MONTREAL—Canada faces “stormy days” ahead on softwood lumber and other issues with the United States, after incoming president Donald Trump picked someone with a protectionist bent to be the next U.S. trade representative, says a former Canadian diplomat.
Trump plans to nominate Robert Lighthizer to fill the shoes of Michael Froman, who has served as the lead for the United States on the softwood lumber dispute.
Lighthizer, 69, was a deputy trade representative under the administration of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan and has been lead counsel in numerous anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases over three decades. He joins billionaire investor Wilbur Ross as commerce secretary and economist Peter Navarro in a new White House National Trade Council.
“Whether we’re sideswiped or intentionally targeted, I think there’s going to be very tough days ahead on Canada-U.S. trade with Mr. Trump and his trade team,” said Lawrence Herman, an international trade lawyer who represented Canada abroad, including at the World Trade Organization.
