Canada’s long hot trade summer, explained

Canada-U.S. trade once again became the hottest topic in town after Donald Trump said he was walking away from the negotiating table over the federal government’s digital services tax. Just a few days later, Prime Minister Mark Carney rescinded the tax. Was that a smart move? Two trade experts join The House, guest hosted by CBC’s trade reporter Janyce McGregor, to discuss the retreat and the looming July 21 deadline for a deal.

Plus, The House talks to cheesemakers at a festival in Kingston, Ont. about concerns Trump’s tariff threat will spell the end of Canada’s protection of its dairy industry. Then, a Saskatchewan cattle rancher explains why she’s frustrated over a recently passed bill that protects that supply management system from Canada-U.S. trade talks.

Next, as Canada’s trade relationship with the U.S. remains uncertain, it needs other allies more than ever. In his first broadcast interview since being named to cabinet, International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu explains why making up for lost trade with the U.S. is hard to do.

Finally, trade policy and negotiations used to be dominated by economic data, legal rules and a ton of fine print — until Donald Trump flipped the table. Dmitry Grozoubinski, an Australian trade consultant, discusses his book, Why Politicians Lie About Trade, and how to spot the misformation to be able to make sense of (and even poke fun at?) the current state of trade debates.

This episode features the voices of:

• Inu Manak, fellow for trade policy at the Council of Foreign Relations
• Julian Ovens, former chief of staff for two international trade ministers
• Roxanne Renwick, cheesemaker
• Shep Ysselstein, cheesemaker
• Hans Weber, cheesemaker
• Karla Hicks, board member of the Canadian Cattle Association
• Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade
• Dmitry Grozoubinski, author of Why Politicians Lie About Trade