Trump Escalates Trade War With Canada

Over the past year since Liberation Day, Trump has destroyed all popular support for tariffs and economic nationalism with his erratic, arbitrary tariffs based on mood swings. He has stoked nothing but chaos which has driven up prices. He was handed a defeat at the Supreme Court which reduced presidential power to impose tariffs. We woke up to Trump threatening to rename Lake Ontario.

New York Times:

“Canada announced retaliatory tariffs as high as 50 percent on hundreds of American products on Tuesday, just days after the collapse of trade talks triggered punishing tariffs from the Trump administration.

As a trade war between the countries intensifies, Canada will start collecting tariffs of 50, 25 and 15 percent on about 700 products beginning on Sept. 8. The most significant measure is a doubling of tariffs on American steel and aluminum to 50 percent. But the list of products affected ranges from household rolls of aluminum foil to railway locomotives and steel bridges. …”

This is the reality of “Whitepill.”

Initially, it seemed like a big breakthrough for nationalism that Trump was imposing sweeping tariffs. This was a radical change from the old bipartisan consensus on free trade. It has become increasingly clear though that Trump has no idea what he is doing. Rates are plucked out of thin air in order to bully other countries into submission. American trade policy has become a farce.

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