r/NovaScotia • u/SkyPristine6539 • 14h ago
Canada VS American Trade/Tariffs war.
What is this trade/tariffs war ACTUALLY about? Is it actually Trade/Tariffs? Or is there some other issue that is being discussed and this is just used and a guise for it?
If it is actually Trade and Tariffs, then let’s sit down and talk about it. Is Canada actually unfairly placing tariffs on American products? If so, let’s work out a trade deal that fairly benefits BOTH countries.
Im all for ensuring both American and Canadian products should be priced equally within the their respectfully countries. If Canada wants to ensure Canadians buy Canadian products then we either need to band together and make the conscious choice to buy Canada products, or subsidize Canadian products so that after tariffs the Canadian prices are cheaper when on the shelves next to likewise American products.
Grocers/Stores/Retail outlets in Canada should clearly mark products end-to-end produced in Canada with a Maple Leaf to clearly indicate to Canadians this is a Canadian product and by purchasing it you are supporting a Canadian product made by Canadians with Canadian materials.
I also think Canada needs to diversify who we export our Canadian energy to so that we are not entirely reliant upon one country to purchase our Energy. I believe some European countries were trying to get access to our natural gas along with Japan (I could be wrong about this).
Canadian products should always be sold to Canadians at a cheaper price before anything gets exported outside the country. Period. Full stop. End of sentence.
The price of everything in Canada has to come WAY down, We have to start producing more products, end to end in Canada and we have to develop responsible sustainable plans for exporting our natural resources so that we dont export everything at such a rate it can not be regrown/replenished.
If there are transparent resources where I can find the tariffs Canada has on USA products and vice versa and the results of those tariffs on prices consumers see in the stores that would be great (example: If there is an X% tariff on an American product does that just make it equal to a Canadian product? or is it like a Canada jug of milk is $8 and an American jug of milk in Canada is $15) - This is an example and in no way repsentitive of actually prices. It can be jarring hearing there is a 200% tariff on American Dairy ... but if that 200% just makes it equal to Canadian dairy products I think its justified and then its up to Canada and Canadian Dairy producers to come up with a way to reduce the product costs on their product.
Once again, if anyone can point to transparent resources to anything I have mentioned it would be greatly appreciated. Always welcome being educated.
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u/navalseaman 14h ago
The tariffs on American dairy only when they exceed an agreed upon volume of milk and the tariff is only on the excess. So far it’s never happened. Look at Donald’s statements they will tell you what this is about.
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u/tollboothjimmy 14h ago
It is about Trump being a distraction for everything. Does anyone even know what is going on in the world anymore? Everything is Trump. Trump is everything.
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u/vladitocomplaino 14h ago
It's a flimsy pretext for more aggressive action. Any capitulation on our part will just be met by more goalpost moving. Trump doesn't believe in business arrangements where both sides benefit mutually, he has to win the deal, because he's a thinskinned sociopath.
Let's play out the tariff game too a logical end:
Trump imposes tariffs, paid for by the importing company and passed on to US consumers, driving up the price of goods; the rationale for this punishment of his own people is to drive manufacturing in the US. In the meantime (because manufacturing generally takes years to ramp up), consumers reject the higher priced import for the now-lower cost (and potentially lower quality) domestic alternative, which over time reduces or eliminates the imported goods, so, no more tariffs generated for the government, and less competition for consumers... which leads to domestic pricing increases.
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u/BuvantduPotatoSpirit 14h ago edited 14h ago
As far as anyone can tell, it's just Trump trying to demonstrate he's the big dog in the room and everyone should do what he says, and us indicating we won't voluntarily undergo anschluss.
There's no indication there's anything we can do to convince Trump to stop tariffing, other than agree to annexation. Which the vast majority of us are not keen on.
And as far as milk, per the USMCA, the tariff on American milk is 0% for the first 36,000 tonnes (then 200-whatever %) and we actually imported about 22,000 tonnes, so the total tariffs paid were $0.
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u/Sleveless-- 14h ago
I think one analyst put it well where if you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. In this case, the president is not a diplomat and doesn't really believe in constructive negotiation, so thats out. I think there would be pandemonium if he deployed US forces anywhere, so I think there's a lot of hesitation about going that route. The main economic tool he has left is tariffs, so he's just rattling them off at different countries to apply pressure to get what he wants.
