Art Of The Fail

Shiny Pony Trump 127 Comments

Conservative Treehouse;

For well over a year Justin from Canada and Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland were confident they could leverage the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, purchased DC politicians and ideological allies against President Trump in NAFTA negotiations. The result? Fail, fail and more fail.

 

Running out of options, Canada now attempts to save their NAFTA construct by turning to the executives within the auto industry  […]

 

Each sequential step in the Trump trade strategy is designed to head-off any counter position by positioning individual best-interests ahead of any defensive group formation.

 

The Canadian and Mexican economy (due to NAFTA) cannot survive without importing cheap durable goods from China to use in their assembly-based economies, and then trans-ship into the U.S market. However, the U.S. economy can survive, it can actually expand BIGLY, without accepting trans-shipped assembled goods from Mexico and Canada

 

Put simply, without NAFTA, the assembly processes just moves INTO the U.S because the market *is* the United States. We are the $20 trillion customer. We hold the leverage.

 

127 Replies to “Art Of The Fail”

  2. ”

    The Canadian and Mexican economy (due to NAFTA) cannot survive without importing cheap durable goods from China to use in their assembly-based economies, and then trans-ship into the U.S market. However, the U.S. economy can survive, it can actually expand BIGLY, without accepting trans-shipped assembled goods from Mexico and Canada”

    Pretty much total horse shit.

    1. You really are a clueless clown, thanks for the laugh at your ineptitude. Get all your “news” from CBC Comrade?…….

      Have you started to comprehend that the US holds all the cards yet?

      1. Can you not comprehend that it doesnt matter what we do president combover ia going to do what he wants?

        It doesnt matter how much sense we make, he has his mind set and that’s it.

        – they have the SAME dairy TRQs
        – they dont pay any dairy tariffs, they just stop shipping once their quota is full
        – they have a HUGE dairy surplus with Canada
        – they have a steel surplus with canada
        – they have an overall surplus with canada
        – China steel is NOT illegally trans shipped through Canada

        Dont you guys get it? Absolutely none of this matters to him, but it should!

        1. “Can you not comprehend that it doesnt matter what we do president combover ia going to do what he wants?”

          Everyone sees the above statement? Good. This is a perfect example of a statement that is 100% exactly wrong. Carry on.

        2. Totally incorrect. Justin and Trump nearly had a deal. Justin screwed it up. I think an apology, rather than trying to score political points at Trumps expense would have been a better strategy.

          1. Bingo!
            Turdo decided to wrestle a defeat from the jaws of victory. This is what happens when chihuahuas suffer from delusions about being rottweilers.

          2. Says who they had a deal? There’s rumblings that Trump offered to waive the 5 year sunset which was ridiculous anyways. That’s small peanuts. If Trump thinks that’s some sort of big deal, it just makes him look even more ridiculous.

        3. The US holds ALL the cards. What don’t YOU understand?

          The US can wipe out the central Canadian economy with little effort. Glad that’s what you want, by defending Juth-tin, the incompetent Freeland and the usual cast of idiots.

          Congrats on your CBC economic view!

          1. I do understand they hold all the cards. I also understand that they can’t seem to be reasoned with. How many allies currently have steel or aluminum tariffs? That says it all.

          2. Ok Allan pay attention, stop bouncing on a dildo with a maple leaf on it and try to focus. PM’s job is to advance Canadian interests. Nothing else. This is international politics, we do not have friends and we have allies only if it suits them to be our allies. We do not have friends, we have interests. Avoiding a trade war with Trump is in our interest. It does not matter if it is in US interest. At all.

            If you think that Trump is a coldly calculating genius thinking five steps ahead, it is PMs job to think six steps ahead. If you think Trump is a deranged sociopath that is looking to pick a fight then you avoid that fight. In either extreme and everywhere in between the winning strategy is not to throw a tantrum and give him an excuse to curb stomp Canada. If sacrificing your political capital is in Canada’s interest, you sacrifice it. Why? Because as PM it is your f^(king duty. As a PM you have no luxury to reach for outcome that will be declared a moral victory by your MSM sycophants (moral victories are just like real victories except for the victory part). You have no luxury to demand others play fair. You have no luxury to play fair yourself. And you are not dealt the cards you wish you were dealt. You play an optimal game given the cards at hand.

            And what will US win or lose in a trade war does not figure in that equation. Anywhere. What matters is achieving the best outcome for Canada. This is how things should be. Instead we have a virtue signaling, ten year old PM with an IQ of a turnip who throws one temper tantrum after another, blows a trade deal with China, picks a fight with Trump and then is rejected by Italy.

