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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has a point when he lambastes Canada for protecting its dairy farmers with hefty tariffs.

But the United States is hardly innocent when it comes to farm protectionism. And the very real difficulties that U.S. dairy farmers face can’t all be blamed on America’s neighbour to the north. And in fact, despite Canada’s tariff, the U.S. runs a surplus in dairy trade with its northern neighbour.

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A look at Trump’s complaints and the complicated reality behind them:

TRUMP: “Canada charges the U.S. a 270% tariff on Dairy Products! They didn’t tell you that, did they? Not fair to our farmers!” — Trump tweet on June 8.

THE FACTS: The president is basically right about the tariffs. And the United States has some legitimate gripes about Canadian farm policy. But the whole situation is far more complicated.

Canada has long run an elaborate “supply management” program that effectively shields its farmers from competition. Canada allows a small amount of dairy and poultry imports into the country duty-free or at very low tariffs. Anything above the cutoff is hammered: Consider 245 per cent tariffs on cheese. And 298 per cent on butter.