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Canada will match US tariffs 'dollar for dollar' as trade talks break down

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Re: Canada will match US tariffs 'dollar for dollar' as trade talks break down

#532

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The EU also stopped enforcing its laws (like DMA and GDPR) against US tech companies.

They paused some investigations while the negotiations happen, but most of those are back on track now.

I agree with your top-level-ish reply - the response by the EU was certainly smart and there are some really interesting things going atm that will loosen the dependency on the US. But just for _feel good_ I would've liked at least a bit more of a fight.

But re:DMA see the most recent Apple app store post on here. Kinda feels like the EU folded too easily there as well.

Re: Canada will match US tariffs 'dollar for dollar' as trade talks break down

#533

At some point , looking at all the damage, it becomes hard to dismiss Trump as merely unintelligent and incapable. The other possibility is that the destruction deliberate, and the goal to end US hegemony. Would things proceed any differently if it were?

Much of the self-destruction flowed from the pages of Project 2025. You can't just blame Trump: you have to include the Heritage Foundation and the entire Republican party. This is not a problem that goes away when Trump ultimately leaves office.

Not to mention an electorate that voted for it after the entire plan was spelled out for them.

Re: Canada will match US tariffs 'dollar for dollar' as trade talks break down

#534
post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canada doesn't have domestic auto companies, yet we manufacture auto parts and assemble automobiles destined for the US. From my understanding, this was negotiated as part of the trade deals. There is no good reason for them to desire cheap Canadian labour, weak Canadian unions, or weak Canadian environmental regulations. For one thing, Canada is known for none of those things. On the other hand, Canada had a lot of…

Your comment sounds like you are arguing with me but you are actually agreeing. I am not "Blaming Mexico" - I am pointing out that the policy as I described it made no sense from American perspective. You are right that the American manufacturs did assembly in Mexico (form Asian components) before as well but it's the same point - an essential Asian good masquerading and benefiting from being a "north American one"

I think it is a bit more complex than that, since how Asian those goods were varied a lot across time.

Early on, it may have included semiconductors designed in the US, with manufacturing outsourced to Asia. That outsourcing may have been to a facility owned by an American company or to a foreign owned company. Then the semiconductors may have been shipped to Mexico where another company was manufacturing consumer products. Under such circumstances, can such a product be described as essentially Asian?

Of course, things changed. Asian companies took more control over product development and manufacturing. When they ran into labour and regulation making manufacturing in their own country more expensive, perhaps due to tariffs or perhaps due to their own citizens demanding better, they used the same playbook.

You're right in that it made no sense from an American perspective, but that isn't because it suddenly became cheaper to manufacture in the US. It did not make sense because they lost control of the playbook, because others could do it better.

On the whole, I agree with your point about trade being used to bypass labour laws and environmental regulations. I'll be more blunt with how I phrase it: the practice is exploitative and causes more harm than good. That said, the current American response appears to be driven by the demand for trade on their terms exclusively. Never mind that other countries may want something in exchange for their resources.

Re: Canada will match US tariffs 'dollar for dollar' as trade talks break down

#535

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That not how politics works. It is much slower and hidden process. EU fast tracked Mercosur and other trade deals. China and Japan is slowly dumping US treasury bills, Canada is in open trade confrontation and is diversifying toward China. Everybody is shifting away from US weapons suppliers. Nobody is willing to help with Iran even on symbolic level.

*Nobody is willing to help with Iran even on symbolic level* Most people do not realize how much of a shift that is. In the past there was always a ton of EU countries helping the US out, in whatever crap the US started. And a lot of European soldiers died. Those soldiers did not help Europe but the US, because of being allies. Even when some European countries got called names for not helping in Iraq because they ca…

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Re: Canada will match US tariffs 'dollar for dollar' as trade talks break down

#536

In 2025 there was a $46 billion trade deficit with Canada. The U.S. was already buying considerably more Canadian goods than Canada bought from it.

How do you expect to have a trade balance with a country that is 10% of your population.

How do you expect to have a trade deficit with a country that is 10% of your population?

Re: Canada will match US tariffs 'dollar for dollar' as trade talks break down

#537
post #484

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> trade barriers for US goods and services are the trade barriers in the room with us?

> are the trade barriers in the room with us? Yes. And I'm saying this in the EU. e.g. Ein Beispiel ist die verschiedene Sprache. Although perhaps German is one of the stranger cases, given that I've seen the English phrase "Made in Germany" on some political posters around here: https://www.cdu.de/aktuelles/cdu-deutschlands/mainzer-erklae... This is also a problem for trade between EU member states. There's other ex…

france has "made in france" too

Re: Canada will match US tariffs 'dollar for dollar' as trade talks break down

#538
post #423

The world should've collectively recognised what Liberation Day was and responded together, in lock step, and in kind. Instead, the Europeans caved, Japanese caved (PM resigned after doing so), Republic of Korea caved (PM resigned after doing so), India of course caved and so on, shattering any prospect of collective action which might pull the rogue hegemon back into line. Now, the US is simply able to renege or ren…

Absolutely agree; but it's never too late to react. Europe could impose tariffs on US tech or forbid it altogether to bid on government contracts. Etc. What are we waiting for.

Possibly waiting for a reasonable replacement for US tech. For example, if the US should decide to shut off MasterCard and VISA services to Europe, it would create non-trivial difficulties for the European banking system.

Re: Canada will match US tariffs 'dollar for dollar' as trade talks break down

#539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Much of the self-destruction flowed from the pages of Project 2025. You can't just blame Trump: you have to include the Heritage Foundation and the entire Republican party. This is not a problem that goes away when Trump ultimately leaves office.

Not to mention an electorate that voted for it after the entire plan was spelled out for them.

I'm willing to give his base some benefit of the doubt, given how heavily propagandized they are via Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, Sinclair Broadcast Group, etc.

On the campaign trail, Trump disavowed any connection to Project 2025 when it was leaked, and I suspect most of his base took him at his word. To anyone not trapped inside the right-wing media bubble, that is somewhere between naive and insane, of course, but people inside the bubble don't live in the same reality as the rest of us.

However, your response does remind me of an important point: two other rather large, looming threats which need addressing are media consolidation and money in politics.

Re: Canada will match US tariffs 'dollar for dollar' as trade talks break down

#540
post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I’ve said from the beginning, just ask yourself: what would Putin want? Every baffling, self destructive move Trump makes, basically always aligns to a long stated goal of Russia.

Putin wanted Trump to decapitate the Iranian regime? Let's be serious, that has nothing to do with the Canadian situation, which has more than enough going on without needing to imagine things. Edit to add: the extent to which many of you will apparently blame anything and everything on Putin is extraordinary. Just because the sun shines on Putin as well does not mean he made it do so.

I don't think you need to be so specific about it. It's more about the overall goal: weakening the United States as much as possible. And if that means embroiling them in a pointless war and wearing down their stockpiles... Well, you can see how that would be advantageous.
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