Great update Fred!!! You put it all on the table & we feel more educated! Carney puts it all on the table & we feel like a stronger Nation! Gotta love it :)
This is supposed to be a review, not a re-negotiation. We have an agreement in place. We review how that's working. So, we answer "we don't like your dairy protection" with "yeah, so you said when we negotiated the deal. It's not changing." "By the way, you've already broken the agreement with tariffs, so maybe we'll go to court over that if they don't disappear." A review means you can tell us what you don't like, but if they didn't arise from or contradict the agreement, we have no obligation to address them. Save them until we sit down to renegotiate, that's in ten years. Or walk away, but at your own peril as well as ours.
Yes Jim that is what I thought too but who can trust the US to not just shred the whole agreement? But there should be penalties for doing that. Of course we all know by now the rules and stuff just get ignored.
In the contractual/real estate environment it was often quoted that a contract is only as good as the paper it’s written on.
Hence ‘the art of the deal’ is to make a deal, then if one party changes it to their specifics and you sue. This allows the deal breaker to offer anything, using the cost of lawyers and courts to bargain a new deal.
This is in the favour of whoever can hold out the longest before the courts intervene. Then you hope for a good outcome.
Probably why trump has lost so many deal and bankruptcies. However, either way the taxpayers will cover the costs that are claimed in tax returns.
From what I have read the US wants a baseline tariff rate of 10% for Canada. I am assuming that would apply on goods or sectors that don’t irritate them in some fashion. Softwood lumber, steel, aluminum and other sectors that “irritate” them would have higher tariffs. Looks like that is the cost of having the privilege of shopping in Costco or Uncle Sam’s Club, or whatever you want to call it. Whatever you want to call this review or renegotiation, it’s not going to be pretty.
Even a 10% baseline tariff will end the auto trade between our 2 countries as all suppliers in the supply chain will need to move to the US to remain competitive. Our integration began with the auto pact and will end with Trump behind a wrecking ball. Nothing Canada can do but reinvent itself and its own auto industry. Good thing Carney made us lots of helpful friends. There can be no capitulation to the mad man in the white house, just reinvention quietly, comoetently and forever sovereign.
The Disunited States and its greedy regime don’t care about agreements. Or laws. Or courts. Or borders. Or other countries’ sovereignty.
And perhaps it’s not pushback at all.
It’s Canada deciding it’s simply not engaging in the set-up circus, and turning around and doing things differently.
Might it get painful for Canada and Canadian? Most likely. Change hurts sometimes. And sadly, it hits some groups, industries, people harder than others. Hopefully plans to mitigate that are underway. And hopefully combatting the propaganda and infiltration from the Trump-regime is also in progress.
To be blunt, crass, and clear-eyed — Trump is a narcissistic, cruel abuser in all possible ways including financially, and he’s in the midst of cognitive and physical collapse.
With his emotional deregulation, rejection intolerance, the Project 25 thing, his band of misfit, cartoonishly evil robber barons, war lords and the incompetent, nincompoop department head sycophants, (not to mention, wanting Canada as the 51st state because free resources,) Trump is using Canada as his punching bag and expecting our government to be overwhelmed and subdued into submission.
Carney isn’t having it. I will not give oxygen to anyone who thinks Canada should cave.
Appeasement to keep a stable and safe peace with regimes led by insane greedy men has never worked well for those offering up appeasement. It hasn’t worked in any kind of abuse situations and certainly not in fractious economic, geopolitical times where the side that lies and blusters believes it is the power, that it holds all the cards. (because to them it’s a power game.)
Canada is not obliged to participate in a rigged process where the rules are ignored at the whim of a deranged Orange Drama Queen/King, to be berated, whined about, lied about, bullied, and worse. Are we?
Not since Hitler has the entire global economy had to navigate an insane man and his regime. We’re here now.
Very well put Fred. There is no real need for Canada to hurry for a deal, quite frankly. As PM Carney has said, "No deal is better than a bad deal". Why some Canadians are beginning to panic, as July 1st approaches, is worrisome. Patience will win the day. The Americans are under immense pressure, hence the lashing out, the threats. Playing the long game will win in the end.
Honestly I could be completely misreading the situation but when I first heard about those concessions the first thing that popped in my mind is “They’re growing desperate”
For as much as Lutnick might chest beat about us needing them, the truth is actually the other way around: The Trump Administration is desperate for a win at this point and they need us to comply in some way to show they’ve still got power, to show they’re still the all powerful USA that no one can live without
Great post, truth. However I digress about it being Fords fault, he just got the blame. I think Trump would have derailed the deal if a fly landed on his arm, or his morning b JOB Laura Loomer didn’t show up. He’s the problem, not Doug’s factual based tv ad.
