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Canada was specifically warned not to retaliate in any manner, which is basically an acknowledgement that Canada has some powerful levers. This is farcical and

• deleted 2y ago
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• polishdude20 2y ago
  I'm not sure if software services are part of this tarrif? Can anyone confirm?
  • tossandthrow 2y ago
    Traditionally it is not, but it can be, it is just doing it.
• Grosvenor 2y ago
  They could start a joint nuclear program with Ukraine. Canada has the Canadian shield which is rich in Uranium. Both Canada and Ukraine get nukes (Ukraine has a bridge that needs blowing up), Ukraine gets safety, Canada gets huge reputation gains in trade with Ukraine. NB: Ukraine will be the fastest growing western economy post war for at least a decade or two.
  • selimthegrim 2y ago
    Andrei Codrescu is spinning in place right about now.
  • Gunnerhead 2y ago
    Nukes for everyone yay! Hey Georgia is also under Russian threat, why don’t they also get a nuke or two? Then maybe their neighbor Armenia will think to themselves “why not me, I’m also under threat by an ex-Soviet country”? Then maybe Azerbaijan, then Turkey, then Saudi Arabia, everyone gets a nuke, I freaking love it! Then maybe other countries that got invaded by a bigger power like maybe Vietnam? Iraq? Why not!
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    • Ekaros 2y ago
      Is it time finally to give Cuba some nuclear weapons.
    • llm_nerd 2y ago
      I mean...why not? What moral right does the US have to nuclear weapons that others don't? US exceptionalism? Just looking at what is happening in the US right now -- an astonishingly corrupt banana republic increasingly led by an insane Christian nationalist movement that bizarrely doesn't seem to understand a thing about Christ's teachings -- I have more faith in North Korea's management of nuclear weapons than the US. Nuclear non-proliferation relied upon a global order where borders were fixed and there was in essence an international law and detente. Now we have an America openly musing about militarily taking countries and land as if it's just casual talk. Yes, everyone should have nuclear weapons. And many of them should be pointed at US cities. The US is undeniably the most dangerous nation on Earth right now, and has lost any and all credibility as a rational player.
      • p2detar 2y ago
        Exactly. I can bet that every country on the world having a nuclear bomb would actually make the world a safer place. We are still primitive, so the threat of us being destroyed at any time should keep us at bay. No country that holds nukes should be considered a pillar of morality. That's stupid beyond belief.
• seanmcdirmid 2y ago
  China, Canada, and Mexico will all retaliate, there is zero consequence for the governments doing so and a lot of consequence for not doing do (Trump is very unpopular in all of these countries, so giving into him or agreeing to his terms won’t be seen as very viable). So get the popcorn ready, this weekend and especially Monday will be really interesting. I bet this concludes with a free trade treaty between China, Canada, and Mexico. I’m actually sympathetic to the fent problem, but all that comes in untariffed anyways, or maybe the plan was to have the smugglers busy with illicit legos and bananas instead?
  • llm_nerd 2y ago
    >I’m actually sympathetic to the fent problem If this were limited to China and Mexico, the fentanyl thing might have been a rational argument. Adding Canada, which is the source of a vanishingly small amount, betrays the lie. He needed the excuse to claim an emergency, rather than the incredibly self-destructive "recreate federal funding through tariffs" policy, which coincidentally (and forebodingly) led to the great depression.
    • fuzzfactor 2y ago
      >led to the great depression. This is the only kind of thing Trump is on track to make great again. Doesn't look like he's going to stop until it's greater than ever.
    • _DeadFred_ 2y ago
      Living near the border, we send way more drugs Canada's way than come back down to us. Maybe before weed was legal more was coming the other direction, but fent/mexi's are going from us to Canada.
  • 1over137 2y ago
    >I bet this concludes with a free trade treaty between China, Canada, and Mexico. Well Canada & Mexico already have NAFTA 2.0. I doubt there will be one between Canada and China, they have frosty relations.
• Marsymars 2y ago
  > Every American service -- Netflix, Disney, Prime, Apple services -- need to have enormous tariffs applied. No tariffs required, just suspend their copyright protection and spin up some free government-run streaming video servers.
  • dismalaf 2y ago
    Unfortunately we already have a few Canadian run streaming services and they're utter shit... As in constant buffering, won't cast to TVs properly, that sort of thing.
    • Marsymars 2y ago
      Yeah, but e.g. if the gov suspended Netflix copyright protection and had Crave load up Netflix's entire catalog... I don't know how many people would opt to still pay for Netflix just to avoid Crave's UI/UX.
• toomuchtodo 2y ago
  > Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will respond by placing 25% counter-tariffs on C$155 billion ($107 billion) worth of American-made products. That will include tariffs on C$30 billion worth as of Tuesday, with the rest coming later in February, to allow Canadian companies to adjust their supply chains and find alternatives. > American beer, wine, food and appliances will be among the many items subject to Canadian tariffs, and the country is also considering measures related to critical minerals, Trudeau said. He encouraged Canadians to buy locally made products and skip US vacations. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-02/-complete-betrayal-canada-reels-as-trump-tariff-hits-major-trade-relationship https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-02/-complete... https://globalnews.ca/news/10992959/donald-trump-tariffs-canada-feb-1/ https://globalnews.ca/news/10992959/donald-trump-tariffs-can...
