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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stands with other leaders during the 'family photo' at the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou, Sunday, September 4, 2016.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his fellow Group of 20 leaders were no doubt sincere when they pledged in China this month to "work harder to build an open world economy, reject protectionism [and] promote global trade and investment."

No less sincere than last November in Turkey when the G20 similarly affirmed its "long-standing commitment to standstill and rollback on protectionist measures."

Ditto for 2014 when the leaders promised to "resist protectionism." And so on.

Pity, then, that countries are doing exactly the opposite, including Canada.

Protectionism is now worse than it has been at any time since the 2008-09 global recession. So far in 2016, G20 countries have put in place 350 measures that discriminate against foreign commercial interests, four times the rate in 2009, according to the Washington-based Centre for Economic Policy Research's Global Trade Alert.

And don't just blame the so-called BRICs – Brazil, Russia, India and China – for the trend. The largest industrialized countries, including Canada and the United States, are responsible for half of all protectionist measures put in place this year. The United States leads the way, hitting its trading partners 1,066 times since 2008. Canada has imposed 124 discriminatory measures over the same time frame (14th among G20 countries).

Some of the worst fears about a repeat of the fallout from Great Depression of the 1930s may be coming true.

Canadians like to think we're mostly on the right side, serially abused by larger and more powerful countries, such as the United States and China. Canada's lumber industry is already bracing for another round of U.S. tariffs.

But we can also dish it out. One country's protectionism is typically another country's version of "fair" trade, ostensibly protecting jobs and the economy.

Just this week, the Canada Border Services Agency slapped preliminary anti-dumping tariffs of up to 276 per cent on drywall imports from the United States into Western Canada. The move follows a complaint from CertainTeed Gypsum Canada, a subsidiary of France's Saint-Gobain, which makes drywall at three plants in Western Canada.

The main targets of the action are Georgia-Pacific and USG Corp., which are accused of selling drywall at unfairly low prices throughout the region.

Unfortunately, protectionism cuts both ways. Yes, the tariffs will inflict pain on U.S. suppliers. But they will also inflate the cost of drywall in Canada. Among other side effects, the tariff will act as a hefty tax on the rebuilding of homes and businesses in fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta.

Also this week, the CBSA launched an investigation into alleged dumping of fabricated steel from China, Britain, South Korea, Spain and United Arab Emirates – the first step before imposing duties.

The preferred protectionist tool in the 1930s was the tariff. But protectionism increasingly comes in more ambiguous forms, including local purchasing preferences, trade finance and an increasingly creative array of non-tariff barriers, according to the Centre for Economic Policy Research. "The protectionist policy mix of the G20 countries appears to be shifting … away from traditional import barriers," it says.

Non-tariffs are more opaque and therefore tougher fight. Consider a brewing fight over milk pitting Canada against the United States, Mexico, the European Union, Australia and New Zealand. In a letter this week, foreign dairy producers complained to their respective governments that Canada's highly protected dairy industry has struck a secret deal to drop the domestic price of some industrial milk to block surging imports of milk protein.

Despite the lofty promises of G20 leaders, the environment is likely to get worse before it gets better. Briefing reporters this week on the status of the softwood lumber dispute, Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland complained that the protectionist climate in Washington is worse than at any time since the Second World War.

It's easy to joke about Donald Trump's improbable wall on U.S.-Mexico border. But there is a growing market for the brand of isolationism sentiment the wall represents, and not just in the United States.

Protectionism is insidious and destructive. And it may already be dragging on global trade, which is now on track to grow at the slowest pace in eight years, National Bank of Canada economist Krishen Rangasamy pointed out in a report this week.

It's time for G20 leaders to take their promises seriously.

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