The moving goalposts in the game of politics

What does Trump want with Canada. He began his rage with unfounded allegations that we were permitting huge numbers of migrants to cross south from our borders and that Canada had become a major pipeline for fentanyl to enter the United States. If we didn’t do something Trump would apply 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian products entering the United States.

Canada acquired helicopters, drones and chose to add more Border Services workers, spending an addition $1.3 billion dollars to improve our securities and stem the flow of fentanyl. Monday morning it appeared that was not enough. He then claimed falsely that Canada would not permit U.S. banks to operate in Canada. They can if they incorporate their banks in Canada and follow Canadian banking rules, just as Canadian banks operating in the U.S. must follow U.S. banking laws.

And then after a second Monday call, he recognized that Canada had done more to control the border and flow of the deadly drug. And then Trudeau agreed to appoint a Fentanyl Czar in Canada to oversee tackling the fentanyl crisis. It is a thirty-day reprieve from the tariffs announced Saturday morning.

Trump claims that Canada is very tough to negotiate with. In his first presidency, Trump renegotiated the NAFTA trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States. He was so proud of the achievement that he renamed the deal as the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement. It was to last through to 2026 when it was to come up for review and renegotiations.

The agreement was to benefit all three nations, modernizing trade rules, strengthening the auto manufacturing, improving labour and environmental standards, enhancing intellectual property protections, and reducing trade barriers.

Now Mr. Trump is unhappy with the success of those goals. Canada and Mexico are now shipping more manufactured products into the United States. Canada has a surplus of sales into the United States mostly through the sale of oil and natural gas into the United States. Mexico has become the major manufacturer of automobiles and trucks in North America. He wondered who signed such a stupid agreement when it was himself.

So how do we deal with Trump when we don’t understand what he wants, and we are not sure that he even knows what he wants? We learned that when we could finally speak directly with him as both our Prime Minister and the President of Mexico did on Monday morning, that we were serious to his concerns about his border and drug problem.

Negotiations worked to create the USMCA and will hopefully work again in the coming years. A tariff war between the best allies will not do any nation well. Mexico, Canada and the United States will all suffer a recession and greater unemployment while watching inflation grow again. Talking and negotiations will work. We must look to who will be the best leader to lead the negotiations between the two countries. We must look to our premiers to see that they react to threats with patience working with the prime minister focusing on plans protecting provinces and their citizens now and into the future.

From the Publisher’s Pen

Jim Cumming Former Publisher Fort Frances Times