Ford's fact based tv ad might not have mattered in that donald probably would have found another reason to derail the deal. But now Dougie has ads telling Canadians to go visit the U.S.. Why the hell isn't he encouraging people to travel in Canada instead? That is disgusting and unforgivable. Along with the many other corrupt things he has done that are unforgivable. Danielle, doug and pierre all need to go.
Another difference is that Alberta is sick & disgusted by being ruled-over, subjugated, & humiliated by eastern Canada. The east does nothing for us, while simultaneously extracting from us & suppressing our growth.
I challenge any & all of you to tell me how Alberta benefits from being a part of Canada.
Please refrain from empty patriotic platitudes, doomsday threats, or attempts to bully, guilt or shame us into compliance.
Seems Canada has made the needed moves if Trump pulls one os his usual ploys; just tear up any agreements or treaties his gets his grift laden hands on and wants to demand a renegotiation, or actually a "screw you" deal.
As if Canada wants BGH dairy on their shelves. Canadians have found their own country a more interesting place to travel through rather than New England, the Lakeside States, Nevada or Florida (aka the national petri dish). The US needs more of Canadian national resources and tourism than we need to export. What do our " negotiators", cabinet officials and our ahem, ambassador complain about? Booze! Rich coming from that we now call the LIQUOR CABINET lol.
Carney et al has been quite busy making trade agreements with countries that can be depended upon to uphold their end. Not so with the US.
I've kind of been waiting for Canadian leadership to just say the quiet part out loud. Go ahead, tear up CUSMA, we can survive the almost daily chaotic situation. We have been busy making other arrangements
HARD PASS.
That may do more to get Congress involved, finally, than anything else going on here. The states needing Canadian trade may have to get involved, in a more serious manner; their business community will demand accountability.
This, of course, is a broad look at what are serious needs by both countries. But Canada has been doing much better at making sure their businesses have needed resources and also places to sell their products. What has our leadership been doing? Wine, oops sorry, whine.
All so very true. Of course, my comment was overbroad on what our mutual needs really are. And it was somewhat satiric. But the US is becoming less and less reliable on an almost daily basis. We get very little good information on the US end of what CUSMA and other agreements mean for us, but get quite excellent and informed journalism on the work the Canadian government is doing to PROTECT their citizens from an increasingly erratic and dangerous southern neighbor.
Great update Fred!!! You put it all on the table & we feel more educated! Carney puts it all on the table & we feel like a stronger Nation! Gotta love it :)
Appreciate that, Patsy...
that’s exactly the shift we’re seeing.
When the facts are laid out clearly, the picture changes fast…
and so does the confidence behind it.
Different tone. Different posture.
And yeah... it does feel stronger 👍
This is supposed to be a review, not a re-negotiation. We have an agreement in place. We review how that's working. So, we answer "we don't like your dairy protection" with "yeah, so you said when we negotiated the deal. It's not changing." "By the way, you've already broken the agreement with tariffs, so maybe we'll go to court over that if they don't disappear." A review means you can tell us what you don't like, but if they didn't arise from or contradict the agreement, we have no obligation to address them. Save them until we sit down to renegotiate, that's in ten years. Or walk away, but at your own peril as well as ours.
Jim... that’s the cleanest way to frame it.
A review is supposed to be a report card…
not a chance to rewrite the exam after it’s been graded.
What you’re pointing out is the core issue...
The agreement already exists
The terms were negotiated and signed
A review is meant to assess performance... not reopen settled fights
So when new demands show up that weren’t part of the deal...
especially with pressure attached...
it stops being a review and starts looking a lot like a forced renegotiation.
And your other point matters just as much...
If one side is already stepping outside the agreement (tariffs, threats, etc.),
then the credibility of the process itself takes a hit.
At that point, legal options and enforcement mechanisms aren’t just theoretical...
they’re part of the leverage.
That’s why this moment feels tense.
It’s not just about dairy, lumber, or steel…
It’s about whether agreements still mean what they say...
or whether they get rewritten midstream when one side decides they should.
Yes Jim that is what I thought too but who can trust the US to not just shred the whole agreement? But there should be penalties for doing that. Of course we all know by now the rules and stuff just get ignored.
Shelagh... that’s the uneasy part, isn’t it.
On paper, there are rules.
Trade agreements like this come with dispute panels, timelines, and the ability to challenge violations.
In a normal environment, that’s how you keep things from turning into a free-for-all.
But what people are reacting to now is the gap between rules on paper and behavior in practice.
If one side is willing to...
push tariffs first
negotiate later (or not at all)
and treat enforcement as optional
…then the system starts to feel shaky, even if it technically still exists.
That’s why Canada’s shift matters.
It’s less about trusting the rules will save us…
and more about not building our entire future on the assumption that they will.
Because once confidence in the rules erodes, countries start doing...
exactly what we’re seeing now...
hedging, diversifying, and preparing for a world where agreements aren’t as solid as they used to be.
