Dec. 9 – Hundreds of farmers protesting Canadian trade policies blocked highways and stopped Canadian trucks Sunday along the U.S.-Canada border.

Canadian trucks were stopped at border crossings in North Dakota, Montana and Minnesota. Police allowed the Canadian trucks to be detained by protesters for several hours, according to published reports. The farmers want the U.S. government stop Canadian grain imports until U.S. grain prices rise above the cost of production.
U.S. border officials estimated thousands of truckers stayed home or found alternate routes to bypass the blockades, reports The Toronto Star, after suffering delays at a similar four-state blockade in September.
The protests came two days after U.S. and Canadian negotiators reached an agreement to lower trade barriers between the two nations. The agreement calls for increased monitoring of Canada’s wheat sales and lower barriers on American grain and livestock moving north. It does not place limits on imports of Canadian agricultural products, as many U.S. producers want.