Define “win a trade war.” If Trump’s definition is ‘Canada becomes non-viable as a country and agrees to become a cherished 51st state,’ then the US can’t win a trade war either. The US has a much larger economy and can inflict more damage on Canada, but the US still can’t “win” in the extreme way you’re talking about. ‘No one wins and everyone suffers’ is basically a defining characteristic of trade wars.
Just in the auto industry, half a million Canadians would lose their jobs. It’s easy to say that you shouldn’t “concede” symbolism when you’re not responsible for people’s well-being. Again, there was always going to be a face-saving gesture. Your expectation that there wouldn’t be is unrealistic. Agreeing to some border theatre nonsense (to help solve imaginary problems!) that Canada would’ve done anyway had someone just asked nicely is not a big deal. Canada didn’t need an economic threat to… join a task force that was a Canadian proposal to begin with. The only reason that didn’t already exist is because ~0% of the fentanyl getting into the US is coming from Canada.
Well this is always the case everywhere. But 99.9999999% of the time, you don’t have to worry about the US reneging on its end of the deal on a whim. Every country knows that the other country could announce tariffs any time. But they typically have reasonable assurances that they won’t. Trump offers no such assurances beyond “I have altered the deal. Pray I do not alter it further.”
And?
Canada and Mexico have no control over this.
“We’re entering into a trade war because you might in the future go back on not having a trade war and start a trade war!”
And you’re talking about this like there are no costs to Trump or the US for doing this. There are. He blinked because it was going to cost him. As much as he can say, ‘this is a necessary sacrifice,’ he’s not personally willing to sacrifice a goddamn thing. Those costs will increase over time and skyrocket as we approach midterms.
But it was announced and formed based on Trump talking points after the 2024 election.
Yes, they said “this fucking moron keeps talking about imaginary border shit. Let’s just pass this and hopefully it shuts him up.”
But that would’ve happened even if he didn’t sign the tariff order. You’re attributing it to Trump signing the tariff order and saying that Canada has just conceded it. That’s not true.
Define “win a trade war.” If Trump’s definition is ‘Canada becomes non-viable as a country and agrees to become a cherished 51st state,’ then the US can’t win a trade war either. The US has a much larger economy and can inflict more damage on Canada, but the US still can’t “win” in the extreme way you’re talking about. ‘No one wins and everyone suffers’ is basically a defining characteristic of trade wars.
Just in the auto industry, half a million Canadians would lose their jobs. It’s easy to say that you shouldn’t “concede” symbolism when you’re not responsible for people’s well-being. Again, there was always going to be a face-saving gesture. Your expectation that there wouldn’t be is unrealistic. Agreeing to some border theatre nonsense (to help solve imaginary problems!) that Canada would’ve done anyway had someone just asked nicely is not a big deal. Canada didn’t need an economic threat to… join a task force that was a Canadian proposal to begin with. The only reason that didn’t already exist is because ~0% of the fentanyl getting into the US is coming from Canada.
And?
Canada and Mexico have no control over this.
“We’re entering into a trade war because you might in the future go back on not having a trade war and start a trade war!”
And you’re talking about this like there are no costs to Trump or the US for doing this. There are. He blinked because it was going to cost him. As much as he can say, ‘this is a necessary sacrifice,’ he’s not personally willing to sacrifice a goddamn thing. Those costs will increase over time and skyrocket as we approach midterms.
Yes, they said “this fucking moron keeps talking about imaginary border shit. Let’s just pass this and hopefully it shuts him up.”
But that would’ve happened even if he didn’t sign the tariff order. You’re attributing it to Trump signing the tariff order and saying that Canada has just conceded it. That’s not true.