3 ms·
Retaliatory tarrifs are something like MAD. Tarrifs are bad for both countries. Yes, Canada placing retaliatory tarrifs hurts Canadian consumers, but it also hu
by jakeinspace 2y ago
Retaliatory tarrifs are something like MAD. Tarrifs are bad for both countries. Yes, Canada placing retaliatory tarrifs hurts Canadian consumers, but it also hurts American exporters. The alternative, doing nothing, would in some sense be preferable immediately, but in the long run would risk losing Canadian industry to the US.
- kazinator 2y agoBut it can actually work the other way. Tariffs in some ways coddle USA businesses in that they create incentives for Americans to prefer American goods. But USA businesses depend on foreign goods. Tariffs are a tax which increases their costs. In the late 1800's, under McKinley, the USA tried to use tariffs to ruin Canada and annex it. One of the results was that some USA businesses moved to Canada to avoid tariffs on supplies they needed from Canada. That would have worked for businesses whose customers were not mainly in the USA, or that could expand beyond the USA. Canada was working on increasing trade with other parts of the world, like Great Britain; businesses moving to Canada could have participated in that.