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CAN-USA Tariff Strife (split from various pol threads)

The instant some sort of resolution is reached that removes the tariff pain point, all the reasons companies have for locating in the US remain and the one big reason for moving out disappears.
The US has demonstrated itself to be unreliable. What advantage is there to try and participate in global trade from within a country that will turn tariffs on and off like a toddler with a light switch? Business likes a stable environment to work from. Without substantial systemic change, that stability is demonstrably not in the US.
 
The instant some sort of resolution is reached that removes the tariff pain point, all the reasons companies have for locating in the US remain and the one big reason for moving out disappears.

Gotta quibble with you on that: the volatility and unpredictability remains. If Trump uses tariffs as a cudgel, hurts a lot of businesses, but feels that he has achieved some policy or political objective, what’s to stop him from doing that again? Businesses crave stability, predictability, and reliability- in taxes, trading partners, rule of law… Trump has shown that he’ll incompetently and abruptly upend the rule set if it suits him. That’s one factor that businesses will have to contend with as long as he’s in power. He’s not the sort to learn lessons humbly.

EDIT TO ADD: Tried to post that a while ago but the site’s acting up on my phone. McG beat me to the same point.
 
The US has demonstrated itself to be unreliable. What advantage is there to try and participate in global trade from within a country that will turn tariffs on and off like a toddler with a light switch? Business likes a stable environment to work from. Without substantial systemic change, that stability is demonstrably not in the US.
Anyone who thought the US was "reliable" was not considering past events on a long enough time horizon, or never bothered to understand US voters (a fatal ignorance), or assumed that a sizeable fraction of Americans could basically be forever told without consequences "you can't have that" by a minority establishment, among other probable failings.
 
The US has demonstrated itself to be unreliable. What advantage is there to try and participate in global trade from within a country that will turn tariffs on and off like a toddler with a light switch? Business likes a stable environment to work from. Without substantial systemic change, that stability is demonstrably not in the US.

Gotta quibble with you on that: the volatility and unpredictability remains. If Trump uses tariffs as a cudgel, hurts a lot of businesses, but feels that he has achieved some policy or political objective, what’s to stop him from doing that again? Businesses crave stability, predictability, and reliability- in taxes, trading partners, rule of law… Trump has shown that he’ll incompetently and abruptly upend the rule set if it suits him. That’s one factor that businesses will have to contend with as long as he’s in power. He’s not the sort to learn lessons humbly.

EDIT TO ADD: Tried to post that a while ago but the site’s acting up on my phone. McG beat me to the same point.
I agree with both of you on business wanting "stability, predictability, and reliability" but we need to look in the mirror as a nation as well. Canada has been less than consistently pro-business in our policies. Whomever wins this election needs to realize this and make the effort to work with the other party to at least come to a bi-partisan agreement on the very highest level of policy direction...kind of like the Republicans and Democrats had at one time on foreign policy objectives. We won't attract large scale foreign investment if our policies change radically every four years when a different party is elected. Both parties will have to move toward the centre in order to achieve that.
 
I am sure Canada has room to improve, but we look like a much more hospitable business environment than the rollercoaster of insanity to our south.

As a side, “bipartisan” is an American term that reflects their entrenched two party system. That binary choice at election time is part of the American problem (and FPTP makes us vulnerable to follow). In Canada, you might use the terms “multipartisan” or “all-party” or even “cross floor.”
 
New developments from the egg front.

Until now, the only eggs imported into Canada, under a limited tariff-free quota, have come from the U.S., the Egg Farmers of Canada confirmed for Farmers Forum.

Alt: https://archive.ph/WnmO2
 
VDH holds forth on what's really going on...

Hanson has been a Trump sycophant for years, so no surprise he’d be part of the ‘5D chess’ groupies trying to defend this inane ‘bull in a China shop’ approach to trade. He equates not actually having a coherent strategy with not wanting to be ‘constrained’ by one. Meanwhile the U.S. is badly damaging its reputation as a stable and reliable trade partner, and leaving everyone guessing about their next move and its timing. That’s self-defeating by any reckoning. The flip flop on electronics tariffs against China shows just how completely Trump is winging it, and how he and his crew have utterly failed to game this out.

Being very charitable to Hanson, a problem with historians is that they assume that world leaders are, fundamentally, well informed and rational actors who receive and at least consider sound advice. Trump breaks their system.
 
Hanson has been a Trump sycophant for years, so no surprise he’d be part of the ‘5D chess’ groupies trying to defend this inane ‘bull in a China shop’ approach to trade. He equates not actually having a coherent strategy with not wanting to be ‘constrained’ by one. Meanwhile the U.S. is badly damaging its reputation as a stable and reliable trade partner, and leaving everyone guessing about their next move and its timing. That’s self-defeating by any reckoning. The flip flop on electronics tariffs against China shows just how completely Trump is winging it, and how he and his crew have utterly failed to game this out.

Being very charitable to Hanson, a problem with historians is that they assume that world leaders are, fundamentally, well informed and rational actors who receive and at least consider sound advice. Trump breaks their system.

He's a neo-Nazi, and a good person to follow to get a sense of some of the less emotional rationale driving the MAGA movement.

Whereas Fox News and CNN just shout at each other alot ;)
 
More of this when possible, please and thank you. Love to see it.

Alt: https://archive.ph/Ev6Ol

Star Wars GIF
 

And here comes Ontario, unconditionally.

Ontario to remove barriers to internal trade, labour mobility, in response to U.S. tariffs
Alt: https://archive.ph/scWm3

EDIT: Added the official news release. It has more details.
Alt: https://archive.ph/0uBKl

  • Moving to allow more regulated health professionals in good standing to begin practising in Ontario while they wait for registration in an Ontario health regulatory college and removing restrictions on where they may work using “As of Right” rules. The government will also begin consultations to allow American health professionals, including doctors and nurses, to be included under these new “As of Right” rules.

That would make for a pretty massive win for Ontario, Canada, and Ford.
 
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But Canada is very bottom in terms of the commitment for equipment spending to be at least 20% of 2% of GDP.

Even worse, we're near the bottom at R&D investment (1.8%) as compared to other countries, which tends to relfect our risk averse financing and taxation culture...

Private sector = evil, public sector = almighty and eternally virtuous ;)


1744912984986.png

 
Little more movement on the home front. Hopefully we start seeing more to the west.

Alt: https://archive.ph/kpJIy
 
Even worse, we're near the bottom at R&D investment (1.8%) as compared to other countries, which tends to relfect our risk averse financing and taxation culture...

Private sector = evil, public sector = almighty and eternally virtuous ;)


View attachment 92695

This is part of the reason the Scandinavians remain relevant, despite their small populations.

Canada, on the other hand, has the Latin disease:

1745589879287.jpeg
 
The missus and I just got back from scoping out vehicles at the local Mazda dealer. All of their line is made in either Japan or Mexico, except one model that is made in the US in a joint plant with Toyota. They have simply decided to stop importing it.
 
A precedent? We'll see ...
 
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