WASHINGTON: The US Justice Division’s antitrust division was instructed earlier this week to pause all work with the Canadian authorities, the Wall Road Journal reported on Friday (Sep 4), citing emails, amid a commerce dispute between Washington and Ottawa.
The neighbouring nations, shut allies for many years, have been increasingly at odds over trade and other issues since President Donald Trump returned to the White Home in early 2025. The commerce spat has led to tariffs on tens of billions of {dollars} in cross-border commerce.
The Justice Division referred to as the report false in an emailed assertion to Reuters, saying the “alleged path was by no means given to anybody.”
The division was requested to “quickly maintain off on a scheduled assembly on a particular investigation till the DOJ’s antitrust group had extra time to arrange,” the division stated.
The White Home and the Canadian authorities didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Trump has regularly steered Canada ought to be an American state, and final week ordered Lake Ontario to be renamed “Lake America” for US federal authorities functions, a distinction that doesn’t have an effect on what Canada or others name the lake.
The Wall Road Journal reported that Lynda Marshall, chief of the antitrust division’s worldwide part, ordered officers in an e-mail on Wednesday to cease all cooperation on circumstances and engagement on coverage points with Canadian authorities, with out offering a cause for the directive.
On Friday, part chiefs within the division had been additionally requested in one other e-mail to supply lists detailing areas of cooperation with Canada by the top of the day, the report added.
