Step aside, China and Mexico: Canada is now U.S. President Donald Trump's whipping-boy-du-jour on trade, something he made clear Tuesday with a tweet, a tax, a threat, a scolding and a familiar faux-compliment he used to lavish on others.
"People don't realize Canada's been very rough on the United States. Everyone thinks of Canada as being wonderful, and so do I. I love Canada,'' Trump said. ''But they've outsmarted our politicians for many years."
Trump also used Twitter to reprise his recent threats about Canada's dairy industry.
"Canada has made business for our dairy farmers in Wisconsin and other border states very difficult," he tweeted. "We will not stand for this. Watch!"
Then later, of Canada's recent adjustments to dairy regulations, he said: ''We're not gonna put up with it."
Some members of the Canadian government suspect this is all a negotiating ploy in the runup to NAFTA talks.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Tuesday the issues prove the agreement could be improved.
"Everything relates to everything else when you're trying to negotiate," Ross told a press briefing at the White House, referring to dairy and lumber.
Several former American diplomats urged the Canadian government to stay cool.
"(My advice to Canada is): Continue the robust engagement, inside and outside D.C. Don't take your foot off the gas ... Resist the urge to engage in gutter politics, protectionist tendencies, or to counter-punch — even if it might feel good to do so," said former diplomat Maryscott Greenwood.