            Understood? Yes? No? Well I tried. You’re excused now. Go to the window licked clean by UnMedicated and help him stuff crayons up his nose.

            Yes, yes you can take your maple leaf dildo with you.

          3. Mmmhmmm considering Trump hasn’t given a single trade concession, paints everyone with the same brush, and seems to have a very poor understanding of how trade works, your words ring hollow.

          5. Yes Colonial, you’ve produced too many multi-syllable words for Alla to unnerstand, he’s still got his YouTube Ceeb feed stuck on loop play.
            There’s no logic with Alla, he just regurgitates the Ceeb talking points.
            You’ve spelled it how it is and a PM is supposed to do. Instead, what do we see PM BollyBoy do? Massive subsidization, doubling down on the problem that caused the trade differences in the first place. STU-PID!
            Alla is typical of the anti-Trumpers, in that he still thinks Trump accidentally is worth $10 Billion, repeating to themselves, ad nauseum like Dustin Hoffman’s Rainman, that it just can’t be true.
            Still yearning for Hitlery, Alla? Trump knows trade, he knows business, and yes snowflake, Trump plays HARDBALL! Something that Juth-tin and his SJW pattycake crowd can’t handle.

          6. Ah yes ad hom attacks. A sure sign one has entered a battle of the wits quite unarmed.

        4. China steel is NOT illegally trans shipped through Canada

          The whole point is that it’s NOT illegal. But are you claiming that goods largely made of Chinese steel are not sold into the US market by Canada? I learned today that the price of boat trailers is going up. Whodathunk that all of these boat trailers, and so many other products, were made of Chinese steel. You guys can make steel and aluminum in quantity and no American is going to mind products made from actual Canadian steel.

          2. Which is exactly why picking a fight over steel imports from China at the expense of domestic steel producers is the dumbest thing your boy Turdo could have done. Even you mental slowpoke should have figured that one out.

          3. Who said we are picking a fight? Any PM would do the same thing in defending Canadian industry against unjustified tariffs. Slapping tariffs against us does NOTHING for the China problem!

          4. Turdo said it when he threw a tantrum in front of cameras after Trump got on the plane.

            Again you’re locked into words like “defending” or “unjustified” you mental midget.

            Stop importing Chicom steel if that is what it takes. Trump is forcing our hand, it is either US or Chicoms. We may not like it but likes and dislikes do not matter much.

          5. There is no tantrum, he said canada will maintain the status quo until the tariffs come off. The tantrum happened on air force one.

          6. Ugh ok, open wide, grab your ankles and keep maintaining Turdo’s status quo.

          7. Nope. We love Canada (Turdeau not so much). I buy Canadian over any other country. I notice that one of my tool and fastener suppliers, in addition to labeling some products “Made in USA” also now has some labeled “Made in North America.”

        5. Here’s 2017 steel numbers:
          Us steel imports: 8.1 mmt
          Canada share of imports: 1.6 mmt
          US steel exports: 2.5 mmt.
          exports to Canada: 1.25 mmt.
          Canada runs a goods surplus between $17-90 billion depending how re-exports get figured in.
          This matters to Trump. The trade deficit numbers represent lost jobs. He will bring the jobs back.
          And Trump may not have had it in for Canada but Trudeau ruined any good will there was by posturing for MSM with his inflamed rhetoric. Trudeau & Freeland are dreaming that with the backing of Mexico and the EU in a trade war, together, they can take Trump down politically. This was never about making a trade deal. This was about taking Trump down from day one.

        6. “they dont pay any dairy tariffs, they just stop shipping once their quota is full”
          Oh God. It does not even matter if this statement is factual or not. This sentence should come with its own surgeon general health warning. The sheer bottomless of pure weapons grade stupidity, the eruption from the original big bang of stupid contained in this sentence is mind numbing and prolonged exposure to it can cause brain cancer.

          1. Yet it’s absolutely true. Go look how much LOWER the quota is going the other way. Yes the good ole USA has the exact same communist tariff system.

    2. Alan,

      Think of the Canada-US relationship like and employer-employee one. The Canadian employee (which you are) has this outlandish arrogant undeserved opinion of himself and truly believes that their input is what built the company and without them the company would not exist. This employee complains a lot, doesn’t work very hard, takes far too many days off, and generally does not pull their weight outside of work. The employee of course has no direct financial stake in the game, never really put any assets at risk, and was of course paid in full for services at the time they were rendered.

