Summary
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced retaliatory tariffs after Donald Trump confirmed 25% tariffs on Canadian goods and 10% on energy, set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
Trump justified the move by linking it to fentanyl smuggling concerns.
Trudeau called the tariffs “unjustified” and imposed 25% tariffs on $155 billion in U.S. goods, with $30 billion effective immediately and the rest in 21 days.
He warned of price hikes and job losses in the U.S., arguing the move violates Trump’s own trade agreement from his last term.
Don’t retaliate 1:1. Retaliate 5:1.
Burn the fucking bridge already.
should double those tariffs.
If Trump escalates, so do we.
If we go “all in” on day one, we don’t have any future leverage.
you are right, got to strategically tariff so it hurts US but with minimal impact on Canada.
got to strategically tariff so it hurts US but with minimal impact on Canada.
Yup.
That’s why the initial list of counter-tariffs were specifically chosen to hit the overlap of red states and things we make ourself, or can easily get elsewhere, or can comfortably do without for an extended period of time.
We need to really turn the screws into the U.S. Along with applying tariffs, we also need to just outright stop delivery of critical materials they need. Full Stop.
I’m know this is just a sounding board, but honestly I’d love to see the cutting off of any and all essential raw materials they need. I’m sure they can source it elsewhere, but they most likely can’t get enough of it fast enough.
Cut off anything they need for energy and more importantly: agriculture.
People can live without power. Make their stomachs ache.
Trump is a diseased cunt who doesn’t understand what happens when things don’t go his own way. Let’s show him.
Yes make us hurt. It’s the only way.
Starting off slow and ramping up sends the correct message that (a) we want to find a way to stop this garbage and (b) we can and will make things more painful for business and consumers alike if it continues long term.
The Beaverton had as a headline a few weeks back along the lines of “Americans choose the most expensive way to figure out what they purchase from Canada” which I thought was appropriate.
I said it before. Stop sending aluminum and steel and aerospace and military manufacturing would suffer immensely. That is 90%+ of all good made, metals have strict import requirements and certifications, and we couldn’t just make our own on a whim.
Everytime Trump threatens tariffs they should out a one week export ban on literally everything to the US… That would really shock the system.
By the end of these 4 years, everyone will be jobless and prices will be unreasonably high. Wonderful.
4 years? Do people really think that there will be mid-term election? and presidential one in 4 years? really?
Yes, elections are run by the states, not the federal government. Will red states have fair elections? Absolutely not.
I thought the point of all this was to ratchet up tensions so Trump could declare martial law and suspend democracy indefinitely.
“We have always been at war with everyone but Russia and China….”
Just like, checks notes 96 years ago!
Carry on Prime Minister Trudeau and create better trade deals with the EU, EEC and friendly Asian countries.
I was going to buy an item but the price went up since yesterday. Not going to buy it now. It’s his tax on us. Not going to finance Krasnov’s destruction of America.
American here.
100% support you Canada. Keep it up.
Ditto. Our only hope is for brave nations like yours to smack our leaders down.
My fear is that, the brain washed swarms will ignore the shortcomings and scapegoat something else.
<3
We know it’s not all of you.
Trudeau’s measured retaliation shows Canada won’t back down but prioritizes diplomacy over chaos.
🐱🐱🐱🐱
Trump is such a vindictive moron. Whether he’s a Russian asset or just a certifiably stupid, the end result is the same.
Good god I hate this fucking timeline. Fuck corporate America for backing this monster and fuck everyone who voted for him. Fuck the Democrats for collectively shrugging about all this too.
Whether he’s a Russian asset or just certifiably stupid
Most definitely both.
Yeah, if he was just in it for his own aggrandisement, none of this would make sense. The orders are very clearly coming from Moscow here, because only Putin benefits from all this bullshit.
And he’s stupid for going along with it - a smart Russian asset US president would get something in return other than a pat on the head.
I mean presumably he’s getting a pile of money. Or there’s kompramat. Or, more likely, both. Also he just likes when people talk to him like he’s special, I’m sure it took the KGB all of 6 seconds to figure that out and take advantage of it
Why doesn’t trump just setup fentanyl production in the states? Seems like a easy fix for me /s
BUILD A WALL
Ok I’ve been wanting to ask this and all the articles don’t really address it so I’m confused.
The whole rhetoric is that Trump’s tariffs will impact the citizens with increased prices and it’s really just going to cause economic harm. Like cool, I can understand that. But why is Canada then performing the same action effecting their citizens? I get it’s retaliatory, and suppose to expedite (hopefully) a return to normal trade policy. I just don’t get why this is the move when it’s a bad move in the first place (two wrongs don’t make a right and all). Please be gentle, I’m honestly just confused.
