And Lo, the Tariff Wars Begin
Canada isn't going down without a fight
So, Trump went ahead and did it.
The United States has officially declared a trade war on two of its closest allies—the United States and Mexico— and China. He’s also said some shit about throwing tariffs on the European Union later on, probably a result of his attempt to bully his way through Denmark and take Greenland.
He’s acting like a whiny toddler who wants to take a toy from one of the other kids at daycare. What a little wuss.
So, what does this mean for us? Well, it means that Canada’s friendly relationship with the United States is over and done with. Wave goodbye. It isn’t coming back.
As much as Trudeau attempted to keep a civil tone when discussing the matter last night, the Canadian people and the elected representatives across most provinces—except Alberta, but nobody cares about Alberta—are not.
We. Are. Fucking. Pissed. I’ve talked about this in previous letters before, but Canada has a reputation for kindness and mild attitudes. That’s when things are going well. When things get bad, Canadians get mean.
We absolutely will burn this mother down, standing on the funeral pyre with two middle fingers held to the sky.
With that in mind, I also know that there are a lot of people out there who don’t understand the impact that these tariffs are going to have on either side of the border.
Some Americans still think that Canada, Mexico and China pay the tariffs, not American consumers.
I have a handy-dandy article giving a small economics 101 lesson on the subject if you either want to brush up on it or send it to people you know who are confused. I got you covered, ‘cause I’m cool like that.
This link should get you past the paywall and let you read it for free!
Can Canada and Mexico crash the U.S. economy? No. But we don’t need to; Trump’s actions are going to do that for us.
What we’re going to do is make this as painful as we possibly can for everybody in the states, who will have nobody to blame but Donald Trump.
If anyone tries to blame Canada or Mexico or even China for the coming storm of rampaging price hikes, you be sure to look them in the eye and remind them that Trump, not Trudeau, Sheinbaum or even Xi Jinping, started this.
Trump declared this war. The buck stops with him.
Solidarity wins.
I just read a new article by Umair Haque (yeah, he crawled out of thew woodwork to post something in Medium again), where he gives everyone an "I told you so." He compares what Trump just did to Britain's Brexit, only as he says, it took Britain a few years to crash after Brexit but the U.S., it will only take months. He also says that there is no going back. No do-overs, no resets. It's a done deal and the 1930's style depression is now underway. If I were Ottawa and Mexico City, I would be starting to prepare your populations for the crash. Trump will try to start a military fight with Mexico, take over Greenland and Panama soon and find a way to punish Canada for daring to stand up to him. Get ready Canadians, Trump is coming for you.
LOVE your comment! As an American I say, Stand firmly with your middle fingers held high!
I hope it isn't a permanent break with the USA. Reason will EVENTUALLY return - I hope.