We are reaching the crux of this trade war launched by Donald Trump against Canada. Today, on March 12, tariffs on steel and aluminum come into effect.
Barring another last-minute reversal, Canada will be hit with a special 50% tariff instead of the 25% imposed on others. Canada’s steel and aluminum will be a source of revenge for the American president, furious at Doug Ford’s offensive.
How far will the escalation go? How long will these tariffs remain in place? Will it be possible to renegotiate a trade agreement with this irrational character? These are the questions that are worrying today.
One thing is certain: Canada will lose jobs and its standard of living will suffer. Americans, Canadians, Mexicans—everyone will lose from this wealth-destroying protectionist madness.
The border
Although disgusted by the tariff madness, it may surprise you that there’s something Canada’s more concerned about right now. Donald Trump has opened a surprising new front in recent days: the border.
The news was released by the New York Times. Trump claims he does not recognise the border between the United States and Canada as valid. He wants to “renegotiate” it. This means his true intention is to redraw it as he sees fit. He even reportedly spoke about it to Justin Trudeau in a conversation the latter chose to keep secret.
The Canada-U.S. border is over a century old. It was established before the Treaty of Westminster (1931) and was signed by King Edward VII in Washington, D.C., in 1909. Since the signing of this treaty, the border’s delineation has never been questioned.
The border separating the two countries crosses four of Canada’s five Great Lakes. This is the world’s largest freshwater reserve, at a time when water is increasingly becoming a strategic resource. It’s clear that its desire to reconsider the border also includes a desire to increase its power to manipulate these water reserves.
Why does the border worry me so much? Tariffs trigger trade wars. Borders trigger wars in the military sense. Trump has already stated that he would not send the military to invade Canada. To say otherwise would cause consternation, even at home.
But if the border is poorly drawn and he “corrects” the situation, he could go and occupy or use the new square kilometers that are supposedly American. Faced with this occupation of its territory, what does Canada do? Does it show no resistance and cedes its territory, thereby virtually renouncing its sovereignty?
Or does the Canadian military take up arms and defend its territory? Then Trump will claim that his country is the victim of aggression, that he is being forced, despite himself, to call in the military.
This extreme and unlikely scenario comes to mind when I hear that Trump wants to review the border.
(Well, I, the editor, am not Canadian. I’m Indian, but I know, probably more than any other nation might, what it is like to lose sovereignty and be subjugated to the whims of a greedy empire. Let us stand and fight this absurdity, on X, on Reddit, whatever we might lay our hands on, won’t you join me?)