Trump Tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China

 (nytimes.com)

40 points | by Anon8417 hours ago

2 comments

  • mullingitover16 hours ago
    Everyone's obviously going to focus on how Canada could turn the screws on US agriculture by messing with our potash supply, or timber, etc, but what if this just shortcuts straight to an oil/energy embargo?

    Nothing is going to shut down this tomfoolery quicker than mass civil unrest as gas prices shoot up over $10 a gallon. It might be possible to counter this temporarily with the petroleum reserves but even that will take a while to get going.

    • mnky9800n16 hours ago
      Canada also could turn off the power that goes over the border. Americans not being able to charge their phones to watch more TikTok will probably do the trick.
      • zeagle11 hours ago
        I think that would just be a pretext to annex Canada much like civil disobedience in the US would be a pretext for martial law and entrenching his position. As a Canadian: nothing polite to say about the USA going forward.
        • apsec11211 hours ago
          A US invasion of Canada would be militarily successful but result in absolute nightmare chaos. There would be a global move away from US trade, financial, and military cooperation; you'd see tons of rearmament and new nuclear weapons states; the US military would lose its logistical network as countries kicked out bases; the global economy would crash; there'd be a supply chain fire worse than 2021-2 as trade shut down; financial systems would get set on fire as the dollar lost reserve currency status and on and on and on.
          • zeagle11 hours ago
            I don't think it's likely to happen but that is what I also said about a tariff trade war with Canada until recently. The actions here aren't rationale.
          • blibble10 hours ago
            the moves away from the US are already being discussed in cabinet rooms all over the world

            countries will not want military bases from a nation that threatens annexation, will not want their media companies broadcasting to their citizens, will not want to buy their weapons, and will not want their financial system dependent on them

            the US just handed the world to the Chinese

            on a platter

          • jp_nc11 hours ago
            This is why so many of us spent so much time trying to convince our friends and family that Trump 2.0 is dangerous and will shatter the current world order. I am sorry to all of our allies who are going to be hurt by this.
        • blibble10 hours ago
          in terms of being attacked, the NATO collective defence treaty makes no distinction between being attacked by members and external attackers

          annexation of Canada would trigger Article 5 against the US

    • kccoder13 hours ago
      Let’s hope that mass civil unrest results in the complete removal of this entire administration and their ideology.
    • 1over1378 hours ago
      >Nothing is going to shut down this tomfoolery quicker than...

      Or would it just turn into a shooting war then?

      • archagon5 hours ago
        Trump is the type to threaten to fucking nuke Toronto.
  • gdilla16 hours ago
    ok, so the tech bro oligrachs wanna burn everything down, but aren't the old fashioned industrialist billionaires going to be hit hard by this (not to mention all the little businesses who source goods from Mex/Can to make things, or get 10-30% of their sales via exports)?
    • mullingitover16 hours ago
      In their wisdom, Congress gave the President insane power over tariffs because they needed the country to be able to execute quickly and decisively rather than spend 90 days on committee hearings for each little decision.

      Thanks to this, he can carve out exceptions surgically for each and every one of his political patrons as long as they offer him the right amount of financial remuneration. Remember the $TRUMP crypto collection plate that was set up hours before swearing-in?

      The tariff system controls were designed by people who thought they'd be used by incorruptible, honor-bound presidents, and now they're basically in the hands of the Cosa Nostra.

      • mnky9800n16 hours ago
        Trump isn’t exactly the first president to use executive fiat to do everything. Of course he has been the most obnoxious one.
    • k31016 hours ago
      Tech broligarchs were the highest bidder. They won.

      Since Citizens United, it's a bidding war. One dollar, one vote.

    • archagon5 hours ago
      Billionaires love a good recession. Buy stuff for cheap, cancel tariffs, profit.