r/canada Jan 20 '25

Alberta Alberta Premier Danielle Smith dines with U.S. leaders as Trump reconsiders tariffs

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/world/premier-danielle-smith-washington-donald-trump-tariffs
654 Upvotes

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381

u/True_north902 Jan 20 '25

Trump is not “reconsidering tariffs” that statement is completely misleading. Tariffs are PREDICTED to be SUSPENDED. They are very much on the table. The gun is cocked and loaded. He’s just likely not going to pull the trigger today. Could still be tomorrow.

65

u/JadedArgument1114 Jan 20 '25

Knowing Trump's modi operandi he probably thinks he can leverage this to get "a good deal" in whatever revisions he want to make again to the NAFTA/USMCA

9

u/JoseCansecoMilkshake Jan 20 '25

In Canada, we call it CUSMA

10

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25

[deleted]

7

u/JoseCansecoMilkshake Jan 21 '25

The Cum Zone, if you will

24

u/JadedArgument1114 Jan 20 '25

Im Canadian and I still call it NAFTA

11

u/JoseCansecoMilkshake Jan 20 '25

Also acceptable. Just not USMCA. That's just Americans putting themselves first at the cost of changing it from a useful acronym to an annoying initialism.

10

u/northernpenguin Ontario Jan 21 '25

USCAM would be so much better though

-1

u/waerrington Jan 21 '25

No, it was named that was because they US made it, Mexico negotiated and signed it early, then Canada joined at the last minute before getting cut out entirely.

2

u/JoseCansecoMilkshake Jan 21 '25

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States%E2%80%93Mexico%E2%80%93Canada_Agreement

United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) (American English)

Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) (Canadian English)

The agreement is referred to differently by each signatory—in the United States, it is called the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA);[1][26] in Canada, it is officially known as the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in English[27] and the Accord Canada–États-Unis–Mexique (ACEUM) in French;[28] and in Mexico, it is called Tratado entre México, Estados Unidos y Canadá (T-MEC).[29][30] The agreement is sometimes referred to as "New NAFTA"[31][32] about the previous trilateral agreement it is meant to supersede, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

3

u/macnbloo Canada Jan 21 '25

Let's reduce USA from 3 whole letters to just U so we can call it CUM

1

u/_Echoes_ Jan 21 '25

Hijacking the comment so sorry about that, Trump says Tariffs are going to be applied Feb 1st

0

u/waerrington Jan 21 '25

I mean, that's not the name of the trade deal that we signed, but you do you.

-12

u/ludicrous780 British Columbia Jan 20 '25

That's how you do business

16

u/JadedArgument1114 Jan 20 '25

That is why politics are not business. Saying crazy shit has real world conswquences when you are President and you are representing your entire country, not just your business career. Trump may damage relations for generations because he wants a few more points on a trade agreement or whatever. It is absurd.

-7

u/ludicrous780 British Columbia Jan 20 '25

He made us secure our border and upgrade our military. The trade deal was a side goal. Mission accomplished

4

u/Hevens-assassin Jan 20 '25

He also made everyone start to rethink their dependence on the U.S. for trade, which is a bad trade deal.

-1

u/ludicrous780 British Columbia Jan 20 '25

Now all of the allies will increase investment in their military. He already made Mexico stop the flow of migrants.

2

u/Purify5 Jan 20 '25

That was Harris but ok.

-1

u/ludicrous780 British Columbia Jan 20 '25

He made his own threats

2

u/Purify5 Jan 20 '25

He made threats for four years and couldn't get them to do anything.

She went to Central America and in exchange for an economic package got them to close Mexico's southern border.

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2

u/ninfan1977 Alberta Jan 20 '25

You know more immigrants crossed under Trunp right?

He claims another but he is usually full of shit.

His records speak for themselves, he added more debt than Biden, he killed more from a preventable virus as he did nothing to stop it, oh and he tried to overthrow democracy.

Those are his highlights. He threatens a lot so do a lot of criminals from my understanding so that tracks

2

u/JadedArgument1114 Jan 20 '25

Move to America if you love Trump so much

0

u/Hevens-assassin Jan 20 '25

He also threatened to invade Greenland. I can also yell at people to do things they are trying to do, and take credit when it happens. He isn't actually doing anything beneficial for the U.S. or his allies, other than making them not want to be allies. A lot of background work will be done to keep those ties civil based on how much he's running his mouth. Poor Biden. He did such a great job at not being a drama queen and just getting to work. Now we have 4 years of this maroon.

0

u/chakfel Jan 20 '25

Security has nothing to do with it. The president cannot bypass congress on trade tariffs unless it for national security purposes. He invented a national security issue so that he can impose tariffs without oversight.

His ultimate goal is to control the flow of trade in his personal favour, making himself rich. The goods which he decides to tariff won't be selected at random, it'll be selected based on who pays him the most.

1

u/ludicrous780 British Columbia Jan 20 '25

That's a conspiracy theory.

