# Carney Deals with Trump (USA trade war against Canada) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 22, 2026, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478 "2026-08-22T04:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/101 "2026-08-24T10:42:04Z")
From the _New York Times_, here’s a great [opinion piece](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/24/opinion/mark-carney-tariffs-canada-america.html?unlocked_article_code=1.71A.zb6G.bX1M3K5R_lpN&smid=url-share), from a Canadian perspective, on Canada standing up for itself in the face of US trade aggression. In summary: > For Canada, the choice came down to either severe but temporary economic instability or binding itself to a pseudo-democratic fiscal basketcase of a nation, whose only apparent foreign policy objective has become domination for the gratification of its president’s slapdash vanity. Preach! ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/102 "2026-08-24T14:44:58Z")
Predictably, the WSJ came out with a scathing editorial against tariffs and Trump, and the WSJ is still a very influential voice - “The Dumbest Trade War Revisited”. The article said Carney declined to name Lutnick as a specific obstacle, saying only the Canadian team was unified and American negotiators had large differences of opinion. Trump came out with further ramblings. Sociopaths do not take rejection well. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/103 "2026-08-24T14:49:02Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > At a White House meeting, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose department administers the national security tariffs, clashed with Greer, representing industry views that the higher aluminum tariffs were needed to encourage domestic manufacturing. “Navarro and Lutnick were both yelling at Greer saying: ‘What are you doing? This is stupid. You know, we’re not giving these things away,’” said one industry representative, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the confidential talks This right here highlights exactly how crazy this is. How can Canada negotiate a trade deal with these people, when they can’t even reach an agreement amongst themselves about what they actually want? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/104 "2026-08-24T14:49:32Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The hit would be greater, and the risks **very** much greater, if Canada folded to this insane megalomaniac who can never be appeased, never be trusted, and whose policies are consistently counterproductive. A better headline would have been Yeah. I don’t see what other, reasonable option Canada had. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/105 "2026-08-24T14:53:25Z")
As has been pointed out, the US created an artificial deadline to apply pressure, and then changed the terms at the last minute. Classic bad faith bargaining. Classic Trump-style “dealmaking”. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/106 "2026-08-24T15:20:51Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > The day a 30% tariff is applied they rub their hand and raise their prices 25%. And then reap huge additional profits when the tariffs are returned because they are ruled illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/107 "2026-08-24T15:21:09Z")
It will be something of a hijack to take this up, but I have been deeply impressed by Kohei Saito’s work on degrowth and community, co-op enterprises. Increasing production and trade the way we have been for 150 years is not a great plan for a planet with finite resources. Sadly, Carney is not much interested in any more than “let’s return to those thrilling days of yesteryear!” when we really need trade and production that is more local, less intensive, and thinks about “less, but better” as a way forward. More cars and oil production is part of the recipe for disaster. A good trade deal, in this way of thinking, might seriously aim at securing what is needed to create co-op housing the way Canada did in the 1970s, nationalize the lumber and petroleum industries to meet Canadian needs, food co-ops based first on local production and then real fair trade, a UBI (not to be confused with a UTI), and a shorter work-week. There is unlikely to be a lot of foreign investment in such measures, and no one is suggesting we do this all at once. But in Italy, 8% of the GDP is created by co-ops and collectives, and that is an impressive number we might aim at. The sad thing about the Canada/US trade deals (okay, one of the sad things–it’s a shit show, thanks to the Cheeto in Chief) is it doesn’t take us in new directions but seeks to clamber back onto an old path. I must now junior mod myself and STFU. Thanks for your patience. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/108 "2026-08-24T16:07:10Z")
I guess Trump didn’t get the dopamine he was looking for with the original tariffs so now he is promising more tariffs: [https://www.cbc.ca/news/livestory/canada-u-s-trade-deal-carney-trump-greer-9.7317956](https://www.cbc.ca/news/livestory/canada-u-s-trade-deal-carney-trump-greer-9.7317956) For what it is worth, I hope Canada makes a massive deal with China to start importing a lot more inexpensive Chinese EVs that are much cooler than anything the US market is putting out right now. > **[I Set Out to Test-Drive a Chinese EV. Here’s What It Taught Me about Carney’s...](https://thewalrus.ca/chinese-electric-vehicle-deal/)** > > 49,000 imported cars may remake our entire auto industry ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/109 "2026-08-24T16:21:35Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > (Aside: Was the class on Smoot-Hawley the only class you attended at the Wharton School, Donnie?) I think you meant to say that it was one of the many classes Trump skipped at Wharton… > **[Wharton's Jeremy Siegel calls Trump's tariffs the 'biggest policy mistake in...](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fortune_whartons-jeremy-siegel-calls-trumps-tariffs-activity-7314059201553551361-L4ID)** > > Jeremy Siegel, emeritus professor of finance at UPenn’s Wharton School, called President Donald Trump’s tariffs the “biggest policy mistake in 95 years.” What happened 95 years ago? The Smoot-Hawley Act, a protectionist trade measure that some... ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/110 "2026-08-24T18:51:07Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > He is responding in the only way he knows how: with tariffs. (Aside: Was the class on Smoot-Hawley the only class you attended at the Wharton School, Donnie?) His advisor on trade matters is [Peter Navarro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Navarro), a known fanatic about the virtues of tariffs. I also thinks he likes tariffs because they’re about causing harm. Nobody _benefits_ from tariffs, which is how Trump likes it. Nobody but him should benefit from anything. