We will never be able to fully cut the cord by anything significant but the US is by their own actions making it much easier to diversify into other markets.
Canada moves to 2% GDP end of FY25/26 - PMMC
- Thread starter Maxman1
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Are they making it easier or are they making their allies more willing to bear the pain of working against them?
I think it is the latter.
I can't think of anything more likely to make a Canadian angrier than yanking the beer from his hand while he is relaxing by the lake.
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Apparently we won't be cutting the cord anytime soon in any event. We will still be buying 70% of our supplies from the US.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has pushed for a procurement mix where no more than 70 percent of capital spending depends on US suppliers. He has framed this diversification as both strategic and economic, offering Canadian firms broader access to European markets and opening the door to fresh inward investment, Eurasian Times reported.
Canada SAFE Pivot Doubts New $50 Billion Deal for Most Expensive Fighter Jets in the World
Canada’s decision to join the EU’s SAFE initiative marks a major shift in its defense posture and signals a wider strategic pivot.
aviationa2z.com
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This business of GDLS Canada making the BAE Hagglunds BvS10 for Canada has got me thinking.
Are we going to get back into the business of government owned ordnance factories, potentially with commercial operators manufacturing licensed equipment?
There seems to be some sense that the Europeans might be heading that way (Patria, BAE and Rheinmetall all distributing their manufacturing/assembly as is Hanwha). And Trump has mused about taking stakes in his major weapons manufacturers.
....
In the meantime.
"The BvS10 Beowulf vehicles for the U.S. Army's Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV) program are built by BAE Systems Hägglunds in Örnsköldsvik, northern Sweden.
"While the final assembly occurs in Sweden, several key components are sourced from U.S. suppliers, including the engine, transmission, and hydraulic system. The vehicles are delivered to the U.S., where government-furnished equipment, such as radios, is installed before deployment to units, primarily the 11th Airborne Division in Alaska."
Are we going to get back into the business of government owned ordnance factories, potentially with commercial operators manufacturing licensed equipment?
There seems to be some sense that the Europeans might be heading that way (Patria, BAE and Rheinmetall all distributing their manufacturing/assembly as is Hanwha). And Trump has mused about taking stakes in his major weapons manufacturers.
....
In the meantime.
"The BvS10 Beowulf vehicles for the U.S. Army's Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV) program are built by BAE Systems Hägglunds in Örnsköldsvik, northern Sweden.
"While the final assembly occurs in Sweden, several key components are sourced from U.S. suppliers, including the engine, transmission, and hydraulic system. The vehicles are delivered to the U.S., where government-furnished equipment, such as radios, is installed before deployment to units, primarily the 11th Airborne Division in Alaska."
So the Trump administration big-foot’s over their allies then gets upset when said allies cut the US defence industry out of its build-up.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Top US official berates Europe over cutting American industry out of defense buildup
Washington is unhappy that some European arms programs limit U.S. participation.www.politico.eu
It's never been clear that American concerns for defence spending in Europe and Canada aren't motivated by expanding market for their best export. So to finally get everybody spending more but not have just of those dollars and Europe reach back to the US has to sting.
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Maybe - the final outcome hasn’t been decided.
At this moment I see and attempt to straddle the fence and have a foot in both camps.
Can work for the short term but sooner or later one side or the other or want both feet on the ground within one camp.
To be clear we aren't automatically buying more European kit. We are buying whatever we make more jobs at home. It's a bit too late for the F-35. But that doesn't make it true for a lot of other kit coming online. This is particularly for a bunch of army and navy platforms that can provide a ready market for the flagging Canadian steel sector.
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Unless we keep one foot firmly in the American camp we will suffer economically. We will be allowed to work with non-hemispheric allies to an extent but we will be limited.
So, in some senses, no change from the status quo. Even Trudeau the First had to pull in his horns when he tried to go independent. He stayed in NATO, bought American aircraft and stayed aligned.
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I’d love to be a fly on the wall listening to the discussions between JSF JPO and Canada. Buying the balance of the 88 F-35s will likely see more share of JPO’s work share coming to Canada…you know, Art-of-the-Deal style…
Nuance added.
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Energy costs in Europe are driving their steel industry into receivership or they are adding an unacceptable markup to everything made of steel (tanks?) No reason why part of our contribution couldn't be to supply the metals needed by Rheinmetall. Getting a tank production line going is a multi-year low productivity/high cost endeavour whilst getting a new recipe for steel programmed into a furnace is relatively inexpensive and quick and would make Algoma a part of every vehicle coming out of Germany and not just a few.
