It shouldn't escape anybody's notice that the Biden administration didn't repeal Trump's 1st term tariffs on steel and aluminum. Trump's trade policies embrace a lot of the same protectionist nonsense that Democrats have historically championed. It would be a mistake to assume that a future Democratic administration would fully reverse Trump's policies and return to a pre-Trump status quo, irrespective of the fact that free trade has been better for the US economy.
Future US administrations and congresses might also be reluctant to repeal tariffs because they need the revenue. Yes, tariffs are a tax paid by Americans, but raising taxes on anybody but "the rich" (conveniently defined as something about 10% more than senior journalists or bureaucrats make) is politically toxic. Meanwhile, the US federal government is a fiscal trainwreck, with deficits running close to 6% of GDP and looming insolvency of entitlement programs like Social Security. They need more revenue. Getting Americans to accept the broad-based tax hikes needed to reduce the gap while also swallowing cuts to services and entitlements is so politically fraught that tariffs might be the best alternative, no matter how inefficient and deleterious in other ways.
If that is the outcome then we better start coordinating with US businesses to lobby for reform. Free trade was brought in because it was good for business on both sides of the border. The US didn't agree to this as a charity program to help out nice guy Canada. If it remains beneficial for Canada then we have to make the case that it's also good for the US.
Even Canadians forget that the Canadian lumber industry has been subject to tariffs for decades.
And the reasoning was the same. The Americans were under the delusion that our industry was unfair and the Americans were being taken advantage of. It's not significantly different from what Trump was doing and just as delusional. The difference with Trump is that the lumber tariffs were done at the behest of American lumber companies to protect them while Mr. Trump's tariffs were done because he likes tariffs for their own sake.
It's not just the fear of losing revenue that will inhibit the removal of tariffs. It's that the now protected industries will be very motivated and vocal about not losing their protection.
> Getting Americans to accept the broad-based tax hikes needed to reduce the gap while also swallowing cuts to services and entitlements is so politically fraught that tariffs might be the best alternative
The gap is too massive for tariffs to be any kind of alternative to tax hikes and spending cuts. They might as well be considering a skateboards as an alternative to the trucking industry... I mean, technically, you could have a guy deliver an Amazon package while crusing on a skateboard, but that's not an alternative.
There are no sane, rational people still supporting the Putin-allied, child-raping traitor. 35% of Americans don't understand that. Canadians, being better informed, can't understand the 35%. Canadians understand that there are trust consequences to threatening a country's right to exist. 35% of Americans don't understand that either.
The relationship as it was is gone. We will definitely trade with them. We would be fools to ever trust them again. Carney's foreign policy reflects that. I'm far less supportive of his domestic policies.
Yep and the mainlined heroin of huge tariff revenues will also turn Canadian politicians and civil servants into officially bilingual haunted eyed clones of “Reefer Madness” actors. The ironic part is that the Trump operating ideal was to go back to simpler days when government got its revenues from tariffs and not income taxes. But now you will have both in the US - and in Canada also the GST and Carbon taxes. Welcome to the new whatever it is.
It shouldn't escape anybody's notice that the Biden administration didn't repeal Trump's 1st term tariffs on steel and aluminum. Trump's trade policies embrace a lot of the same protectionist nonsense that Democrats have historically championed. It would be a mistake to assume that a future Democratic administration would fully reverse Trump's policies and return to a pre-Trump status quo, irrespective of the fact that free trade has been better for the US economy.
Future US administrations and congresses might also be reluctant to repeal tariffs because they need the revenue. Yes, tariffs are a tax paid by Americans, but raising taxes on anybody but "the rich" (conveniently defined as something about 10% more than senior journalists or bureaucrats make) is politically toxic. Meanwhile, the US federal government is a fiscal trainwreck, with deficits running close to 6% of GDP and looming insolvency of entitlement programs like Social Security. They need more revenue. Getting Americans to accept the broad-based tax hikes needed to reduce the gap while also swallowing cuts to services and entitlements is so politically fraught that tariffs might be the best alternative, no matter how inefficient and deleterious in other ways.
If that is the outcome then we better start coordinating with US businesses to lobby for reform. Free trade was brought in because it was good for business on both sides of the border. The US didn't agree to this as a charity program to help out nice guy Canada. If it remains beneficial for Canada then we have to make the case that it's also good for the US.
Even Canadians forget that the Canadian lumber industry has been subject to tariffs for decades.
And the reasoning was the same. The Americans were under the delusion that our industry was unfair and the Americans were being taken advantage of. It's not significantly different from what Trump was doing and just as delusional. The difference with Trump is that the lumber tariffs were done at the behest of American lumber companies to protect them while Mr. Trump's tariffs were done because he likes tariffs for their own sake.
It's not just the fear of losing revenue that will inhibit the removal of tariffs. It's that the now protected industries will be very motivated and vocal about not losing their protection.
> Getting Americans to accept the broad-based tax hikes needed to reduce the gap while also swallowing cuts to services and entitlements is so politically fraught that tariffs might be the best alternative
The gap is too massive for tariffs to be any kind of alternative to tax hikes and spending cuts. They might as well be considering a skateboards as an alternative to the trucking industry... I mean, technically, you could have a guy deliver an Amazon package while crusing on a skateboard, but that's not an alternative.
Good piece... the simple fact is the world gets the u.s., the u.s. doesn't get the world!
There are no sane, rational people still supporting the Putin-allied, child-raping traitor. 35% of Americans don't understand that. Canadians, being better informed, can't understand the 35%. Canadians understand that there are trust consequences to threatening a country's right to exist. 35% of Americans don't understand that either.
The relationship as it was is gone. We will definitely trade with them. We would be fools to ever trust them again. Carney's foreign policy reflects that. I'm far less supportive of his domestic policies.
Yep and the mainlined heroin of huge tariff revenues will also turn Canadian politicians and civil servants into officially bilingual haunted eyed clones of “Reefer Madness” actors. The ironic part is that the Trump operating ideal was to go back to simpler days when government got its revenues from tariffs and not income taxes. But now you will have both in the US - and in Canada also the GST and Carbon taxes. Welcome to the new whatever it is.