Responding to incoming U.S. president Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, Premier David Eby says he and his fellow political leaders have agreed on a strategy to push back.
Left-wing premiers like Eby will call their Democrat counterparts in the U.S., while right-wing premiers like Alberta’s Danielle Smith will lobby Republican politicians. The prime minister’s office will deal direct with Trump.
That Trump is serious about introducing a tariff appears clear. In a recent interview, he repeated several times that sa国际传媒 — America’s largest trading partner — is profiting unduly from our trade with the U.S. He sees a tariff as a “levelling of the playing field.”
When pushed by the interviewer to explain how tariffs can be levied on sa国际传媒’s imports without driving up the price of American goods and services, Trump simply blustered, a not uncommon practice of his.
But the question is a good one. The Republicans campaigned during the recent election on a promise to reduce the cost of living — the highest priority of most Americans.
Since tariffs are almost invariably passed on by importers to the public, it won’t be possible to live up to this promise if Canadian products are indeed penalized in this way.
And this suggests the need for a more practical strategy. How much good it will do to have Eby lobby Democrats and Smith plead with Republicans is anyone’s guess.
The Democrats don’t need Eby telling them to oppose Trump. They fully intend to do so at every opportunity.
Likewise Smith will get nowhere with Republican leaders, who are committed to backing Trump.
Better instead to appeal directly to American consumers.
There are several options here. Eby and his colleagues might write opinion columns for respected American newspapers, warning readers of price hikes to come because of the tariff. They might also give TV interviews.
It should also be possible to determine, from past experience, which Canadian goods are most likely to go up in price. Oil products, prairie grains and Quebec dairy products would almost certainly cost more in the U.S. if tariffs were applied to them.
sa国际传媒 lumber, already the subject of tariffs, would also cost more, driving up the cost of American homes.
But fuel, food, and the high price of housing are all at the centre of cost-of-living concerns south of the border. A targeted advertising campaign can be mounted to draw consumers’ attention to this attack on their wallets.
For although Trump is a demagogue, he is first and foremost a populist politician. He gets his support from working-class families who feel squeezed by the pressures of daily life.
It is here that he is most vulnerable, and it is here that Canadian leaders should focus their attention.
There is also the reality that Trump’s majorities in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are razor thin. He cannot afford defections.
Yet nothing is more likely to give rise to defections than a chorus of public anger over a surge in the cost of basic necessities.
However, there is an entirely different point to make. sa国际传媒 is America’s closest friend and ally.
We are a stable, decent democracy.
Our two countries have fought in several wars together.
The vast majority of our population — 90 per cent or more — lives within 160 kilometres of the U.S. border. We both share friends and relatives.
It makes no sense to start a trade war that can only harm both sides. But it is more than senseless.
It is an act of enmity directed at a neighbour with a long history of friendship and good will.
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