US Justice Department denies full halt to cooperation with Canada — Channel NewsAsia
The Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice allegedly received instructions to suspend all work with the Canadian government amid a trade dispute between the two countries. The Wall Street Journal reported this, citing emails, Channel NewsAsia reports.
Justice Department's position
In a response to Reuters, the US Department of Justice called the report false. The department said that no one had been given the instruction described.
According to the Justice Department, employees of the Antitrust Division were only asked to temporarily postpone a scheduled meeting concerning a specific investigation. The reason given was the need to provide the department's antitrust team with more time to prepare.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
What The Wall Street Journal claims
As The Wall Street Journal writes, Linda Marshall, head of the Antitrust Division's international section, instructed officials in an email on Wednesday to halt all case cooperation and policy engagement with Canadian authorities. According to the publication, no reason for the decision was specified.
Also on Friday, section chiefs of the division were allegedly asked to provide lists of areas of cooperation with Canada by the end of the day. The White House and the Canadian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The United States and Canada have recently had disagreements on trade and other issues. The dispute has already led to tariffs being imposed on tens of billions of dollars in cross-border trade.
