The Dumbest Trade War in History
Trump will impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for no good reason.
President Trump will fire his first tariff salvo on Saturday against those notorious American adversaries . . . Mexico and Canada. They’ll get hit with a 25% border tax, while China, a real adversary, will endure 10%. This reminds us of the old Bernard Lewis joke that it’s risky to be America’s enemy but it can be fatal to be its friend.
Leaving China aside, Mr. Trump’s justification for this economic assault on the neighbors makes no sense. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says they’ve “enabled illegal drugs to pour into America.” But drugs have flowed into the U.S. for decades, and will continue to do so as long as Americans keep using them. Neither country can stop it.
Drugs may be an excuse since Mr. Trump has made clear he likes tariffs for their own sake. “We don’t need the products that they have,” Mr. Trump said on Thursday. “We have all the oil you need. We have all the trees you need, meaning the lumber.”
Mr. Trump sometimes sounds as if the U.S. shouldn’t import anything at all, that America can be a perfectly closed economy making everything at home. This is called autarky, and it isn’t the world we live in, or one that we should want to live in, as Mr. Trump may soon find out.
READ MORE: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-tariffs-25-percent-mexico-canada-trade-economy-84476fb2
Ontario’s premier: Canada should be ready to cut electricity, critical minerals as trade woes worsen
Ford warned that ‘everything is on the table’ should the dispute deteriorate, including shutting off electricity exports and critical mineral shipments from Ontario
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that Ronald Reagan would be “throwing up” over President Donald Trump’s trade policy as he threatened to cut off electricity and critical minerals to the U.S. as a trade dispute escalates.
Ford said Monday that Trump has miscalculated Canadians’ willingness to endure economic pain rather than give in to U.S. pressure.
“He underestimates Canada. We’re all in,” Ford said. “Up here, we’re at a fever pitch, everyone’s in for an economic war. They know they’re going to have to sacrifice.”
Ford said Trump has “declared war, economic war against his closest friend and ally” then turned his attention to Reagan and his classic opposition to tariffs.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/doug-ford-trump-trade-reagan-b3038268.html