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I wonder what would happen if Canada taxed electricity exports to the US, and used the money to directly subsidize other exported goods the US applies tariffs t
by mhandley 1mo ago
I wonder what would happen if Canada taxed electricity exports to the US, and used the money to directly subsidize other exported goods the US applies tariffs to?
- jleyank 1mo agoHarsh, but same for oil and potash. Other minerals too.
- Pxtl 1mo agoOil and potash are made in provinces that have had their voter bases successfully propagandized by US Republican interests. They refused to get on-side at a political level.
- THX1137 1mo agoYeah, but export taxes are a federal responsibility. The fact that these provinces are irrelevant for the Liberals politically is those provinces' exact liability here.
- cmrdporcupine 1mo agoIf there's any way to swing the "referendum" in October in a very bad direction it would be to do this. Right now Alberta and Saskatchewan are not suffering at all (2% of exports affected) from Trump's tariffs. This is by design. He (or the "smarter" people he surrounds himself with) is attempting to drive a wedge in Canadian unity. Danielle Smith is, btw, totally onside with playing this to her advantage to get things. Export tax, as just as it might be in these circumstances, would be used as pretext for wholesale foreign interference and domestic disruption on a level we have never seen in this country. It would end up being a profound self-own
- THX1137 1mo agoThe referendum is a hypothetical while federal power is real and spelled out in the constitution. All I hear about Alberta and Saskatchewan's leverage is that we ought to fear their willingness to invite a foreign power to dismember Canada. It certainly leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
- Pxtl 1mo agoApparently according to downthread that's a "Reddit opinion" to notice what their re-elected political leaders and all their pundits keep saying.
- jbm 1mo agoThis is such a Reddit opinion. If you are in Alberta or Saskatchewan, the government is decided before your election is done. There is no Senate, like in the US, to balance your needs vs others. Despite this unbalance, there is a clear majority of Albertans who are anti-independence. (I agree that the government, run by a radio entertainer is shameful and disgusting.)
- 8note 1mo agoim in alberta and want an oil export tax that brings albertan exports up to market oil prices. match it to brent crude this is consistently a self criticism in alberta that we arent actually getting our money's worth from our oil
- Pxtl 1mo ago> the government is decided before your election is done Speaking of "Reddit opinion".
- gmerc 1mo agolol Senate in the US
- chii 1mo ago> taxed electricity exports it is easy to tax exports, but this makes the export less profitable (for the entity making that export). Unless you mean the producer raises prices to cover the new tax - in which case, the export is now more expensive, and less of it gets exported. It doesn't really help with the tariff situation much in any case - a political problem requires a political solution (such as reciprocal tariffs). Both sides hurt, and there's no good outcome.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 1mo ago> less of it gets exported Depends whether demand is flexible or not.
- Waterluvian 1mo agoAttack dog Doug Ford threatened this last time and the Americans absolutely freaked out. It’s probably still a valuable nuclear option.
- scotty79 1mo agoIt might be good to tax exports and use the proceeds to subsidize Canadian consumers. This should snuff out the dependence on export to US pretty fast with little harm to Canadian companies.
- cmiles8 1mo agoThe US would then just stop importing that electricity and funnel the power in from domestic sources. The electricity comes in from Canada because it’s cheap, not because the US can’t make electricity. Canada would shoot itself in the foot with this move.
- chadgpt3 1mo agoWhere would the US be without cheap electricity?
- LastTrain 1mo agoYou just outlined what would be the purpose of Canada doing this - to cause power prices to go up in the US.
- cmiles8 1mo agoYes, but at the cost of Canadian businesses losing revenue
- thinkcontext 1mo agoDepends on how easily the Canadian electricity can be replaced. The market is pretty tight right now.
- scuppernong 1mo agoyes, any options that are all upsides with no downsides are already part of the status quo