— Musings —04.21.2017 09:57 AM
Trump calls Canada a “disgrace”
Here. Good thing we’ve been sucking up to him and his kids, eh? Yep. Sure is working.
President Donald Trump has called protectionist trade measures by the Canadian government “a disgrace.”
“Canada, what they’ve done to our dairy farm workers, it’s a disgrace,” Mr Trump said on Thursday in the Oval Office.
The statement was part of larger comments on American trade deals that Mr Trump made while signing an executive order on steel imports.
“We’re not going to let Canada take advantage [of the U.S.],” Trump told the group of reporters, claiming Canadian policies had hurt US timber and lumber jobs as well.
The claims echo sentiments Mr Trump expressed this week in Wisconsin, addressing employees of Snap-on Tools at a signing for the “Buy American and Hire American” Executive order.
“In Canada, some very unfair things have happened to our dairy farmers and others, and we’re going to strategy working on that,” Mr Trump said in prepared remarks. He called the current arrangement a “one-sided deal,” and vowed to “work on it immediately.”
I hope we have been close to and backing Mexico in these moves by the elephant on the continent. For some time it has looked like the Trump admin wants to deal with other unilaterally, figuring they can get more from others that way.I notice Mexico is emphasizing other outlets, especially in South America. We could do that as well. Good to have alternatives in the back pocket when bargaining!
Gotcha. So you’re okay with your country being called a “disgrace?”
Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me.
There are no dairy farmers in Canada whose net worth is under $1M. They will be fine no matter what Trump does.
An idiot saying something stupid isn’t something to get worked up about.
Consider the source.
Trump’s calling supply management a disgrace. And he’s right on this one point, it _is_ a disgrace.
But so is most of the rest of Trump’s trade policy, and that’s based on thinking much the same as what was involved in setting up supply management — protectionism and a desire for autarky.
Pierre Trudeau. Third Option. That was back in the early 70s. We could have concentrated on reducing trade dependence on the US.
Scot,
That guy is playing us for chumps. It’s up to the PM whether we actually are chumps…
Come on Scot. That guy is telegraphing very precisely what the art of the deal means for Trump. In short, Trump always wins at the expense of the other guy. It’s his intimidation technique and we are in for it, just like Mexico.
That’s why Trudeau has to fight him every step of the way on softwood, energy and other crucial issues such as build and buy American.
Quebec separatist farmers demand that Canada protects them from Trump.
You can farm separatists?
Nice generalization.
Warren,
Having to deal with a serially dyspeptic White House has been largely unheard of, until now. A cautious Prime Minister would be bouncing some things off Harper, to get valuable feedback from a leader who saw pretty much everything during his term of office.
Maybe its a bit “editorial discretion” on the part of The Independent, but Trump look horrible in that photo.
“The U.S. has a $400-million dairy surplus with Canada so it’s not Canada that’s the challenge here,” Trudeau said Thursday, adding many other countries subsidizes agriculture. “Let’s not pretend we’re in a global free market when it comes to agriculture.”
That’s the quote in yesterday’s Globe. When I analyze that, I’d say our Prime Minister is defending our position, while avoiding getting involved in cheap shots and hyperbole. Justin Trudeau is nobody’s fool.
Getting involved at Trump’s level would be akin to fighting with a pig. Everyone gets dirty. The pig loves it. So mostly it it not recommended.
Thanks Tim, best comment I have seen so far on this subject.
As usual, Trump has no idea what the f–k he’s talking about.
The problems facing Wisconsin dairy farmers are entirely the state of Wisconsin’s doing. They’ve convinced the dairy farmers they will supply the world and encouraged the farmers to expand their operations. They did, and are now producing so much milk, the market is literally flooded. There are more dairy cows in the state of Wisconsin than there are in all of Canada.
Multiple reports from the federal Department of Agriculture repeatedly confirmed that Canada is not the issue here.
Something I’ve noticed about Trump – He seems to change his opinions on a given topic based on the opinions of the last person he talked to.
Agree with that last paragraph. It is outright scary.
As opposed to the Americans who profess to be free traders yet subsidize their industry by dumping billions into Farm Bills that get passed by Congress? Get ready for the Canadian government to subsidize Canadian farmers in a similar fashion is supply management is dismantled.
Any proof to support your claim that Western Canadian competition would wipe out the Eastern Canadian sector? This is the first I hear of this claim.
The supply managed sector is not directly subsidized by the government. Supply management simply ensures farmers receive a consistent price for their products as opposed to the American system where farmers sell for less than it costs them to produce their products resulting in direct bailouts by the government via Farm Bills. How many billions has the U.S. government put into Farm Bills over the last 20 years to support a sector they claim they do not subsidize?
I suppose you are also ok with the billions it will cost the federal government to compensate farmers for the quotas they obtained by legitimate means, whether you agree with supply management or not? I do not agree with much of what Steven Blaney has to say but he was bang on when he attacked Maxime Bernier for ignoring that point.
Actually the Minister of Agriculture has been clear in voicing his support for the sector. You
Warren,
If you don’t follow Roy Cohn’s game plan and tactics, you don’t have Trump’s respect, much less his interest in seriously considering your valid arguments.