discuss Trump’s attention to Canadian dairy, the Trudeau government’s response and trade strategy, domestic pressure to end supply management (including from Conservative leadership contender Maxime Bernier), and his pick in the Conservative leadership race:


Editor’s note: RealAg has also reached out to the office of Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, who’s responsible for the Canada-U.S. relationship in cabinet, but she has not been available for comment or interviews.

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