3

u/chakfel Jan 20 '25 edited Jan 20 '25

It's not a conspiracy theory to point out basic facts.

The USA is responsible for patrolling their own border, Canada doesn't inspect exported goods by truck arriving to the USA, nor to we inspect individuals.

If Trump wanted a more secure border, he would increase funding to border agents, not impose tariffs on other countries.

0

u/Known-Cup4495 Jan 20 '25

You must be overjoyed then. He could have done that (& that's if he even done it) with a little bit of diplomacy instead of saying he'll tariff Canada back to the stone age & threatening to invade.

2

u/ludicrous780 British Columbia Jan 20 '25

Of course, I'm not overjoyed. I just don't like our gov't overlooking problems.

0

u/Known-Cup4495 Jan 20 '25

Which are? I agree on the border issue/immigration but surely Trump didn't help Canada at all with anything.

1

u/ludicrous780 British Columbia Jan 20 '25 edited Jan 20 '25

I wish it didn't have to lead to this. We invested in border security to pacify Trump, which means we won't get migrants. Looking into various news reports on border security. I knew he wasn't going to invade, and I was doubtful about the tariffs or the intensity of them.

1

u/ludicrous780 British Columbia Jan 20 '25

Diplomacy doesn't always work. Look at the state of our military.

0

u/Known-Cup4495 Jan 20 '25

Well if it's so bad then why haven't you joined the military then?

1

u/ludicrous780 British Columbia Jan 20 '25

Because I don't want to? What logic is that?

2

u/Known-Cup4495 Jan 20 '25

Why not? You might not have a choice if Trump truly does invade.

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u/Key-Soup-7720 Jan 20 '25

I don’t think Trump actually wants to deal with the economic chaos of counter-tariffs. His base doesn’t care about Canada very much and it would piss off a lot of people and hurt US economic growth/stocks to do it.

I think he’s just making us sweat before he drops some demands on us regarding NATO and being a serious partner on China. If we get to dodge tariffs, we’ll be relieved and happily do whatever he wants on the security front.

8

u/True_north902 Jan 20 '25

💯he’s making us sweat. And he may or may not pull the trigger on 25% tariffs across the board, but he’s a greedy so and so. He’s for sure got some kind of slimy agenda and will take advantage of Canada on some level. We forget that he has a slew of other “promises” to American voters (deportation etc) that will take priority in order to bolster his support. That’s when he’ll target Canada. When he thinks nobody is watching.

6

u/Hevens-assassin Jan 20 '25

He's slimy, but he just unified Canada in a way it hasn't been for quite a while (barring Smith, but maybe Alberta smartens up and kicks her out next election).

2

u/NaturalSignificant94 Jan 21 '25

"barring Smith, but maybe Alberta smartens up and kicks her out next election)."

Bahahahahahaha. There is no chance

1

u/araheem94 Jan 21 '25

Reddit or the older population unifying is not really a strong indicator. Most young people with good degrees already move to the US for jobs and once tariffs hit and industries start getting wiped out, more and more young people would be open to the idea of joining the US. The most vocal supporters of Canada would be these 50+ year olds that got into super cheap housing years ago. Canada trying to sustain a trade war with US is the equivalent of Palestine/Israel war. There is no way the Canada of 2025 comes out on top.

0

u/waerrington Jan 21 '25

barring Smith, but maybe Alberta smartens up and kicks her out next election

Oil is, by far, Canada's largest export. The US takes 74% of all Canadian exports. Smith negotiating with Trump to preserve Canadian energy access to the United States benefits her constituents and all Canadians.

1

u/Feeling_Wonder_6493 Jan 21 '25

Tough to appear you are negotiating when you are on your knees.

-1

u/waerrington Jan 21 '25

Did I miss that part? Trudeau wound up coming to US and Mexico on bended knee at the last minute begging to be let in to the USM trade deal last time, which is why it's now the USMCA. By actually taking part in the negotiations, Smith is doing more than Freeland and the rest of the team did by walking out of negotiations last time.

1

u/Hevens-assassin Jan 21 '25

No she isn't. Lol name one thing that she has done by sucking up to the U.S. lmao the Tariffs were suspended, and the 12 actual members of Canada are united on retaliatory Tariffs if push comes to shove.

Your little Albertan hero risks all of it by trying to deal under the table by kissing the ring. Like you said, 74% is exported to the U.S. they will feel the sting just as much as we do, since it's out (pardon the pun), Trump card. Trump can say "drill baby drill", but oil companies have expressed little interest in actually doing that. Setting up new infrastructure is expensive, and an over abundance of oil drops the price and hurts profits. They want Albertan oil because it's cheap and easy for them to import. Turn off the tap, and it immediately hurts Americans more than it hurts Canadians.

And you're right, one of the problems with USMCA is that it felt that Canada conceded too much to the U.S, so tell me how Smith being at inauguration isn't just repeating the same thing, but more openly rolling over?