      The company gets a new boss. The new boss reviews existing employee contract and realizes that the employee is making far too much money for their input. The boss trims the employees wings, cut’s his pay by 10%, but because they are benevolent does not replace the employee with a more productive, gratuitous one.

      So the employee counters in a fit of self-entitled ignorant rage informs the boss that in the future the following, he will invoiced above and beyond the wages for any perceived loss of in wages, will continue to steal toilet paper and take it home, make disparaging comments about the company, cavort with the companies enemies in order to make them look bad, and continue to have his lazy fat illiterate cousin (Quebec) have veto power over the employee’s all the while working at the company for 3x the prevailing wage, and will never financially participate any after work activities that the company pays for.

      Moral of this story is I see a robot in your burger flipping future and if you do not get off that high horse the company will knock you off and make you eat that horse!

    3. Allan, Canada is the little dog that rolls over and shows it’s belly to the bigger dog. I sometimes think that you are delusional or that you just don’t think.

  3. BTW steel tariffs on Canada actually encourages manufacturing in canada and discourages it in the USA. Theres no tariffs on manufactured products. I will give you a perfect example.

    In Selkirk Manitoba theres a large steel mill to the tune of 3 to 4 million tons per year. It runs electric arc furnaces which means recycled steel. It has a long term SUPER CHEAP deal with manitoba hydro for power. Its probably the cheapest mill to operate in north america. It also makes many specialty products.

    Around this mill are several manufacturers of cutting edges for grade blades. They take the steel from the mill and cut it to shape, drill holes, treat and paint.

    Now some of the same steel also goes south to manufacturers of the same product in the midwest. Their cost just went up.

    You know what there isnt a tariff on? Anything manufactured from steel, it only applies to the raw product!

    What do you think will happen here? Even you mental slowpokes here can figure it out.

    1. Americans won’t risk importing that stuff for fear of needing it after new tariffs/NAFTA falls apart.
      Trump and co. Just find the next targets.
      Without the U.S.A. Canada would be worse than a Soviet-era Eastern European country. We’d all be walking around with donkeys looking for something to eat in the ditch.

      2. Sure, just like Canada was before the free trade agreement with the U.S. in 1989.

    2. Trump is matching Trudeau in screwing their respective domestic consumers. “…It defies logic for an American president to punish American consumers in order to prompt Justin Trudeau to be kinder to Canadians….” – Veronique de Rugy
      ( https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/opinion/trump-trade-tariffs-china.html )

      Trump’s fan-base have displaced basic economics with a mercantile mob mentality obsessed with China and “globalism”. His Canadian fan-base are cheering on the potential demise of a significant auto industry as it might soil the idiot Spawn. On trade, the loose cannon populist is like a monkey playing with a hand grenade and unless this is just his deeply disguised negotiating genius at work, it’s going off in his face . Global recessions aren’t healthy.

      1. Just a friendly reminder that “globalism” is in nobody’s interest, except that of a few thousand extremely rich people and their heirs and successors, given them by their Chinese wives. You think being stood up to by Trump is bad? You won’t like living in a vassal state where only Han Chinese settlers get enough to eat.

        More to the point, Trump has no interest in such a state on his northern border. Trudeau has three choices:

        1. Tell his Chinese sponsors to drop dead, put a 100% embargo on Chinese steel effective immediately, and signal his willingness to negotiate a fair trade deal on terms Trump will accept.

        2. Stand aside in favour of someone who will do 1. above.

        3. Goad Trump into sending the Marines north to remove Trudeau from power and replace Canada’s government with something less of a national security threat to the United States.

        Justin’s current strategy is option 3. He’s clearly feeling very lucky indeed. How many people would be happy to be the last to die for tasteless cheese and French on cereal boxes?

        1. What’s so unfair about the current trade deal? The USA enjoys a healthy surplus with Canada overall. Also enjoys a surplus with steel and a huge dairy surplus.

          If anything its Canada that has complaints. Softwood lumber comes to mind. Now steel and aluminum. Theres no reason for any of the above.

          1. alla ASS, this whole thing is about China and their push for global trade dominance, and their military push into the south china sea. It’s that you are too stupid to get that. Bark idiot is all you are!

            Hey alla , can you drive twin stick, or do you even know what that is?

          2. So wtf do tariffs on Canadian bbn produced steel and aluminum have to do with that?

          3. Leverage, Alla, leverage. Juth-tin and the Purple monster didn’t understand it at the table, so, now the Americans are demonstrating what economic leverage really is, to the stupid and incompetent (LIberals, SJWs, etc).

            It seems you feel the pain, but still don’t understand the cause. Learn to understand. The solution is easy.

