Summary
Mark Carney, frontrunner for Canadian Liberal Party leadership and potential prime minister, stated Canada will stand up to a bully after Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian imports.
Carney vowed to retaliate by matching the US tariffs dollar for dollar, asserting Canada would not cave in despite mounting pressure.
He criticized Trump for undermining trade agreements, warning that the tariffs would damage the US global reputation and economic stability.
Outgoing Prime Minister Trudeau promised a forceful, immediate response, emphasizing unity as Canada defends its economic interests, ensuring national prosperity.
“Matching the US tariffs dollar for dollar” is such a stupid policy.
A better policy would be stopping flows of Canadian dollars to the US. Declare that US patents are no longer valid in Canada. Pass a law requiring that Apple and Google allow competing app stores on their phones with no strings attached. Remove any penalty from jailbreaking phones and allow anybody who wants to sell jailbreaking kits. Declare a universal right to repair in Canada, so that Canadian farmers don’t have to pay John Deere if they want to repair their tractors. Say that all copyrights belonging to the Hollywood copyright cartel are no longer recognized, and let people trade their music, tv and movies freely.
Nobody’s going to be brave enough to do that. But, really, the US declaring a 25% across-the-board tariff on Canada is basically an economic nuke. Don’t respond with a measured and exactly equal economic war response. Canada can’t win by fighting by those rules.
Edit: Better yet, because it’s more likely to be possible, just decriminalize it. Don’t change the laws. Just make it clear to police and prosecutors that someone who infringes on American IP should be treated like someone smoking pot in public in 2015. Imagine someone setting up a little kiosk in the Eaton Centre selling the latest movies and software for pennies while the cops just ignored them. If John Deere tries to get someone charged for selling “fix your tractor” software bundles that bypass the access controls on tractors, the police should just laugh at them. Picture a kiosk that roots your phone and lets you install a Canadian app store where the vendor’s cut is only 5% not 30%, and all the profits stay in Canada. A thriving business could be set up where you bring in your HP printer, and walk out with a device that can use any ink at all. Canada could even host How-Tos and tools for the rest of the world on how to take control over your electronics. Can you imagine how quickly Tim Apple would book a flight to Mar A Lago to beg with Trump to back down?
I think this is much more likely in Mexico though. The respect for US intellectual property is already pretty low there to begin with. But, formally, the government still officially respects US IP. What if they let off the brakes entirely and just let the “invisible hand of the market” work without the handcuffs of IP law?
You are not wrong in some of theses but they would requiere a legal framework that does not exist today to be created in a hurry.
Tariffs are literally easier so they are the first step and it does not mean they would be the last
Doesn’t the Tariffs Basically invalidate the old trade agreements, making them worthless so now the other countries can do whatever they want?
I would think so but don’t really know from a legal standpoint
What’s clear now is that a contract with the USA is not worth an “Elon’s promise” so any current agreement is basically null and void
God I hate trade wars, but good on Canada for not rolling over for Trump.
I really really hope they continue resisting. My biggest fear is everyone gives him what he wants and the idiots I’m surrounded by cheer his victory.
the idiots I’m surrounded by cheer his victory.
That’s kinda the American way, sadly.
This isn’t a bully, our organizations and institutions are under attack from an unelected billionaire who bought the president while he was still a candidate. This is a coup by neo Nazis. We are fucked and they will start a war with you.
The moose cavalry will handle it.
“Why don’t you want to join the land of the free and home of the brave?”
Because if we gave in to the pressure and joined, we would be neither.
Canadian oil would be hit with lower tariffs of 10%, which would take effect later, on 18 February.
Cool we could put 15% on oil going to US and help trump keep his 25% on everything promises.
Canada should join the EU.
The EU as a structure is such that some piss drops like Orban can stall its reaction to events long enough to make it useless.
But! A new no-bullshit world confederation would be nice. With a combined military, of course.
Bury him. The entire world will thank you.
Good on Canada and Mexico for sticking to their guns and not rolling over for Trump. Show him that winning trade wars isn’t as easy as he likes to think it is, and then force him into favorable terms when he implodes his own economy.
edit: lmao, well that was short. Tariffs don’t go into effect until tomorrow and Trump already caved to pressure from Trudeau and Sheinbaum. Trump got the massive conciliation prize of… Canada and Mexico agreeing to do stuff they had already agreed to do under the Biden administration. lol.
Make US thirteen colonies again?
This is a workable method to deal with these four years, a clever leader deciding strategy suggested by very clever advisors can beat a strategy suggested by very clever advisors decided upon by an unclever leader.