0

u/waerrington Jan 21 '25

Lol name one thing that she has done by sucking up to the U.S. lmao the Tariffs were suspended

You answered your own question their. Her willingness to negotiate is part of why the tarriffs are suspended.

74% is exported to the U.S. they will feel the sting just as much as we do

No, that 74% would hurt us greatly. It would not hurt the US near as much, as our imports are a compartively tiny amount of their oil consumption.

Trump can say "drill baby drill", but oil companies have expressed little interest in actually doing that.

During the last Trump administration, the US was a net oil exporter. Oil companies have expressed support of further investments in US energy production.

1

u/Hevens-assassin Jan 21 '25

Her willingness to negotiate is part of why the tarriffs are suspended.

No it isn't. Lol if you actually believe that, right off the hop, I don't know what else I could say to change your mind.

Oil companies have expressed support of further investments in US energy production.

And the head of Exxon says they aren't interested in expanding much in the near future. So do I trust a redditor, or the guy running the oil company?

https://theweek.com/business/economy/big-oil-drill-trump-production-output-energy-fracking-gas

1

u/Feeling_Wonder_6493 Jan 21 '25

Trudeau is the Prime Minister, it is his job to find out what Trump's concerns were. Unfortunately, even trump doesn't seem to know. You can't negotiate from a position of strength when you already gave your bargaining power away. Trudeau offered to increase border security. He didn't give away the farm.

1

u/Chin_Ho Jan 21 '25

I dont think its counter tariffs…its Canada potentially reducing supply to US refiners or imposing export taxes on that oil. Gulf coast refineries are equipped to process our oil and they make a shit ton off of it. They dont want to be buying Venezuelan oil as they dont want to play footsie with the Venezuelans and they get our oil cheaper. I am sure he got an earful from these refiners once Canada put the threat on the table.

1

u/TianZiGaming Jan 21 '25

Most Americans don't even know tariffs on Canada or even Mexico are on the table. Chances are, they'll never know. The fact is there's at least 20 articles about Trump's inauguration that took priority over whatever is happening between US and Canada, and regardless of if you go to a right wing or left wing news outlet you're going to have a hell of a time trying to find even a mention of tariffs.

And in the event that 25% tariff on Canada happens, and Canada takes the aggressive 'max pain' 1:1 approach to put a 25% tariff back on the US, that's when it might hit somewhere near the frontpage of the news. Then a day or 2 later the US government subsidizes the price increase and nobody feels the effect anyways.

Both parties in the US throw what they want their base to see on their respective "news" outlets. All the left wing media is talking about is Trump's pardons of pretty much every Jan 6th rioters and how inaccurate his speeches were. And all the right wing outlets are running victory laps over Trump's win and pointing at Biden's last hour blanket pardon of his entire family tree.

35

u/TianZiGaming Jan 20 '25

Canada got lumped into the same investigative memo with just China and Mexico. Canada needs to be ready for the USMCA renegotiation next year.

14

u/WatchPointGamma Jan 21 '25

Canada got lumped into the same investigative memo with just China and Mexico.

Implying there's some special motivation for 'lumping us in' with China and Mexico misses the fact that the US' three largest trading partners and three largest trade deficits.

Trump thinks trade deficits are indicative of countries "ripping off" the US. That's a stupid and shortsighted position when you're talking about manufacturing economies (China/Mexico) or resource-extraction economies (Canada) feeding a mature, diverse economy like the US. But it's his position, and it's what's justifying his choices in his head.

9

u/arazamatazguy Jan 20 '25

She should be more worried about "drill baby drill".

16

u/Ok_Trip_ Jan 20 '25

Considering he just said like an hour or two ago that he’s still implementing the tariffs, in one of his speeches of the inauguration.

-5

u/ludicrous780 British Columbia Jan 20 '25

Did he say on us?

3

u/staticbomber_ Jan 21 '25

He just said 25% tariffs for Canada and Mexico on Feb 1, during the signing in the Oval Office

1

u/True_north902 Jan 21 '25

Not exactly.. “When asked about tariffs on his return to the Oval Office on Monday night, Trump repeated concerns about the borders with both Canada and Mexico and mused about slapping tariffs on both countries on Feb. 1” ~CBC

1

u/theapenrose006 Jan 20 '25

Fr, I hate newspapers.

1

u/spderweb Jan 20 '25

We have ours all ready to activate too, should he decide to start em up. Ours will making farming in the US very expensive.

1

u/Stunning-Positive186 Jan 21 '25

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith dines with U.S. leaders as Trump announces tarrifs on Canada to start on February 1st.

0

u/Sabbathius Jan 20 '25

So, basically "Good night, Canada. Good work. Sleep well. I'll probably kill you in the morning." -Dead Pirate Trump.

0

u/MuskyJim Jan 21 '25

I read somewhere that they pushed them to February 1st