We’re back to war with Canada, our oldest and closest ally, jacking up tariff taxes on US consumers
Jon
Queally for Common Dreams
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| While courting North Korea and Russia, Trump destroys ties with our historic allies and says this make US stronger and safer. |
Both nations accused the other of scuttling the deal, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney citing “last-minute changes” by the Trump administration and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer pointing to “new demands and walk backs” by the Canadians.
Asked earlier on Friday if a deal was within reach, Trump
responded, “I think so, yeah, we’ll see.” But by late Friday night, it was
clear the talks had collapsed entirely as Carney summoned Canada’s
representatives back to Ottawa.
In his statement on Friday night, Carney said, “We have
recognized from the beginning that America has changed, and that we will not
return to our old relationship. Our government understood, before many, that
America is altering all its trade relationships. Putting tariffs on its closest
allies and charging for access to its vast market.”
Here are Trump's demands on Canada:
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| "French language rules in Quebec?" WTF! |
CBC News reports:
The fresh American tariffs and the promise of Canadian
counter-tariffs are a significant escalation in the dispute between Canada and
the US, two countries once seen as being as close as can be on trade.
Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc met with Greer, his American
counterpart, throughout the week in Washington, DC, to try
to secure a deal before the administration’s Friday night deadline.
The terms of the tentative deal were not made public, but separate sources have
said the agreement would have lowered sectoral tariffs that have been crushing
the Canadian aluminum, steel and automobile sectors for months. In return,
Carney asked Canadian premiers to consider ending provincial bans on American
alcohol.
While Carney said the Canadian government operated to strike
“a fair deal that would provide the best access to the US market and greater
certainty to Canadian businesses and workers,” ultimately the
“progress has not been enough,” leading to the suspension of talks.
Carney noted that the US government under Trump would
impose, starting at midnight on Friday, a 50% tariff on roughly $28 billion
worth of goods and he vowed that Canada would “match those tariffs dollar for
dollar to protect our workers and businesses.”
With such pain being inflicted on both sides of the border,
economist Dean Baker,
co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) in Washington,
DC, said Americans will not avoid the sting of higher prices on a variety of
consumer goods, which he argues should be recognized as a tax imposed by
President Trump’s chaotic trade policy.
“Trump is going to be hitting American consumers with a new
round of tax hikes just over two months before the election,” warned Baker.
Peter Armstrong, senior economics reporter for CBC News,
said not only would the new tariffs will “very hard” in the sectors targeted
and “be catastrophic for some businesses,” the additional concern that people
must understand is that “the collapse in talks” between the US and Canada
“might be even worse” due to the breakdown in trust and the new “injection of
uncertainty” between two nations that once stood as solid and reliable trading
partners.
With no clear sign about when, how, or if talks would
resume, Armstrong warned the risk of tit-for-tat retaliation—a spiraling trade
war, in other words—remains high. Armstrong said he texted one business leader
in Canada to ask “just how bad” things are and the one-word reply was: “Very.”
“The US-Canada trade war is threatening to spiral,” commented Bloomberg’s
Josh Wingrove. “Carney is threatening to match tonight’s tariffs
dollar-for-dollar; if he does that, a US official is saying Trump will be given
options to retaliate again.”
Labor union leaders in Canada expressed support for Carney’s
position, but also lamented the looming negative impact the tariffs would have
on Canadian industry and workers. As the Toronto Star reports:
Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association president Flavio
Volpe, who sits on Ottawa’s Canada-U.S. advisory council, said that while he
did not know any details of what happened, “the prime minister promised
Canadians that he would walk away from a bad deal and he kept his word.
Canadians will appreciate that.”
Unifor president Lana Payne, another member of the group, said negotiators made
the right decision to walk away.
“We can’t trade good jobs for a bad deal, and it was clear the U.S. was
continuing to push for untenable concessions,” she said.
However, the Global Automakers of Canada said in a statement it was
disappointed the two sides could not come to a deal, claiming the “current
trade and tariff environment has already cost the sector over $100 billion.”
Phillips P. O’Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the
University of St. Andrews, looked at the situation with Canada and castigated
the Trump administration’s handling of multiple issues on the geopolitical
stage.
“The US decision to launch a trade war against Canada while
it is in the midst of a foolish war with Iran, while China is laughing at its
weakness, while the deficit is exploding and bond markets are calling BS...
shows that the US government is not acting in the US national interest.”
According to O’Brien, “The great debate in foreign relations
today is whether the US is more untrustworthy or more self-destructive in how
it is interacting with its former allies.” Citing his own confusion on the
question, he said, “I can’t make my mind up between them.”
