Tag Archives: Trade
Lunatic Republic
Apparently Canada is not allowed to make an agreement with the European Union to have closer ties. Donald Trump will not permit it. trump says such a deal would be “laughable. But he doesn’t appear to be laughing. Such an agreement, he said, would be a “hostile act.” If it comes to pass, Trump says […]
Joining the EU
Canada is on track to become an associate member of the European Union. Which sounds good, except for the fact that nobody knows what that means. To state the obvious, Canada is not part of Europe. Joining together with the 27 EU countries might raise a few challenges. Someone is bound to object. After all, […]
Redrawing The Map
Donald Trump has renamed Lake Ontario as Lake America, as he previously tried with the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the world is laughing at him. The American president doesn’t have the authority or jurisdiction to unilaterally change the name of an international waterway. Americans may have to put up with his vagaries, but the […]
Quote of the Week
In 2022, Stephen Marche, a keen observer of American society and politics, published the scariest book I have read in years, The Next Civil War. It was so unsettling I couldn’t write about it here. On Monday I read an essay he published in the New York Times with his thoughts on the Canada-US trade […]
What Benefits?
Donald Trump says Canada: “wants the benefits” of being a U.S. state “without being one.” But he forgot to tell us what those benefits would be. Would it be a country with no universal health care, which Canada has and the US doesn’t? Would it be an electoral system where political parties control district boundaries […]
Winning The War
Friday midnight came and went with no deal. The US is imposing what it hopes will be crippling tariffs on Canadian industry. Canada will retaliate. It is an article of faith in America’s civil religion that no-one can beat them in a trade war. Donald Trump has made it very clear to other countries that […]
Friday’s Question
Deal or no deal? The latest deadline for Canada and the USA to come to a trade agreement is tonight at midnight. What do you think will happen? I suspect that for most people trade talks are deadly boring, so I have not been spending much time here on the ongoing trade dispute. It mostly […]
No Sense of History
At least she spelled it right. A member of the US House of Representatives has introduced the CANADA Act. She is upset that sales of American alcohol have plummeted in Canada. She wants US federal government action. The Combating Attacks on our National Alcoholic Drinks by Allies Act calls for Canada to be punished because […]
American Booze
The US Ambassador to Canada seems to have a liquor fixation. He’s been in the news he is talking about American alcohol on Canadian store shelves. Or, more accurately, the lack thereof. You can’t buy American wine, beer or spirits in most places in Canada. Most of the booze trade in Canada is government controlled. […]
Friday’s Question
Being an ambassador is challenging. given the current state of Canada-U.S. relations, being the Canadian Ambassador to Washington is well beynd challenging. Which may be why Prime Minister Mark Carney reached out toa business friend for the position rather than a career diplomat. With trade the major irritant between the two nations, it made sense […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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