Friends, I'm not crazy about Trump's tariffs against Canada and Mexico, in themselves, but my guess is that they are part and parcel of a broad strategy to realign America's relationship with a host of international "partners" in a way that is more respectful of the interests and sovereignty of the USA. That I can live with, and in fact such an effort is long overdue. And that's the subject of my latest article:
Trump Drops the Hammer on America's
Fair-Weather Friends
President Trump's
shock and awe tactics against Democrats and the Deep State appear to
be bearing fruit, but equally impressive has been his strong,
unapologetic stance vis-à-vis other countries, allies and
adversaries alike.
Setting
the tone in a dramatic way, Trump wasted no time in responding to the
refusal of Colombia's socialist president to receive a planeload of
deportees. Trump threatened harsh, escalating tariffs as well as
other sanctions and penalties, and the Colombian government caved
almost instantly.
Score one for Trump and Trumpism!
In
the days and weeks ahead, a higher stakes battle will play out with
the two countries that are, in many respects, our most important
allies, neighbors, and trade partners: Canada and Mexico. Trump
promised on the campaign trail to raise tariffs on a host of
countries, including his bête noire:
China. But why target seemingly harmless Canada and Mexico,
specifically? He says it's because both are failing to control the
flow of illegal
migrants and fetanyl
across our common borders. He also says that Canada and Mexico don't
play fair in terms of trade, and thus they maintain large trade
surpluses
with the U.S. and drive American companies out of business.
Neither of these
justifications is completely off-base, but the problem is that they
are very different from one other, and Trump has set down no clear
metrics for how Canada and Mexico (or any other country) can avoid
tariffs. How much progress has to be made at the border before Trump
will rescind his tariffs? How much must Canada and Mexico's trade
surpluses be reduced before Trump's ire abates? Are these tariffs,
fundamentally, retaliatory, or are they part of a protectionist
philosophy that aims to revive American manufacturing, agriculture,
and energy production? The answers to these questions, even for
Trump's most wholehearted supporters, are obscure, but could this be
intentional on Trump's part?
Many analysts
believe that the purpose of these tariffs is not to restrict North
American trade on a permanent basis, but to prove Trump's seriousness
to the likes of Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and Mexican President
Sheinbaum. Trump may be angling for substantial concessions from
Canada and Mexico, on border enforcement, trade policy, and other
issues, that a more conventional American administration would never
even dream of asking for. Whether these stiff tariffs would need to
remain in place for a day, a week, a month, or a year in order to
bring the necessary pressure to bear and make Canada and Mexico crack
is hard to say, but the gravity with which these actions are viewed
in Ottawa and Mexico City in undeniable. “Business as usual” is
frankly no longer an option in North America, whether U.S., Canadian,
and Mexican elites like it or not.
And this is why
the long-term impact of Trump's international strength/intransigence
(depending on your perspective) could be revolutionary: by bending
our closest neighbors and erstwhile friends to our will, we will send
a message to the entire world that no longer is the United States of
America a nation to be trifled with. No longer will we subsidize the
defense of half the world without expecting anything in return. No
longer will we open up our own markets to all comers, while foreign
governments and their corporate allies conspire to freeze out
American products and seize control of whole industries. Certainly,
no longer will the U.S. accept an unlimited number of migrants in the
guise of “refugees” from the four corners of the earth.
Imagine,
then, how much easier it will be for President Trump and Secretary of
State Rubio to negotiate with China, and Europe, and Russia, and
Iran, and North Korea, and countless other nations, friend and foe
alike, when the new administration has proven its mettle in a
miniature “trade war” with Canada and Mexico. Why, if they aren't
already, the Panamanians
and the Danes
must be quaking in their boots!
The smart money
says that the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico aren't really about
Canada and Mexico at all – they're about transplanting a spine into
America itself, which, under President Biden, so conspicuously lacked
one. Thanks to President Trump, the USA is no longer a nation to be
taken for granted, derided, and abused. For the 77 million people who
voted for Trump, all they can say is: “It's about time!”
Dr.
Nicholas L. Waddy is an Associate Professor of History at SUNY Alfred
and blogs at: www.waddyisright.com.
He appears on the Newsmakers show on WLEA/WYSL.
And here it is at World Net Daily:
https://www.wnd.com/2025/02/trump-drops-the-hammer-on-americas-fair-weather-friends/
***
In other news, there's an argument to be made that Trump's approach to Colombia, Canada, and Mexico is redolent of the consciously erratic and blustering negotiating style of President Nixon. In other words, Trump is in esteemed company!
https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/david-shribman/2025/02/02/shribman-madman-theory-trump-nixon/stories/202502020041
The dastardly Dems are electing new leaders, and so far it's hard to read the tea leaves and ascertain what shape the Democratic Party is going to take in the next four years. "Attack Trump!" is the easy choice, and I'm sure the Dems will do plenty of that, but the evidence is that those relentless assaults based on TDS have proved counterproductive. What else have they got in their playbook? We shall see.
https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/ken-martin-democratic-national-committee-chair-dnc-rcna190219
https://www.breitbart.com/2nd-amendment/2025/02/02/david-hogg-elected-vice-chair-dnc-after-gun-control-message-fails-resonate-young-voters/
Vice-President Vance continues to hold out hope that the U.S. will end up in control of Greenland, as do I! The real question is why the U.S. didn't secure possession of Greenland decades ago, when the Cold War was raging and the Arctic was a key theater in our incipient conflict with the Soviets.
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2025/02/02/vance-u-s-could-control-greenland-even-if-europeans-scream-at-us/
