Summary

Donald Trump launched a trade war against Canada by imposing a 25% tariff on nearly all Canadian goods, including a 10% levy on energy products.

His action, intended to pressure Canada to curb fentanyl flows, contradicts official trade figures and ignores that most deficits result from American demand for cheaper Canadian oil.

The tariffs, set to remain until Canada complies, could cost billions to Canada’s economy and disrupt $800 billion in annual trade.

Canada is expected to retaliate, forcing Prime Minister Trudeau to respond amid escalating cross-border tensions.

  • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
    2·
    13 hours ago

    I don’t know if it’ll do much from a policy standpoint – I doubt that Canada is simply not pulling easy-to-pull levers related to fentanyl. Also, he didn’t aim to negotiate, but just said that he’d impose tariffs, and didn’t announce concrete goals. But it might benefit him politically.

    I imagine that a lot of his domestic agenda is not going to be all that popular with a lot of people who voted for him. If people are talking about him taking extreme actions aimed at dealing with fentanyl – an issue of widespread political concern – that’s probably preferable.