In the contractual/real estate environment it was often quoted that a contract is only as good as the paper it’s written on.
Hence ‘the art of the deal’ is to make a deal, then if one party changes it to their specifics and you sue. This allows the deal breaker to offer anything, using the cost of lawyers and courts to bargain a new deal.
This is in the favour of whoever can hold out the longest before the courts intervene. Then you hope for a good outcome.
Probably why trump has lost so many deal and bankruptcies. However, either way the taxpayers will cover the costs that are claimed in tax returns.
From what I have read the US wants a baseline tariff rate of 10% for Canada. I am assuming that would apply on goods or sectors that don’t irritate them in some fashion. Softwood lumber, steel, aluminum and other sectors that “irritate” them would have higher tariffs. Looks like that is the cost of having the privilege of shopping in Costco or Uncle Sam’s Club, or whatever you want to call it. Whatever you want to call this review or renegotiation, it’s not going to be pretty.
You’re reading it about right, Kevin... and that’s exactly why this feels different.
A “baseline” tariff, even at 10%, isn’t normal in a free trade setup.
That’s more like a cover charge just to stay in the room…
and then they decide what else you owe once you’re inside.
And you nailed the second layer... sectors like softwood, steel, aluminum?
Those don’t get the baseline treatment.
They get singled out, because they’re where the pressure actually works.
That’s the shift...
This isn’t about smoothing trade anymore… it’s about managing leverage.
Which is why Canada pushing back matters.
If you accept the baseline quietly, you’re basically agreeing that access to the U.S. market is a privilege... not a partnership.
And yeah… you’re right on the ending too.
This review isn’t going to be pretty.
Even a 10% baseline tariff will end the auto trade between our 2 countries as all suppliers in the supply chain will need to move to the US to remain competitive. Our integration began with the auto pact and will end with Trump behind a wrecking ball. Nothing Canada can do but reinvent itself and its own auto industry. Good thing Carney made us lots of helpful friends. There can be no capitulation to the mad man in the white house, just reinvention quietly, comoetently and forever sovereign.
American here. Carney is the perfect person for the job. His philosophy his temperament and his character. I hope more leaders follow his example
Gonna riff/rant again:
The Disunited States and its greedy regime don’t care about agreements. Or laws. Or courts. Or borders. Or other countries’ sovereignty.
And perhaps it’s not pushback at all.
It’s Canada deciding it’s simply not engaging in the set-up circus, and turning around and doing things differently.
Might it get painful for Canada and Canadian? Most likely. Change hurts sometimes. And sadly, it hits some groups, industries, people harder than others. Hopefully plans to mitigate that are underway. And hopefully combatting the propaganda and infiltration from the Trump-regime is also in progress.
To be blunt, crass, and clear-eyed — Trump is a narcissistic, cruel abuser in all possible ways including financially, and he’s in the midst of cognitive and physical collapse.
With his emotional deregulation, rejection intolerance, the Project 25 thing, his band of misfit, cartoonishly evil robber barons, war lords and the incompetent, nincompoop department head sycophants, (not to mention, wanting Canada as the 51st state because free resources,) Trump is using Canada as his punching bag and expecting our government to be overwhelmed and subdued into submission.
Carney isn’t having it. I will not give oxygen to anyone who thinks Canada should cave.
Appeasement to keep a stable and safe peace with regimes led by insane greedy men has never worked well for those offering up appeasement. It hasn’t worked in any kind of abuse situations and certainly not in fractious economic, geopolitical times where the side that lies and blusters believes it is the power, that it holds all the cards. (because to them it’s a power game.)
Canada is not obliged to participate in a rigged process where the rules are ignored at the whim of a deranged Orange Drama Queen/King, to be berated, whined about, lied about, bullied, and worse. Are we?
Not since Hitler has the entire global economy had to navigate an insane man and his regime. We’re here now.
And, grrrrr.
Very well put Fred. There is no real need for Canada to hurry for a deal, quite frankly. As PM Carney has said, "No deal is better than a bad deal". Why some Canadians are beginning to panic, as July 1st approaches, is worrisome. Patience will win the day. The Americans are under immense pressure, hence the lashing out, the threats. Playing the long game will win in the end.
Trump's America Is a shameful, shitty, selfish cuntry!
I get the frustration, Rob... a lot of people are feeling it right now.
That said, it’s usually more useful to separate governments from the people.
The tension we’re seeing is coming from policy decisions and leadership choices, not every American citizen.
What matters here is how Canada responds...
and for once, it looks like we’re setting our own terms instead of reacting to theirs.
I agree with you. That's why I separate Trump's America from America, itself.
