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OPINION

Canada is a trading nation, it is the country’s life blood. The trading history goes back to Europeans trading goods with Indigenous people for beaver pelts in what is now Canada nearly 400 years ago.

Trade with the United States - by and large - has gone rather smoothly over the years. The two nations share one of the world's largest bilateral trade relationships, with agreements aimed at promoting free trade and market access going back to 1855.

During the 1930s and 1940s, several more bilateral trade agreements reduced tariffs and opened markets for both nations. In 1965, the two countries agreed to eliminate all tariffs on automobiles and parts.

The Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA) eliminated more tariffs and reduced non-tariff barriers in 1989…a warm-up to the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement replaced and improved upon NAFTA in 2020. Everyone - for the most part - was happy.

(DON THOMPSON / iNFOnews.ca)

Then came Trump…whose favourite thing in the world is revenge…who decided to make people everywhere suffer by imposing tariffs on just about everything from about anywhere. Not even barren islands devoid of life except for penguins, some seals and birds escaped his wrath.

No two nations share a longer border than Canada and the U.S. It has been a friendly coexistence…except for the invasion of Quebec in 1775 and the War of 1812. Nothing Trump has done…and continues to do…indicates the two nations are allies.

We all knew Trump’s barrage of tariffs - triggered by an economic advisor unqualified to teach the subject in most universities - would cause damage to Canada’s and everyone else’s economies…even the U.S. No Nobel Prize needed to make that assessment.

But last week, Canadians got their first verifiable statistics on what Trump’s tariffs are doing to our nation.

In March, Canada posted a $2.3 billion merchandise trade deficit…in April it ballooned to $7.1billion…a record. The figures for May might be another record.

Canada’s overall exports fell 10.8 per cent to $60.4 billion in April, primarily driven by a 17.4 percent drop in motor vehicles and parts, and a 15.4 percent drop in consumer goods exports.

While exports to other countries rose 2.9 percent, that doesn’t take up the slack lost in trading with the U.S. Public opinion in the U.S. is turning against Trump’s tariff policies, and eventually Trump will cave…he and Republicans already will pay a price at mid-term elections.

Canada is suffering…but it shouldn’t cave to Trump’s wacky interests. Invest in the future…because Canada will prosper…maybe even more than the U.S. Much of how people respond to economic pressures…like unbalanced tariffs…is psychological.

We will do well to not fall into the trap Trump has laid…putting off investment…stagnating. That’s what Trump and Republicans want…don’t give in to the bully.

Trump hiked U.S. duties on steel and aluminum imports last Wednesday…up from 25 percent to 50 percent. Those higher tariffs pose threats to Canada's steel plants and manufacturing sector. Canada should increase its tariffs, as well. But beyond that…Canada must have the heart to fight the bully. Not fighting really isn’t an option.

Yes, it hurts, but it will hurt more if Canadians don’t pull together…and rather than wait for someone else to decide when things will be better. Carry on Canada and make it better.

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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