Trump’s tariffs are universal. Meaning that even in cases where the only practical option is Canada, for example potash, they have to suffer a direct 25% price increase.
The Canadian tariffs are highly selective, we only tariff goods that have alternate non US suppliers at similar prices. In this case the tariffs would mostly reduce market competition without directly affecting price.
I think the better approach is to not enforced the digital lock aspects of the free trade agreement and have Canada be a leading repairer of farm and industrial equipment.
Doesn’t Belarus also produce potash? I thought they were dropping sanctions against them to get it
I mean yeah, but Canada produces an ENORMOUS percentage of the world’s potash.
Edit: checked the numbers. Canada produced ~38% of the worlds potash (25mil lbs), while Belarus produced 5-7mil lbs, most of which already goes to China, Russia, and India. Canada exports 46% of our potash to the US, meaning the US could buy ALL of belarus’ potash and still not meet current supply.
Aluminum is another one, apparently. The element is everywhere, but it takes massive amounts of electricity to get in metal form, which we just happen to have from all the dams in great lakes region.
Our Aluminum companies are literally planning to change nothing. They expect their American customers will just eat the cost.
If the tariffs are taylored correctly they can cause more pain in the US while minimizing cost to Canada. For example, us grain is not cheap and you can make it so that Canada buys from other countries at a similar cost. This will hurt farmers in the US (a key group for Trump) while not really hiring Canada.
Make it hurt for the morons that support nazis
There really aren’t any other moves to take. It’s either this or lie down.
Also, I will say that tariffs can be a lot easier to manage if you only implement them against one of your trading partners. While major imports from that trading partner, and any goods produced with any of those imports, will see a price hike, most Western countries have very diversified economies and can make up the difference elsewhere. The real trouble begins when you start having blanket tariffs affecting all of your major trade partners, which seems to be Trump’s plan.
It’s still going to hurt - we import so much from the US that this is going to impact Canadians no matter what (even before price hikes in unrelated businesses starts).
It is going to hurt, and to my understanding it’s already begun impacting businesses. The only salve I can offer is that us Americans are going to hurt a whole lot more. Hopefully, Liberal is able to maintain power up there, and is working on new trade deals with new partners. Nothing the U.S. produces is really unique, so alternatives can be found, but it’s going to take time to set-up new agreements.
My understanding is that when the americans institute their tariffs, all canadian products become more expensive for americans and not price competitive with local american products. This results in a decrease of purchasing from Canada.
If we do nothing, then Canadians are still buying just as much american as before and there are little to no consequences for the tariffs
With tariffs on both sides, the effect is roughly “equalized” in that we are both now buying more local goods and less trade over the border
Higher import taxes (tariffs) on Canadian goods for Americans will increase the price, presumably reducing the amount of these goods that Americans will buy which hurts the Canadian producers. The only thing Canada can really do is hurt American producers in the same way, hence increase tariffs to reduce Canadian consumption of American goods and hurt American producers just as much (or preferably more). Hurting each other is a loss-loss strategy though, which explains why trade wars typically do not have winners only losers…
Today I watched both Trudeau and Sheinbaum’s addresses.
I must say that Americans get even worse reputation everytime Trump and Vance talk even just because of the contrast with some of the best, most prepared speakers and I must say attractive individuals in politics today.
Fuck, marry, kill?
Despite being a boring hetero male, I am so conflicted between the first 2.
Nobody married to president sheinbaum would be boring
Excuse my ignorance but wouldn’t that make things more expensive for Canadians as well?
:edit: thank you all for answering me. I totally understand now.
Fuck trump
I am starting to understand how felon tRump bankrupted casinos
Only on American products. Canadian products theoretically will cost the same.
Maybe in Canada. In the US, I fully expect corporations to increase domestic prices by 15-20%, and still have the more attractive option for consumers. If and when the tariffs are dropped, it is unlikely that prices will go back down. Trump essentially just created a permanent new regressive tax, affecting the poorest of US citizens the worst.
Anyone want to place a bet for what he blames it on? I’m hoping he goes for the classic Obama excuse.
Yes, tariffs increase prices in almost any case they’re implemented, which is the goal. Trudeau seems to be hoping that by adding these tariffs, it will become even easier to shift consumer behavior to buy non-American made goods, which could possibly either lead Trump to reduce/remove his tariffs, or at least make Americans feel more of the economic impact of those reductions in sales, which could then push more people to go against Trump politically.
