National Origins of Canada-US Subsidy Conflicts

Abstract

This chapter considers the historical roots of selected Canadian and US government policies that became the subject of conflict during the subsidy disputes of the 1980s. The purpose is not to determine whether practices in a particular field constitute a subsidy for trade purposes, but to briefly explain the evolution of these different practices. Rather than grounding Canadian-US subsidy conflict in a vague notion of political culture or equally imprecise ‘histories, geographies and immigrant experiences’ (Lipsey and York, 1988: 123), this chapter gives substance to the differences by examining a number of public policies in key issue areas. These public policies are the result of previous conflicts in the political economy of each state and lay the foundation for present disputes. Today’s issues of contention have their origins in steps taken to resolve previous political and economic conflict.