            Negotiate and make a deal. The US can crush the Liberal economic base. Is it worth it Juth-tin?

          4. “What’s so unfair about the current trade deal?”
            It is not about fairness, even you mental slowpoke should have figured that one out.

          5. All Trump has been saying since before he was elected was how unfair the trade deals are and that the US has been taken advantage of. Last time I checked nobody put a gun to their head to buy things.

          6. “If anything its Canada that has complaints.”

            Then have Trudeau make them. Maybe he can be insulting again while doing so. See how much that helps your economy.

      2. Your first mistake was in thinking this is about Trump and Trudeau.

        1. It’s mostly about Trump. The outcome of the trade folder with every ally he has speaks volumes.

          1. allen, it is obvious by your posts that this discussion is well above your intellectual, and knowledge, level. I have worked with about 20 PHD’s over time, and one of the things that impressed me about them is that most of them could say, “I don’t know”, a quality you do not possess, and that demonstrates your intellectual level, and that ain’t no compliment, idiot!!!!

      3. China subsidizes high tech manufacturing to such an extent that ROI increases with capital intensity. That’s the opposite of how it works everywhere else in the world and it’s strictly illegal under WTO. Trump shouldn’t stop that, before they ruin yet more sectors of US high tech? Sorry, he should, despite the wailing of the economists. He works for the US people.

        I am really surprised at how no Canadian voices have condemned Justin for the extreme discourtesy and treachery he showed Trump personally at the G7, after Trump agreed to a communique that would give a partial victory and concession for Trudeau to show for his efforts. And Trump is the bad guy? Trudeau may have put his self-respect in the dustbin, but the nation shouldn’t follow him.

          1. Trudles has made Canada a cash only customer with his exercise of bad faith. He will have to make pre-emptive concessions as his political position grows ever worse , Which he would not of had to make otherwise. Bad faith matters in any negotiation.

            You are a prize example of my second point – you consider honorable conduct an obstacle to your goals, so you have no use for it. You are the one who’s poorer for it.

      4. The fact is that Turdeau is willing to sacrifice Ontarios auto industry in order to protect Quebecs dairy producers, the result will be the loss of at least 100,000 jobs maybe even more. Most of these job losses will be in Ontario but the Quebec cow sh!t shovelers will be fine.

    3. You can say what you want without calling people names.

      Hasn’t Mommy told you that the name you call people is what you are. Put some fugly shoes on, and no one will notice your pig feet when you go out, that is if you can find a pair big enough like the size of your big mouth.

    4. “What do you think will happen here? ”
      Another tariff? Even you mental slowpoke should have figured that one out.

        1. We know exactly what will happen. Even you mental slowpoke should have figured that one out.

          1. What will happen is the trumpisites will squeal “Canada is doing collusion!” While having NO CLUE what that actually means.

          2. You truly are very productive, pity your productivity matches your imbecility.

          3. Considering how many narratives here I’ve completely annihilated over the past few weeks, I would say production is very high.

          4. When you take a break from annihilating all them narratives run a net search for Dunning-Kruger effect.

    5. And your conclusion is. Bigger picture thinking required. Don’t fight Trump, roll with him.
      Time to get on the winning team, away from the trade whiners.
      Yes our steel industry is innocent. Gold star #2 for you.
      But our overall export industry is not. Our dairy subsidies don’t stack up as fair compared to the US.
      Why doesn’t our dairy industry want to service the US market?
      Autos? Our plunging dollar is taking care of that problem.
      Trudeau involved us in Trump’s trade war with China & Europe.
      We could have benefitted in areas of aerospace and agriculture for example.
      Instead, our boy blunder chose to protect his Quebec constituency.
      Instead we stand to get nuked by an worldwide trade war where US protectionism will be our least concern.
      Then again the Grits win a snap or 2019 election so that’s “what Canadians want.”
      Collectivism incorporated. Modest deficits our course, just giant debt. Sunny days?
      Yes, as your only source of heat.
      Like his father said, if you don’t like it you can shut up.
      The Just(in) Society, where you’re free to say what they think.

  4. Ironic that the guy they need to get in touch with at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Is the one they refuse to make any effort to meet with unless its a photo op.
    But PMSH meeting Bolton at the White House is seen as breaking convention.
    That NATO summit next month should be real interesting.

  5. PM eyeliner and chubby Freeland … are shockingly ignorant and strategically ill-informed. All the wrong moves. The wrong stuff.

