The United States of America is the greatest country in the world.
There are many reasons why I believe that, and over this country's almost 250-year history, most of us could name significant moments of why we think that. This country has tackled many challenges and handled most of them with grit and determination.
I'm sure there are some incidents that all of us have gone back and read about in history, and wondered: why in the hell were we involved in that? I'm kind of feeling that way right now about the trade discussions, after Trump's announcement on Wednesday in the Rose Garden. My colleagues Becca Lower and Jennifer Oliver O'Connell wrote about that (see Watch: Trump Declares 'Liberation Day in America' in Rose Garden Tariffs EO Event and Liberation Day: Trump Was Right About Everything, and That Is What the So-Called Experts Resent the Most).
Well, the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whom I wrote about last week, is now digging in. If you recall, he said he was very mad at us, in my article, New Canadian PM Says Old Relationship With US Is Over, and Canada Will Match Trump Tariffs:
Things have gotten a bit more touchy, as I read about right HERE
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada's old relationship with the United States, "based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over".
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa after a cabinet meeting, Carney said Canadians must "fundamentally reimagine our economy" in the face of US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
He said Canada would respond with retaliatory tariffs that will have "maximum impact" on the US.
Trump announced on Wednesday he would target imported vehicles and vehicle parts with a 25% tax, stating: "This is permanent."
I'm hoping that Canada didn't just break up with us because that would be awkward
Well, he is not going to back down in the face of the already announced tariffs on Canada, and I would imagine even if he wants to, he can't right now because they have an election at the end of the month to see if his party which is mostly leftists can hold on the power for another 5 years. Any capitulation to Trump at this time would be seen as a weakness and would give the conservative candidate Pierre Marcel Poilievre a possible lead in the election
Prime Minister Carney is allegedly meeting with Canadian ministers today to discuss this, but did offer a brief response to the president's announcement yesterday at the White House HERE:
Canada will be exempt from the sweeping reciprocal tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump is implementing on most other countries, though 25 per cent tariffs on some Canadian goods remain in place, and 25 per cent tariffs on all foreign-made automobiles are coming into effect as of midnight.
Prime Minister Mark Carney — who put his election campaign on pause to meet with his Canada-U.S. Relations Council and cabinet to craft a response to the tariffs — told reporters on Parliament Hill the federal government will “act with purpose and with force” during this crisis.
Trump laid out the details of his long-anticipated reciprocal-tariff regime in the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday afternoon.
So, just to be clear, I read several people on Wednesday saying that Canada had already rolled over after the Trump announcement and was going to reduce tariffs to zero, to try to avoid American reciprocation. Mark Carney is the leader of the country, at least until the end of the month when the nationwide election for Parliament happens. What some people read and misunderstood was Ontario Premier Doug Ford saying he was hoping this could be avoided after a conversation Ford had on Wednesday morning with Carney, and would be willing to lower charges in the province of Ontario to zero.
I try to remind people as often as I can that the United States, which is protected by oceans on the East Coast and the West Coast, has greatly benefited from having mostly friendly relations with our northern neighbor and southern neighbor. I used to travel to Canada a couple of times a month to visit friends or to hit some restaurants that we did not have on this side of the Detroit River.
The United States, Mexico, and Canada trade agreement, which Trump negotiated and replaced NAFTA with during his first term, has worked well. If any of the parties involved have disagreements, I'm sure it is laid out in the document on how to handle and resolve them.
I do hope that we can focus on taking care of any issues on the North American continent before the United States takes on the rest of the world in trade. This country barely survived four years of Joe Biden; my sincere hope is that with the second Trump term, we can regain some ground and stabilize the country in the next four years with Trump.
If not, I don't want to think about what we face as a country.
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