Yes, but items are targeted to inflict the least amount of pain. We don’t neeed orange juice or bourbon for example.
And inflict the maximum amount of pain on specifically the bad Americans who are doing this.
Yes. It’s alright, I’ve managed to mostly eliminate American products. Anyone smart or at least patriotic has looked into it as well, since the madness began. It was kind of neat watching the US products just sit on the shelves while Canadian stuff emptied out.
To reiterate what all our politicians have been saying to US media, Trump is raising prices on Americans to hurt us, it’s for no good reason, and we’re forced to do the same on our side.
There is a reason, is just like this old Western movies. The wealth banq/ranch owner that rules the town, is diverting the local stream to dry up the pretty widow a farm. Saying you know you would be much better off marrying me. I would cherish you and add you worthless farm to my ranch. Only he knows the train line is about to be installed and would turn that little plot of land into very valuable real estate. Ducking the widow in the as every night is just bonus.
Genuine question, if Trump’s tarrifs just make things expensive for Americans why would we put retaliatory tarrifs that effect us?
Do tarrifs really just make things more expensive for the home country? How do they effect the country the tarrifs are imposed on?
Imagine widgets are $10 in country A, but a company in country B can make and sell them for $8. Buyers are likely to buy the cheapest (all else being equal). A 100% tariff would turn $8 into $16. Company B still only gets $8, but they now look far more expensive to customers in country A.
They are designed to price out external competitors to local companies. This can be used to protect industries. Steel is a good example. China can make steel far cheaper than the rest of the world. However, steel plants take a long time to build and get producing. You generally don’t want a potential rival to have control of the materials you need for war production.
Another legit use is to account for local regulations. If you require local companies to pay in a carbon credit system, an external company could undercut them from abroad. A tariff would help level the playing field.
None of these apply to what trump is doing. He’s swinging a claymore mine around like a toy hammer. It causes huge damage to all involved.
*affect
Not an economic, but everything is entangled
Say you have two products: one from USA ($110) and the same from Canada ($100). Now we impose a tariff of 25 pct on the Canadian product ($125).
This means that consumers are going to buy the cheaper product, resulting in less income for the Canadian manufacturer.
The USA manufacturer can increase the price to $120, and still be cheaper than their Canadian counterpart. All while prices for customers are increasing
The USA manufacturer can increase the price to $120, and still be cheaper than their Canadian counterpart.
Unless there is no USA manufacturer, or there is but they don’t make nearly enough of the product to satisfy demand. More importantly, if the manufacturers we (USA) have buy much of the needed raw materials to make their products from Canada or other places with tariffs imposed, then a USA-made product becomes that much more expensive.
It’s stupid, and hard on everyone but the blame is entirely on trump. Canada (and hopefully Mexico) imposing retaliatory tariffs is basically the only way to get trump to back down. Like with MAD (mutually assured destruction), the assured part has to be there or it doesn’t work. Even though it causes pain to everyone, retaliation is the most effective way to end this madness sooner–it will hurt the US economy, raise prices, and turn trump’s supporters against him. The more it hurts, the sooner people will be out in the streets.
turn trump’s supporters against him
Other than this, I believe you are totally correct. After everything that’s happened in the past 13 years, what makes you think this will change anyone’s mind?
A scapegoat(s) will be found, and Trump will make himself out to be the victim. As sure as the sun rises in the east, this will happen. I do not believe his cultists can ever be turned.
You may be right, it’s certainly been that way so far. It’s amazing how they never blame him for anything. But also, so far they’ve never experienced real negative consequences from his actions either, other than maybe a few small things they could easily dismiss as not related to trump (even if obvious to others). So we’ll see what happens when they and their friends and families start feeling some real pain. Obviously some still won’t be hurt much and some will never be able to admit trump screwed them no matter what, but others have already realized it and more of them will ‘find out’ as things keep getting worse for them.
Trump’s tariffs make Canadian stuff more expensive for Americans, so they’ll tend to buy less Canadian stuff. Without retaliatory tariffs, Americans only buy American stuff, and Canadians continue to buy American stuff, so nobody is buying Canadian stuff. This hurts Canada because nobody is buying their stuff. With retaliatory tariffs, US stuff becomes more expensive in Canada, so it encourages Canadians to stop buying American and spend their money in Canada.
Do tarrifs really just make things more expensive for the home country? How do they effect the country the tarrifs are imposed on?
It makes it harder for that country to sell. Which means layoffs and loss of asset value there. The most dramatic example is the auto industry. They’re talking about just closing shop immediately, because their business plan depends on moving things back and forth across the border as they gradually get assembled.
