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Welcome back to This Week in Canada, my dispatch from way up north. This is the land where Mark Carney still boldly claims that “This is Canada. And we decide what happens here”—and Donald Trump reminds everyone who really calls the shots. Meanwhile, your “traditional values” may be flagged as a sign of extremism, a Canadian country singer lands in hot water for praising America a little too much, and more!
It didn’t take long for their budding bromance to unravel.
U.S.-Canada relations seemed to be warming so much that Mark Carney even got a new nickname: the Trump whisperer. But on Thursday, Trump told Carney in a letter that the 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports imposed in February over concerns about fentanyl flowing into the U.S. will be raised to 35 percent on August 1. Trump warned that the rate could go even higher if Canada responded with retaliatory measures.
Trump indicated that he might consider an “adjustment” to the tariff rate if Canada “works with me” on a fentanyl crackdown, adding that the adjustment would also depend on “our relationship with your Country.”
Carney responded that his government will work toward the August 1 deadline while “steadfastly” protecting Canadian workers and businesses.
While a steeper tariff might be Trump’s way of forcing Canada to the negotiating table, Canada walked right into this mess on its own.
Welcome back to This Week in Canada, my dispatch from way up north. This is the land where Mark Carney still boldly claims that “This is Canada. And we decide what happens here”—and Donald Trump reminds everyone who really calls the shots. Meanwhile, your “traditional values” may be flagged as a sign of extremism, a Canadian country singer lands in hot water for praising America a little too much, and more!
It didn’t take long for their budding bromance to unravel.
U.S.-Canada relations seemed to be warming so much that Mark Carney even got a new nickname: the Trump whisperer. But on Thursday, Trump told Carney in a letter that the 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports imposed in February over concerns about fentanyl flowing into the U.S. will be raised to 35 percent on August 1. Trump warned that the rate could go even higher if Canada responded with retaliatory measures.
Trump indicated that he might consider an “adjustment” to the tariff rate if Canada “works with me” on a fentanyl crackdown, adding that the adjustment would also depend on “our relationship with your Country.”
Carney responded that his government will work toward the August 1 deadline while “steadfastly” protecting Canadian workers and businesses.
While a steeper tariff might be Trump’s way of forcing Canada to the negotiating table, Canada walked right into this mess on its own.