The United States imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products early Saturday, and Canada immediately said it would retaliate, after last-ditch negotiations failed to resolve the latest strain in already tense relations between the historic allies.
Donald Trump’s import taxes will hit about 5% of what Canada ships to the United States every year, including products ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors.
“Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement. The retaliation escalates the trade conflict and calls into question the future of a North American trade pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico that is crucial to industry in all three countries.
What? Canada made out like a bandit with NAFTA, industry in the US closed overnight and located across the border. They got labor on the CDN $ and didn’t have to pay US healthcare.
If we want to get serious about decoupling with the US, we need to stop subsidizing the auto sector like Australia did.
Financially Canada came out ahead in exchange for IP protections no? In any case we got lazy and complacent in developing a robust world-wide trading scheme and it’s biting us in the ass now.