  • _DeadFred_ 2y ago
    Canada is specifically going after goods from red states. Imagine if every nation Trump goes after targeted the same states that Canada has? They can't devastate the entire USA but they can absolutely devastate a few US states if they play smart and work together. Especially poorer red states.
    • ygjb 2y ago
      It was a pretty effective strategy during the last Trump administration
    • Terr_ 2y ago
      Especially states/interests related to the impeachment process.
• peeters 2y ago
  > Every American service -- Netflix, Disney, Prime, Apple services -- need to have enormous tariffs applied. We can handle without them, and every enabler of this insanity needs to suffer. No need to wait for tariffs. I started cancelling all American services today. Netflix and Prime were first. I will not send money to a country that has declared an unwarranted trade war on my country. And it truly is unwarranted. The current trade agreements were negotiated by Trump in his last term, and are well balanced. The only reason for any current surplus is that oil prices are currently high. In general, Canadian raw resources go to the U.S. to be manufactured by skilled labour into end goods that are then imported back into Canada at a large markup. Trump has cited fentanyl and immigration as sticking points while providing no specific demands or suggestions. Less than 1% of illegal immigration to the U.S. comes via the Canadian border. It's incredibly frustrating to be utterly betrayed by a friend in this way.
  • _DeadFred_ 2y ago
    Please get your government to work with Mexico and China to put tariffs on specific red states. You can absolutely devastate the economy of a few states, especially poorer red states and other states Senators would then think twice before voting in favor of things that could turn those tariffs to their state.
    • Terr_ 2y ago
      > twice about voting in favor Given that all this (and there's a whole lotta other extra this) is coming straight out of the White House without any legislative votes, the future vote that is going to matter involves impeachment and removal from office. That should guide how other countries' decide to structure their retaliation.
      • toomuchtodo 2y ago
        Impeachment is unlikely because the GOP has to kowtow to Trump to survive him and his base. The path is to beat down red states and their electorates with tariffs. The direct economic harm is the only lever to pull, and therefore a coalition of nation states is needed to specifically target red states collectively.
• locallost 2y ago
  He's financed by billionaires. And he's adding tariffs that will make everything expensive for normal people, while at the same time cutting corporate taxes of those same billionaires that fund him. Basically it's just a continuation of ever increasing inequality, where in the end the top few % will own everything and the rest will fight over scraps. Of course Canada was warned - the last thing a bully wants is retaliation. Others might get the same idea.
• dutchbookmaker 2y ago
  The figures I have seen in a trade war with Canada is Canada causes a -.2% hit to US GDP while Canada gets a -2% hit. That is not going to work for Canada. These aren't abuses of power though. We just largely got use to the president not trying to do all that much. Obama issued 275 executive orders and Franklin Roosevelt issued 3721. Calvin Coolidge issued 1203. I think all the presidents during my lifetime combined issued less than Woodrow Wilson at 1803. That is not to say I think a trade war with Canada is a good idea. It really makes no sense to me at all.
  • llm_nerd 2y ago
    >That is not going to work for Canada. Is it going to shut up shop and close down? What does "not going to work" mean? The US is the one who chose this path, not Canada, and Canada is going to do what needs to be done for the situation the US forced it into. And FWIW, many Americans are a little in denial about how fragile your entire economy and social order is, and how little it takes to topple it. The impact of a trade war is likely to be much more significant than the "well it's just a trillion dollars of exports" rhetoric claims. Canada has to "retaliate", in that it will adjust economic levers that will force production that currently happens in the US, serving the Canadian market, to adjust to players in Canada. Canada foolishly treated the US as an ally and partner and integrated our economies, so of course there is going to be pain. But to let you in on a little secret, a lot of Canadians have wanted this for a long time: There will be pain for a while, but Canada has increasingly become a branch office of the US. Despite enormous geographical, educational and social benefits it keeps falling behind. Trump is really just looking to MCGA. Next we can punt all of the US corporations out of Canada -- again, the ability for US businesses to operate freely in Canada is courtesy of NAFTA/USMCA. That agreement is defacto shredded now. The Canadian government needs to do everything possible to prevent discretionary dollars from travelling South of the border. >These aren't abuses of power though. Claiming a "border security" emergency -- a complete BS lie that only the incredibly stupid take at face value -- to push through an economic plan is absolutely, by every measure, a grotesque abuse of power. Americans are so accustomed to it now that it's just normal. If you think it isn't an abuse for your president to lie to you to have powers that he doesn't have, you have lowered your standards to corrupt banana republic levels. Again, Canada and the US were operating under the trade agreement Trump forced on us the last time around. I don't see any clean exit of this where things return to normal. Canada must not ever treat the US as a sane, rational, responsible player on the world stage, as it constantly 180s on everything as American voters treat government like some perverse reality show.