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/111 "2026-08-24T19:58:42Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > There is unlikely to be a lot of foreign investment in such measures, and no one is suggesting we do this all at once. But in Italy, 8% of the GDP is created by co-ops and collectives, and that is an impressive number we might aim at. I am fine with government initiatives to ensure people can in fact do this without tax or legal penalty; if it makes sense, it’ll happen. Nationalizing the lumber and oil industries sounds like a bad idea. Petro Canada didn’t work better when it was a Crown corporation. What definitely concerns me is the government picking winners; that always, always always ends up being catastrophically inefficient at best and corrupt at worst. We have recently been witness to disastrous examples, and take it from a guy who works in industry, the government is handing “Grants” and subsidies to companies left, right and center, and **it isn’t helping**. It has simply created an industry of finding grants, where companies with an in and the time to do the paperwork get handed free money. The government intervening where there exists legitimate market failure - the obvious example being controlling pollution, which is the ultimate externality - is a fine idea. Deciding what to invest in as a business almost never is, and in fact it’s one of the reasons Canadian productivity growth has sucked so badly. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/112 "2026-08-25T01:17:39Z")
Canada threatens to cut off electricity sales to the US over Trump’s new tariffs. > [Ontario Premier Doug Ford] also threatened again to cut off energy produced in Ontario that powers homes and business in the US, if Trump continues to intensify the trade war. > > “We power 1.5 million homes and businesses,” Ford told the Associated Press. “Everything’s on the table. I’ll do whatever it takes.” > > He had already used energy as a threat, imposing a 25% surcharge on electricity exported to Michigan, Minnesota and New York in March of 2025. Trump then threatened to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium, and both sides backed away. [https://www.mining.com/ontario-ready-to-cut-off-electricity-critical-minerals-to-us-amid-trade-war/](https://www.mining.com/ontario-ready-to-cut-off-electricity-critical-minerals-to-us-amid-trade-war/) ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/113 "2026-08-25T01:24:50Z")
Well, not Canada. Doug Ford. He’s 95% not going to do it. He just wants to manipulate the markets by openly threatening devastation to US states. Part of his strategy is to grab headlines, and have SOME impact that is felt south of the border. Threats work. It gets him on American news to plead his case and raise awareness. The markets add to this help by reacting to his threats too. Also Trump and his kleptocratic regime have fortressed themselves from reality, but they can’t ignore market dips and crashes. Edit: I should note that this is a tactic that Trump uses EXTENSIVELY himself. Half his threats are red faced bluster in service of market manipulation. However, the markets eventually adjusted to his theatre, and now they always expect Trump to TACO like a chump. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/114 "2026-08-25T01:25:54Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Canada threatens to cut off electricity sales to the US over Trump’s new tariffs. Ontario, not Canada. Playing a good cop bad cop against Trump makes some sense. I realize that Carney is not always the good cop, and you do have to insult Donald once in a great while so he’ll appreciate you when you play good cop. (Kim Jun-Un is expert here.) But it makes sense for Carney to most of the time be the nice one, and be secretly glad Ford is otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/115 "2026-08-25T01:30:41Z")
I assume Carney and Ford are in close communication. ---
**Author:** ![Keith1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Keith1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith1)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/116 "2026-08-25T02:32:51Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > [Ontario Premier Doug Ford] also threatened again to cut off energy D Ford is an a\_hole with a big mouth. A mini Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/117 "2026-08-25T11:19:33Z")
Trump, the master diplomat. [![](https://i.ibb.co/qHbKWGX/7765acd0-389f-4891-8b3f-928df04c07c2.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/qHbKWGX/7765acd0-389f-4891-8b3f-928df04c07c2.jpg) > **[Donald J. Trump: "The United States is giving serious consideration to...](https://trumpstruth.org/statuses/41183)** > > The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/118 "2026-08-25T11:30:10Z")
So, now that TDS is in full swing, what is the next step? Companies in the US now have to decide if the cost of goods from Canada is worth using them as a supplier. Supply chains that shift will not shift back. If this doesn’t get resolved soon, then the follow on effects of decreased sales will hit jobs and the economy permanently. No amount of MOU’s will counter the loss of trade. Even if we had actual agreements, rather than just fluff, we have little capacity to get product to those markets. So, tell us what the plan is? Waiting two years in the hope that Trump is replaced by someone more friendly isn’t viable. The damage will have been done. Again, what is the plan? And it had better not be some goofy nationalize the honey industry bs. That is the path of the USSR and Venezuela. Honestly, is that what is trying to be emulated here? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/119 "2026-08-25T11:49:53Z")
Trump couldn’t care less if New York and Minnesota, both blue states, get electricity. Maybe Michigan, because they voted for him, might become the tiniest blip on his radar. > [@Uzi](#): > > So, tell us what the plan is? Someone above asked you what you thought Carney should have given up to make the deal work. > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Give the US exclusive rights to our minerals, and restrict any trade deals we can make with other countries? > Put higher tariffs on medium and heavy trucks that are made in Canada, after agreement had already been reached? > Eliminate the requirement for US products to be labelled in French? What’s your plan? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478/120 "2026-08-25T11:57:14Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Trump couldn’t care less if New York and Minnesota, both blue states, get electricity. Maybe Michigan, because they voted for him, might become the tiniest blip on his radar. Not so long as Gretchen Witmer is governor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carney-deals-with-trump-usa-trade-war-against-canada/1032478.md?page=7)