Canadian PM gives US ultimatum – and gives Canadian companies additional time to source alternatives to US supplies
Canada has become the latest country to respond to US president Donald Trump’s wild spree of tariffs on allies and opponents alike by imposing tariffs on US imports – 25% on all US imports, worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year, from Tuesday, followed by another 25% on hundreds more in twenty-one days, to give Canadian companies time to find alternative sources for components.
The tariffs will apply to products from beer to clothing, perfumes to household appliances to plastics to fashion and more. However, Trudeau indicated that there would not yet be a block on Canadian energy exports to the US.
Trump’s designs on territory in Greenland and Panama have already prompted even US allies such as France to prepare military responses in case of US aggression and the US economy is teetering as nations and countries react to the burgeoning US isolation.
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The world is “blessed” with a whole tranche of aggressive, dim-witted idiot leaders from the USA, UK, Russia, Israel, Eastern Europe, and a whole panoply of nations. The lessons of WWII have all been forgotten. We all live together, or we die together.
Interesting to see that Trump has imposed tariffs on China of only 10%, despite China been its main competitor.
He hasn’t yet announced the tariffs he plans to impose on EU’s exports. My educated guess is that the tariffs if any are going to be no higher than 10%. The EU would agree to import US gas as a convenient price so Trump can save face.
The reasons for my guess are varied. The first is that the US needs to import Tungsten to maintain its arms industry. My bet is that the US main suppliers are Spain and Portugal. Should Trump be as foolish as to implement tariffs against some EU exports (wine, olive oil, manufacture) he can expect Spain and Portugal to put up the price of Tungsten or simply refuse to export it to the US.
Then is the small question as to whatever the US would be allowed to keep a navy base at Rota (Spain) or US bases in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy.
US consumers are for an increase in the price of coffee and chocolate as both are imported from Colombia and Mexico. Hence, no sure how “America first” is going to work.
What I can see happening is Mexico and Colombia increasing exports to Canada for example and Canada increasing its exports to South America as tariffs in US export would made Canada’s products cheaper to import.
Right now their are buses full of pensioners travelling to Canada and Mexico to buy medicines. Soon we are going to see cars crossing to Mexico and Canada to buy coffee and chocolate.
And they voted for dayglo because they wanted cheaper eggs…
‘Murricans – they’re just not very bright, are they?
Given the known problems with what is and is not reported in the corporate media, there could be a lot more going here than meets the eye?
https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/it-starts-tomorrow-people-vs-the
During the recent US confirmation hearings of the Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent on Thursday, 16 January this exchange catches the eye:
“Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex): “As you know, the market for U.S. Treasuries is the largest in the world at $28 trillion, and it’s critical for the financial stability of the United States. There’s actually a proposal for an entity to clear U.S. treasury futures at the London clearing house which is overseen by the Bank of England. Some argue that the Bank of England would have control over … a default scenario in this critical market instead of the U.S. Is this of concern to you?” Scott Bessent replied:
You raise a very important question and one that I will investigate further. I was unaware, until the past few days, of this with the new exchange. What I can tell you, as a student and professor of economic history, is that it is important for the U.S. – for the U.S. Treasuries, for us to be able to resolve any stress issues in the markets in the U.S. We saw during the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, that much of the, many of the problems emanated from the U.K. subsidiary, so this is something that … my inclination is that the resolution authority must lie here in the U.S., but I will get back to you in writing with an answer on this, if confirmed.”
Question: “why should American treasuries be cleared in London, through a clearing house under Bank of England’s control? [rather than US Fed control] Who wanted this to happen, and where did such a proposal originate from? Why is there no public debate about such a major development? Why are the media ignoring it?”
Apparently, the outgoing Biden WH were seeking to move control of US Treasury Futures to London. Giving the BoE and the City of London, acting as the clearing house for the prices of US treasuries, the effective ability to manipulate the prices and create a US debt default – with all that would imply for the US and its economy.
There are a number of links in the article – some of which go into greater detail – that suggest behind the scenes this could likely be at the root of the antipathy towards the former Crown asset and commonwealth member Canada and that the real target here is the UK, in the form of the Crown, and the EU.
With suggestions that the BoE/CoL is acting in concert with the EU Central Bank and the Davos/WEF orientated European elites to manipulate and tank the US economy under Trump.
Which also explains the verbal attacks on Starmer and other EU leaders.
Interestingly, the 58-minute video link to a discussion on Twitter/X also takes a pot a Nigel Farage with a reminder that as a former CoL man that his loyalties are to that entity. Hence, his exclusion from the Trump circle and the lukewarm treatment of him.
Now that this is out in the open in the circles that count in the US matters could get very messy in terms of economic warfare across the North Atlantic area?
Thank you for the link Dave. We are for a rough time!!