US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is not afraid of starting a trade war with Canada over the recent imposition of tariffs.
Trump stated he has no fear, as Canada has a tremendous surplus with the United States.
"They [Canada] have a tremendous surplus with the United States. Whenever they have a surplus I have no fear," Trump said during an executive order signing ceremony. "We have massive trade deficits, so when we're the country with trade deficits, we have no fear", Sputnik reported.
On Monday, the Commerce Department announced it has determined a need to impose the new tariff averaging 20 percent on Canadian softwood lumber imports. The Trump administration pointed out that the imports were unfairly subsidized.
The Canadian government said on Tuesday that Trump's plan to impose new tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber is an unjust and harsh measure.
Last week, Trump in his speech in Wisconsin promised to fight against Canada's dairy trade practices that harm American farmers. The US president reiterated the pledge in a Twitter message earlier on Tuesday.