If this goes on as long as I suspect, there will be new businesses that bubble up to use the same resources, but it’s never going to be as nice as a single integrated continent, and in the meanwhile, time is money, things can’t grow and develop while just sitting there. Not to mention the workers that now don’t know how to put food on the table.
Genuine question, if Trump’s tariffs just make things expensive for Americans why would we put retaliatory tariffs that effect us?
That’s actually a separate question. It’s a matter of tit-for-tat, partly. But, there’s also the fact that the US government is pocketing all those tariffs. If we didn’t have a bit of extra income to match, I imagine it’d get really hard for the government to pay for things with our now weaker currency. Not retaliating was considered, though.
I like Cory Doctorow’s plan.
The reason Canada got tariff-free access to sell to the US in the first place? Canada agreed to enforce penalties for tampering with digital locks, following the premise of the Digital Milennium Copyright Act.
If the US is going back on the deal, then Canada should too. Make it legal to jailbreak all US tech.
Doctorow advocating for this plan:
- On Democracy Now
- On his blog
- On his podcast
- In the Ursula Franklin lecture at the University of Toronto’s Innis College (I especially enjoyed this one, but it is the longest)
If the US is going back on the deal, then Canada should too. Make it legal to jailbreak all US tech.
That should be considered with plans for further escalation varying from nothing to an embargo.
Though arguably piracy and jailbreaking are not so bad for said domination. Microsoft practically encouraged piracy in ex-USSR at some point. Piracy solves the availability problem, supports market share, leads to short-term loss in sales but long-term growth.
But that’s Microsoft, while US government in general seems to think DMCA is for them what the Sound was for the Danish crown in middle ages.
Microsoft practically encouraged piracy in ex-USSR at some point. Piracy solves the availability problem, supports market share, leads to short-term loss in sales but long-term growth.
Yup, Bill Gates pretty much said he’d rather have people growing up on pirated Microsoft products than use alternatives.
Im pretty sure i watched him say this on democracy now and he was a great listen
Yep, I caught that one too. He’s a fantastic orator. He’s got an endless arsenal of one-liners.
I added a link to that and some other instances where he’s made this argument.
Heck, make it legal to pirate all American media.
It already basically is; Anti-piracy laws in Canada don’t have a lot of teeth. I leave my torrent computer running 24 hours a day to seed and I don’t even get emails anymore after switching to a smaller service provider.
VPN with multi-hop proxy, my bratha/sista.
No need. I’m seeding 24/7 raw dogging my connection and don’t hear a peep from my ISP.
Impressive!
In that case, the Candian government should set up an official service for downloading American stuff. Making it easy to find things would be worth a nominal fee for a lot of people.
Yeah, I’m not too concerned about that. Their courts are being attacked with so much that I’m pretty sure downloading a car isn’t going to be high on their list.
Hit where it really hurts: stop paying Microsoft.
A surprising amount of ‘American’ media is filmed and produced in Canada.
TorontoVancouver is like Hollywood North. This would probably be a footgunProducers like to film in Toronto while pretending that it’s NYC. X-Men and What We Do In The Shadows are the first things that come to mind. I still find it hilarious that the “Westchester” Train Station in X1 is in Hamilton (I believe)
A more subtle crossover is that Ramona (Scott Pilgrim) is from NYC
Vancouver is a huge TV filming location as well.
Ugh, I feel like a dummy. I was picturing BC in my mind and typed out Toronto. You’re 100% correct about Vancouver
Toronto is used for pretty much any scenes set in NYC though
Why not film them in NYC?
Cheaper to film in Toronto. Also random fun fact: the trope of dark NYC alleyways where criminals hang out is actually because of the Toronto filming, where alleyways are common. Apparently NYC has very little in the way of alleyways
(https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/mini-stories-volume-6/)
Stargate SG-1, full of blatant military propaganda (I know it’s not so bad, but), was filmed there.
God, as a HUGE Stargate fan I feel like all its main cast would be completely enraged at what is happening here, it’s fucked up!
I’m not sure of that. People are people.
IDK about the actors, I meant as written, as scripted, the characters often fought exactly this kind of tyranny. Sorry for not being clear!
Ah, OK. That they did.
No problem, make exceptions for anything that was made involving Canada!
They could also make their own play store and apple store, and could charge the developers much lower fees, for the same apps that would work anywhere. It would cost them very little and be nothing but profit.
The fact that both Apple and d Google fail to keep malware off their stores makes me think it’s maybe not so easy.
Pretty sure Canada could do as good of a job as anyone though.
It’d be nice if somewhere, other than Russia and China, was doing the important reverse engineering work.
