Monday, August 10, 2020

Trump's New Trade War With Canada: Canada to Retailate



President Trump, last week announced that he has imposed new tariffs, which will take effect Aug. 16, of 10% on aluminum coming from Canada.

The Wall Street Journal notes this will mean higher prices for Americans for items that include aluminum such as bicycles, bike wheels, golf clubs, refrigerators, aluminum cans and foil---for starters.

At a news conference on Friday, Canada’s deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, called the move by Trump “unwarranted and unacceptable.”

“These tariffs will hurt American consumers and they will hurt American workers,” she said. “Any American who buys a can of beer, a soda, a car or a bike will suffer.”

She said that the Canadian government plans to retaliate dollar-for-dollar.

Freeland said Canada would spend 30 days consulting Canadian consumers and businesses about which American-made products should face tariffs. On the list of potential targets are golf clubs, bicycles, exercise equipment and washing machines – like those manufactured by Whirlpool.

And there you have it, more clueless anti-trade steps but Trump that do nothing but distort free market activity and shrink the standard-of-living for Americans, especially with Canadian retaliation measures on top of it. 

-RW


3 comments:

  1. So, Chrystia Freeland gets it right when she says “These tariffs will hurt American consumers and they will hurt American workers,” she said. “Any American who buys a can of beer, a soda, a car or a bike will suffer.”

    But then why doesn't she apply that same logic to the Canadian "retaliation?" Doesn't that mean the Canadian plan will "hurt [Canadian] consumers and they will hurt [Canadian] workers?"

    It must be nice being a politician and not having to work the logic area of your brain.

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  2. Tarriffs are taxes. Just raises prices and causes inflation that goes directly to the government.

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  3. Trump played to his audience when he announced the aluminum tariffs in Ohio last week - we are used to his weekly bluster here in Canada. I take solace in this Globe and Mail article, "A economy's success has little to do with its political leader." - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/article-an-economys-success-has-little-to-do-with-its-political-leader/

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