Canada responds to the tariffs
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Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Saturday night that his country would respond to President Donald Trump's decision to enact a 25% tariff on Canadian exports to the U.S. by implementing a 25% tariff against $155 billion in U.S. goods.
Trudeau said during the Saturday evening press conference that the tariffs on American goods include "immediate tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods as of Tuesday," the day the U.S. is set to begin collecting tariffs on Canadian goods. He said that the rest of the tariffs will come in about three weeks "to allow Canadian companies and supply chains to seek to find alternatives."
"Like the American tariffs, our response will also be far reaching and include everyday items such as American beer, wine and bourbon, fruits and fruit juices, including orange juice, along with vegetables, perfume, clothing and shoes," Trudeau said. "It'll include major consumer products like household appliances, furniture and sports equipment, and materials like lumber and plastics, along with much, much more."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trudeau-retaliatory-tariffs-canada-us-trump-rcna190314
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The other thing Trudeau said that wasn’t mentioned in the article is Canada’s response could also include non-tariff measures centered around the supply of critical minerals or energy procurement.
Trump did one thing that Trudeau hasn’t managed to do recently - unite Canada behind him. And he has nothing to lose since he is stepping down. The Liberals are working on a stimulus package to financially help Canadians weather this. Do you think Trump will do the same for Americans?
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One more thing. My entire social media feed is filled with lists and photos of products that are made in Canada. It has been for several days. Everyone on my personal friends lists are posting about how they are not buying specific items with the Canadian alternative. Rob came home yesterday from grocery shopping annoyed that he had to buy spinach from a US producer but everything else he got was made in Canada. People here are pissed.
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I heard about Trudeau's call for "Canadian rye instead of Kentucky bourbon". Mr wtg said he's heading over to the liquor store later and he's going to stock up on Canadian booze...
The Liberals are working on a stimulus package to financially help Canadians weather this. Do you think Trump will do the same for Americans?
I don't know. He made a pronouncement that there would be short term disruptions to American citizens, but that "they will understand". A lot depends on what the legislative branch does. The Republicans have a narrow majority in both houses and it will only take a few people to throw a monkey wrench in some of Trump's works. But he's been working fast and loose since he was inaugurated, simply ignoring a lot of precedent, laws, and even the Constitution.
Guess we'll see if congressional Republicans have any spine and take action to stop him. I'm not holding out much hope. I hope I'm wrong.
When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier
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From the Calgary Herald:
“The dumbest trade war in history.” So says the Wall Street Journal, a solidly conservative U.S. publication, in a blistering editorial about Trump tariffs.
Ronald Reagan, Republican president from 1981-89, said when protectionism rose in America:
“Our peaceful trading partners are not our enemies; they are our allies. We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends — weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world — all while cynically waving the American flag.”
Reagan couldn’t have known that Donald Trump, then a New York real-estate hustler, would sink to the pit of American demagoguery and threaten the entire western order with his protectionist fantasies.
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@dolmansaxlil wrote:
And [Trudeau] has nothing to lose since he is stepping down.
Trump is term limited and similarly has nothing to lose.
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@dolmansaxlil wrote:
And [Trudeau] has nothing to lose since he is stepping down.
Trump is term limited and similarly has nothing to lose.
@Axtremus said in Canada responds to the tariffs:
@dolmansaxlil wrote:
And [Trudeau] has nothing to lose since he is stepping down.
Trump is term limited and similarly has nothing to lose.
Trump also has a huge ego and need to be praised and adored; it makes him do crazy things. I don't think he's going to feel that love if inflation takes off and/or people start losing their jobs. He won't like that at all. Scary part is what lengths he would go to in order to find a way to blame someone else and come out smelling like a rose. In his own mind, at least.
Don't be so sure about term limited.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/01/31/trump-defy-constitution-third-term-00200239
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The Canadian "nuclear option" might be to turn off the supply of electricity to Michigan and Minnesota. I don't know if that would literally turn off the lights, but it would be a serious problem for the US grid, and electricity prices would spike. It might also induce rationing electricity to homes and shutting it off to firms. That would lead to instant shutdowns and layoffs. That would be .... good!
I have read stuff about Doug Ford and Ontario planning to do this stuff, but provinces with their own international economic and foreign policy would be frankly a stupid form of governance. Those decisions should clearly come from the national government.
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eta: Watch the YT link in @Piano-Dad 's post below. It's a complete version of Trudeau's remarks and the volume is good.
Here's a video of Trudeau's remarks from yesterday. The volume is really low.
https://www.wfla.com/video/trudeau-responds-to-tariffs-imposed-by-president-trump/10420416/
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I heard about Trudeau's call for "Canadian rye instead of Kentucky bourbon". Mr wtg said he's heading over to the liquor store later and he's going to stock up on Canadian booze...
The Liberals are working on a stimulus package to financially help Canadians weather this. Do you think Trump will do the same for Americans?
I don't know. He made a pronouncement that there would be short term disruptions to American citizens, but that "they will understand". A lot depends on what the legislative branch does. The Republicans have a narrow majority in both houses and it will only take a few people to throw a monkey wrench in some of Trump's works. But he's been working fast and loose since he was inaugurated, simply ignoring a lot of precedent, laws, and even the Constitution.
Guess we'll see if congressional Republicans have any spine and take action to stop him. I'm not holding out much hope. I hope I'm wrong.
@wtg said in Canada responds to the tariffs:
The Liberals are working on a stimulus package to financially help Canadians weather this. Do you think Trump will do the same for Americans?
I don't know. He made a pronouncement that there would be short term disruptions to American citizens, but that "they will understand".
To the wealthy people working in the administration, a few years of higher prices could be considered "short-term"...
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Volume not so low here ...
Link to videoHe mentions nuclear options, but quietly and without specifics.
@Piano-Dad said in Canada responds to the tariffs:
Volume not so low here ...
Link to videoHe mentions nuclear options, but quietly and without specifics.
@Piano-Dad Thanks! Much better. And it's the whole thing; mine was abbreviated.
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The National Association of Home Builders weighs in ...
https://bsky.app/profile/crampell.bsky.social/post/3lh5iwb6b6c25
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I love this comment from the video link that @Piano-Dad posted:
Hey Canada, New Zealand here. We've got grass fed lamb and beef, quality wine, and boatloads of kiwifruit, along with lots of other goodies if you want to trade...
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Link to videoPoilievre calls for emergency tax cut to put Canada 1st while condemning Trump's tariffs
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Couple of interviews from today's news shows.
Chrystia Freeland, former Canadian finance minister.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/on-gps-what-does-trump-have-against-canada/vi-AA1yhGNK#details
Kirsten Hillman, Canadian ambassador to the US (mis-identified as the US ambassador to Canada in the YT description).
Starts around 7:00.
Link to video -
The LCBO is the government controlled company that sells alcohol here. While we do have alcohol available in some grocery stores and some convenience stores, ALL of it is purchased through the LCBO. That’s the rules. Which makes the LCBO one of the largest purchasers of alcohol in the world.
Today Doug Ford (premiere of Ontario) ordered the immediate removal of all US products from LCBO shelves. Like LCBO employees were literally boxing it up today.
He’s also chummy with the head of one of the biggest grocery retailers in Ontario, who has started a huge ad campaign about buying Canadian. I’ll be interested to see if some American products start disappearing from the shelves. In some ways, it could be good for some smaller Canadian producers as they may be able to get some shelf space.
Canadians are worried but also… our patriotism is coming out. We definitely have big brother syndrome with having the US as a neighbour so our defining characteristic in how we think of ourselves is often “not American”. In this case, that works in our favour as everyone is mad but also banding together.
