The US is now at trade war with Canada

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Taleweaver

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I know, I know...I'm late to the party. But it seems like this is going to be yet another major USA failure in the making.

I'll try to keep it brief(1). Canada was just "another country" Trump decided to tariff back in April last year. But what's different from most other countries (alas not all) was the constant hinting of Donald Trump that Canada should become a vassal state of the USA. Stupid "jokes" where prime minister Carney is portrayed as 'governor', maps with the US flag over the entire Northern American continent, renaming of lakes, and so on.

This seeped into trade negotiations, which eventually caused Carney to leave the negotiation table because Trump's extortion tactics were too much to bear.
...and so the next trade war seems to have started. Trump raised tariffs, Canada makes counter tariffs.

What's your take on this? Should Canada seek delay for this tariff war? Should they just take it? Are they right to put up tariffs on their own and boycott the USA in e.g. tourism?



(I've written way too much on this and with far too little fact checks. Perhaps I'll put it in a blog one day, but for now the above has to make do...)
 
I know, I know...I'm late to the party. But it seems like this is going to be yet another major USA failure in the making.

I'll try to keep it brief(1). Canada was just "another country" Trump decided to tariff back in April last year. But what's different from most other countries (alas not all) was the constant hinting of Donald Trump that Canada should become a vassal state of the USA. Stupid "jokes" where prime minister Carney is portrayed as 'governor', maps with the US flag over the entire Northern American continent, renaming of lakes, and so on.

This seeped into trade negotiations, which eventually caused Carney to leave the negotiation table because Trump's extortion tactics were too much to bear.
...and so the next trade war seems to have started. Trump raised tariffs, Canada makes counter tariffs.

What's your take on this? Should Canada seek delay for this tariff war? Should they just take it? Are they right to put up tariffs on their own and boycott the USA in e.g. tourism?



(I've written way too much on this and with far too little fact checks. Perhaps I'll put it in a blog one day, but for now the above has to make do...)
I hope and believe that it will be one of the ultimate screwups by the Trump administration. For years and years Canada was content with the status quo of having the US as one of the main importers of Canadian goods. Now that this has happened, basically most Canadians are of the same mind that they'll take the effort to sell somewhere else.

The fact that an experienced central banker is at the helm just makes it all the better for timing. Carney is going all over the world making new trade deals in order to reduce the need for the US. He's currently hosting an investment summit in Toronto to get other countries to invest in Canada. There's also talk about Canada being an "associate" member of the EU, which would open the door to easier travel and trade.

The US is extremely intertwined with trade currently, so it wouldn't be a complete replacement. But over time, it will definitely accelerate economic diversification that makes the US less important to Canada.
Post automatically merged:

So this just happened:


Carney EU.png


@Taleweaver I just bought a 3kg tub of Speculoos spread the other day, so we're half way there already.
 
Last edited by titan_tim,
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@Taleweaver I just bought a 3kg tub of Speculoos spread the other day, so we're half way there already.
Oh...I hadn't noticed you were from Canada. But so...thanks! :D

(has to check out imported acorn syrup)
Post automatically merged:

Heh...I should've waited a day longer with this thread. Von Der Leyen reaching a hand to Carney put someone in a bad mood, and that someone now threatens to cut all trade with the EU.

https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/othe...-be-hostile-act/ar-AA2cpj7H?ocid=BingNewsSerp

This would be hilarious if there weren't midterms coming up. So with this news ("we're now trading with NOBODY anymore! :D ") it's a level above hilarious. :P

And to think I was on the fence about buying a steam frame. I'll gladly leave it on the table if it means the USA gets stuck with all their stuff! :D
 
Last edited by Taleweaver,
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Let's look at the OECD poverty rate by country

https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/poverty-rate.html

US has higher poverty than Spain, Germany, UK, Canada, France etc etc

View attachment 591164

For that to mean anything, every country's standard for what constitutes 'poverty' would need to be exactly the same. They're probably not. And regardless, a comparative analysis vs. other countries is non sequitur to the fact that the % of the population in poverty in the USA has fallen for two years in a row, and is at the lowest level ever recorded.

reut.rs/4j68xR9
 
For that to mean anything, every country's standard for what constitutes 'poverty' would need to be exactly the same. They're probably not. And regardless, a comparative analysis vs. other countries is non sequitur to the fact that the % of the population in poverty in the USA has fallen for two years in a row, and is at the lowest level ever recorded.

reut.rs/4j68xR9
This defines poverty as below 50% the median income

And by that metric the US has higher poverty

It's silly to pretend like the US is making moves when the move is below 1% point - when its poverty is many percentage points above Europe

Edit:
The US is also higher than most of Europe when only looking at extreme poverty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_percentage_of_population_living_in_poverty
 
This defines poverty as below 50% the median income

Ok but every country's median income is not the same, so it's not apples/apples.

Per google, median income in Spain is approx. $28.2k. For the US, about $65k.
 
Ok but every country's median income is not the same, so it's not apples/apples.

Per google, median income in Spain is approx. $28.2k. For the US, about $65k.
Cost of living changes too

So when the median income is more, so is rent, food, clothing

But let's ignore all that and get back to the fact the US is behind in absolute terms

Poverty defined as those surviving on <$3 a day (period) is higher in US than Europe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_percentage_of_population_living_in_poverty
 

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