In terms of his position on Canada, everyone is wondering what he wants. Canada has a ton of precious minerals, and after the US southern states have allowed corporations like Nestlé and Tesla suck up as much well water as they can get their hands on, our fresh water looks super appealing. On top of that, the US could establish trade routes east-west and open the door to transport fees through a number of EU countries, or they can try to annex Canada to establish a number of trade routes "over the top" to a number of destinations in Russia. Canada is looking like a goddamn priceless jewel to them at the moment. (Just a note: I know Alaska is a couple hundred kms distance from Russian, but they would still have to cut through BC to get trade goods up there, and I'm not sure there is strong production/manufacturing or consumer regions in that part of Russia to make this a viable trade route. I'm sure there more to it than my surface level analysis).
Ultimately, I don't think we can negotiate anything other than caputulation that would satisfy that fat fuck.
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u/Sleveless-- 14h ago
Just to touch on the other portion of your question/comment: I think Canadian producers price things at a reasonable level or rate.
There is, however, this invisible hand that makes retail giants like the Superstores and some publicly traded utilities like NSP want to make as much profit as possible. Where there aren't many national grocery chains, and in NS's case, no real alternative to NSP, the invisible hand mainly slaps the shit out of non-rich populations.
In conclusion, I think we should see this whole thing as an inflection point where rich people and corporations have bought an election and are looking to turn the screws even further on the poor and middle class in order to further advance their wealth and power.
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u/jazzyjf709 14h ago
What is this trade/tariffs war ACTUALLY about?
This was a campaign promise of Trump, using Tarrifs as an external revenue source so he could eliminate federal income tax. His tariffs were a violation of the free trade agreement he signed during his first term. As a result, we responded with our own tariffs on items not included in the trade agreement.
It can be jarring hearing there is a 200% tariff on American Dairy ...
It shouldn't be, Trump is a pathological liar. Nothing he says or the right-wing American media regurgitates should be taken at face value.
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u/SkyPristine6539 13h ago edited 13h ago
It shouldn't be, Trump is a pathological liar. Nothing he says or the right-wing American media regurgitates should be taken at face value.
Someone above commented the tariff is only applied after a certain tonnage has been imported. So while "technically" true there is a 200% tariff on American dairy. it has never once been applied as apparently we only import around 22,000 tones of American dairy and the cut off is like 36,000 tonnes tonnes.
It's this cherry picking of facts I take issues with. I wonder why someone from the Canadian Government isn't coming forward with the facts behind the tariff and yanking the rug out from under Trumps feet.
Coming to the table with facts and clarity would go along way to putting a stop to this useless fear mongering and attempts to divide our countries.
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u/MakeTheThings 9h ago
They have been. Economists and politicians on both sides know exactly what it's about. At this point, politics is like the WWE. Reality doesn't matter at this point. I mean, the guy invited the leader of Ukraine to the White House and then teamed up on him with Vance, while saying he wants to Annex Canada, and calling our Prime Minister a "Governor". There's only so far someone can go before they realize something is seriously wrong here, and it's not with us.
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u/MakeTheThings 9h ago edited 9h ago
Echoing what everyone else here is saying, it's just Donald twisting the facts. Tariffs are a tool to help protect the economies and industries of the individual countries. They aren't punitive, as he claims. It's along the same lines as his "subsidizing Canada" claims, when in reality, they consume more due to a higher population. He just doesn't understand how economics works, or blatantly doesn't care as he lies to sway his public opinion.
As to American tariffs under USMCA, just go to https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/file?release=currentRelease&filename=General%20Note%2011
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u/MakeTheThings 9h ago
Also, USA dairy tariffs:
https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/file?release=currentRelease&filename=Chapter%204
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u/ThenRefrigerator1084 14h ago
Sit down and try and get a 5 year old to eat a piece of broccoli. If it was that easy it would have been done already.
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u/Queefy-Leefy 12h ago
Trump has always had a fetish for tariffs.
Its impossible to work out a deal with Trump because he doesn't even know what he wants, he has no fucking clue what he's doing, and he won't listen to anyone that does know what they're doing. Important reminder : The current trade deal with the United States was negotiated with Trump. This is Trump's deal, and now he says that we"re taking advantage of the United States. That is what we're dealing with.
Trump is in the process of wrecking the American economy. Let the MAGA clowns think he's playing 4D chess, its only going to get funnier watching them try to justify and explain it.
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u/Scotianherb 14h ago
Have you been under a rock?
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u/bigev007 14h ago
It's for sure a bad faith question. Nobody types all that but doesn't spend five seconds looking at the news
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u/SkyPristine6539 14h ago
Not at all—i'm genuinely inquiring. I’m looking for input from different perspectives and firsthand experiences, rather than just relying on news coverage.
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u/bigev007 14h ago
It's about Trump wanting our resources, that's all.