Honestly I could be completely misreading the situation but when I first heard about those concessions the first thing that popped in my mind is “They’re growing desperate”
For as much as Lutnick might chest beat about us needing them, the truth is actually the other way around: The Trump Administration is desperate for a win at this point and they need us to comply in some way to show they’ve still got power, to show they’re still the all powerful USA that no one can live without
Canada… we are counting on you…
Teach this Orange Idiot that whimsical tariffs…
And Sovereignty threats will only cause America harm…
Hit him where it hurts…
And get the rest of the world on your side…
It hurts us in the short term…
But in the long run…
You’re doing us a favor…
Pasqualino... there’s a lot of truth buried in what you’re saying…
just with the volume turned up a notch.
The real play here isn’t about “hurting” anyone... it’s about setting boundaries.
When tariffs and pressure tactics get used like leverage, the response isn’t to
escalate for the sake of it…
it’s to make it clear that those tactics come with consequences.
And you’re right about the longer game...
Short term?
Yeah... there’s friction.
Costs go up. Trade slows. Nobody gets a free ride.
Long term?
Countries start adjusting. Diversifying.
Building relationships that don’t depend on one gatekeeper.
That’s the part people miss.
This isn’t just Canada reacting… it’s a signal.
And if enough countries read it the same way, the balance shifts...
not through shouting, but through quiet repositioning.
Great post, truth. However I digress about it being Fords fault, he just got the blame. I think Trump would have derailed the deal if a fly landed on his arm, or his morning b JOB Laura Loomer didn’t show up. He’s the problem, not Doug’s factual based tv ad.
Ford's fact based tv ad might not have mattered in that donald probably would have found another reason to derail the deal. But now Dougie has ads telling Canadians to go visit the U.S.. Why the hell isn't he encouraging people to travel in Canada instead? That is disgusting and unforgivable. Along with the many other corrupt things he has done that are unforgivable. Danielle, doug and pierre all need to go.
I didn’t know he did that! Wtf. Yes, garbage premiers
Forgot the loser PP. He’s just Not anything, he’s illegitimate.
I was so shocked and angry the first time I heard the ad. It's ridicilous.
Another difference is that Alberta is sick & disgusted by being ruled-over, subjugated, & humiliated by eastern Canada. The east does nothing for us, while simultaneously extracting from us & suppressing our growth.
I challenge any & all of you to tell me how Alberta benefits from being a part of Canada.
Please refrain from empty patriotic platitudes, doomsday threats, or attempts to bully, guilt or shame us into compliance.
This is one of the reasons Carney has been working overtime to establish trade deals with many other countries. Choice is freedom.
Ok
Does anyone remember the House Hippo campaign you had in the 1970s?
Do they come in orange?
Just sayin'
Sounds like PM Carney is taking a stand that keeps Canada on an equal footing with the US. He knows you can't negotiate with a hostage taker.
Seems Canada has made the needed moves if Trump pulls one os his usual ploys; just tear up any agreements or treaties his gets his grift laden hands on and wants to demand a renegotiation, or actually a "screw you" deal.
As if Canada wants BGH dairy on their shelves. Canadians have found their own country a more interesting place to travel through rather than New England, the Lakeside States, Nevada or Florida (aka the national petri dish). The US needs more of Canadian national resources and tourism than we need to export. What do our " negotiators", cabinet officials and our ahem, ambassador complain about? Booze! Rich coming from that we now call the LIQUOR CABINET lol.
Carney et al has been quite busy making trade agreements with countries that can be depended upon to uphold their end. Not so with the US.
I've kind of been waiting for Canadian leadership to just say the quiet part out loud. Go ahead, tear up CUSMA, we can survive the almost daily chaotic situation. We have been busy making other arrangements
HARD PASS.
That may do more to get Congress involved, finally, than anything else going on here. The states needing Canadian trade may have to get involved, in a more serious manner; their business community will demand accountability.
This, of course, is a broad look at what are serious needs by both countries. But Canada has been doing much better at making sure their businesses have needed resources and also places to sell their products. What has our leadership been doing? Wine, oops sorry, whine.
There’s definitely a shift happening... no question.
But I’d be careful with the “we don’t need them” angle.
Canada and the U.S. are still deeply tied together...
trade, supply chains, jobs on both sides of the border.
It’s not a clean break situation, no matter how frustrated people are.
What’s changed isn’t dependence overnight…
it’s the awareness of that dependence...
and the push to reduce the risk that comes with it.
That’s the real story here.
Less about walking away…
more about not being cornered.
All so very true. Of course, my comment was overbroad on what our mutual needs really are. And it was somewhat satiric. But the US is becoming less and less reliable on an almost daily basis. We get very little good information on the US end of what CUSMA and other agreements mean for us, but get quite excellent and informed journalism on the work the Canadian government is doing to PROTECT their citizens from an increasingly erratic and dangerous southern neighbor.
Trump is a two bit bully. Canada should (and deserves to) slap him around a few times before sending him home empty handed.