Trump’s trade war with Canada is reckless, pointless and dangerous

Filed 52m ago · Via Michigan Advance · The Buffoon Desk

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Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Jeff Hitchcock from Seattle, WA, USA · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

The United States and Canada called off trade talks just before 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian exports took effect August 22, with both governments blaming each other. Canada retaliated with its own tariffs on $20 billion of U.S. goods set for September 8, ranging from 15% to 50% on appliances, metals, lumber and more, while Trump has threatened to double auto tariffs to 50% in January.

The piece argues the tariffs likely violate the USMCA that Trump himself negotiated in 2020, and disputes his claim that Canada has been 'ripping off' the U.S., noting a nonenergy trade surplus in America's favor. Michigan, with $70 billion in cross-border trade in 2024, is flagged as particularly exposed.

Trump has floated using 'economic force' to make Canada the 51st state, a claim Vice President JD Vance echoed before calling it a 'Freudian slip.' Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have both pushed back sharply, with Ford threatening to cut hydropower exports to the U.S.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

There is something almost restful about watching an administration negotiate a treaty, sign it, and then declare war on it, all without pausing to consult the man who did the signing — himself. A trade policy that requires the phrase ‘Freudian slip’ as damage control has already told you which part of it was the accident and which part was the plan. The neighbors, meanwhile, have noticed that the friendly giant next door keeps describing annexation as a slip of the tongue.

Source: Read the original at Michigan Advance → Scored: Faster Does It · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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