And with threats towards allies abroad and authoritarianism at home, the Trump Administration appears to be emulating some of the more negative aspects of China’s government.
As someone who has long been concerned with the risk posed by China’s authoritarian government, my preference would be to see Canada exclusively deepen trade ties with fellow democracies. Deeper ties with the European Union, Japan, India, the Philippines, Central and South American democracies, and the many rapidly growing democracies in Africa, will be key to Canada’s long-term success.
However, that won’t be enough in the short-term. Given U.S. President Donald Trump’s hostility towards trade with Canada, the Canadian government has little choice but to deepen trade ties with a wide range of partners, including China.
China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, and Western Canada is particularly poised to benefit from deeper trade ties, given China’s demand for oil, canola, beef, and more. This is why Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe went to China with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Trump started this trade conflict, not Canada
As much as I am concerned about the risks of Canada becoming more economically linked to China, I find much of the criticism of the Canadian government on this file to be irrational. Canada has made some good-faith concessions to the United States, and trade between Canada, Mexico, and the United States was working well until the U.S. President imposed tariffs and began openly trying to weaken Canada. And now, Trump is calling CUSMA “irrelevant” and saying the U.S. doesn’t need Canadian products:
“There’s no real advantage to it — it’s irrelevant,” Trump said. “Canada would love it. Canada wants it. They need it.”
“The problem is we don’t need their product. You know, we don’t need cars made in Canada. We don’t need cars made in Mexico. We want to take them here. And that’s what’s happening,”
Carney didn’t say this. The Canadian government didn’t say this. Trump said it.
In this environment, when Canada’s largest trading partner decides that trade with Canada is irrelevant, despite all the evidence to the contrary and despite the good faith concessions made by Canada (lowering certain counter tariffs and rescinding the Digital Services Tax), what is Canada supposed to do?
We can’t simply roll over and accede to whatever Trump demands, since he wants to erase Canadian sovereignty. We can’t sit around and just hope for a deal, since that takes away any agency we have. We have to take action. We have to sign new trade deals and defence partnerships, as the government has done with the European Union, South Korea, and others. And yes, as risky as it may be, we have to try to offset lost Canada-U.S. trade with more Canada-China trade.
And while there are real value concerns here, let’s not pretend we don’t see what’s happening in the United States. Whether it’s Trump’s threats to annex Greenland, his evident admiration for dictators, the use of ICE in Minneapolis, or the relentless bullying of and condescension toward allies, the Trump Administration’s actions increasingly resemble the actions that make so many wary of China. As that ethical gap appears to narrow, the idea that we should put all our eggs in the Canada-U.S. trade basket becomes even weaker.
Spencer Fernando
Image – YouTube
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