    I guess my Canadian neighbors need to hit rock bottom with a thud heard round the world … like when HER glass ceiling shattered and rained shards of glass on HER head. Slicing HER into a million tiny pieces of irrelevant excuses. SHE’s become so small, that nobody cares … at all … what SHE says or does.

    Let’s hope that PM Sockeyebrow an Co. end up in pieces … like HER … like the dismantled-Obama real soon.

  6. The ceremonial groundbreaking for a massive $10 billion Foxconn factory complex in Wisconsin was supposed to be evidence that the manufacturing revival fueled by President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy is well underway.

    What has Canada’s PM Justin Zoolander done for Canada today?

      2. That’s not an accomplishment Comrade. Your hero Trudy just shows he’s adept at spending extravagant amounts of borrowed OPM

    2. He served as an example of the sort of person who should never hold high office in Canada again—if President Trump allows us to keep our independence after he’s finished with Justin.

      1. Calm down. We are not invading Canada. But if you notice pickup trucks with rifle racks massing at the Idaho and Montana border, and they are not the U.S. Army, prepare to overturn Trudeau

  8. You done bought a pipeline to nowhere that will never be built. Why do you think the LPC picked Vancouver and the rabid lefties?

  9. Massive deficits? Check.
    Nationalizing oil? Check
    Controlling the MSM? Check
    Busdriver or drama teacher as leader? Check.
    Incompetent and untrained people in positions of great power? Check
    Ideology before pragmatism? Check

    Trump will soon recognize Canada as a future Venezuela and cut ties, if he hasn’t done so already.

    1. Deficit? 530 billion 8 months in. Insanity. Likely 2 to 3 times higher than Canada per capita.

      Ideology before pragmatism? Trump is the furthest thing from a pragmatist.

      1. I don’t think you understand things very well. You seemed to completely miss the focus of the comment and added nothing of substance. If you wish rag upon a foreign President, find a better context.

        1. Allan missed a simple message. America is the largest market in the world and they are Canada’s largest trading partner. They call the shots whether it ends up costing them more money or not.

          1. When the president has an almost childish understanding of trade, it’s going to hurt us regardless of who our PM is.

      2. I’m not a fan of deficits but I think Trump is playing this beautifully.

        He lets the deficit stay high until near the end of his first term. Vote him in for a second term and he will cut government spending like BIGLY.

        Don’t vote him in and what will the Democrats do with a massive debt and high deficit spending. Cut taxes? No. Increase spending? Tough to do. So they will be a very unpopular government, having to increase taxes and cut spending.

        The recent star to ascend into the Democratic party is the nice lady (sounds Mexican) from New York. She wants to increase taxes, provide free education, free health care and a guaranteed minimum income for all people in the USA. And she wants to increase immigration, especially from her lovely country of Mexico (which I quite like myself). She wants an impossible dream.

        If people like her get elected in 2020 the USA is toast. Most likely Trump will get re-elected. He will cut spending and eventually leave office with a much lower trade deficit. Canada could have been spared if Trudeau wasn’t such a petulant fool.

        1. Steve, the democrats have already said if elected they would definitely raise taxes…
          Looks like their platform is going to be raise taxes, open borders. and global warming…
          Hillary for president…..

          1. Doesn’t sound like a winning formula. But the new heir could be Cortez, born of immigrant parents from Puerto Rico. That economy is doing nicely I hear…

        2. “… if Trudeau wasn’t such a petulant fool.”

          Whoa, whoa…THAT’S asking a little too much!

        3. She wants an impossible dream
          No, she wants power, she is selling an impossible dream: FREE STUFF!

  10. The only difference between the radicals who now speak for Liberal$ and Obama / Trudeau is that Obama/ Trudeau understood that they needed to hide who they really are to get elected.

    They need the low information, moderate Liberal to win, and this voter will not support open borders, no laws and community policing, aggressive environmental taxation and the other pillars of the modern progressive movement.

    Their beliefs and philosophy are exactly the same.

  12. I surely don’t know why PM Ass-Grabber didn’t just elbow Trump and tell him to get the fuk outta his way. I mean, does he only reserve that talk and action for female house of commoners?

  13. Sundance is an astute observer of the politics involved but economically he is utterly illiterate.

    Is there a single poster on SDA who primarily earns his living trans-shipping any goods through Canada with little value added? No, of course not because for the most part they already have lower tarrifs than we do.

    Maybe someone somewhere is doing that sort of thing with Cuban cigars or something obscure like that but his entire premise of the NAFTA situation is a total fail.

  14. Christia Fraudland is going to give a speech in Hamilton tomorrow, outlining how they are going to buy votes, er, compensate steel companies for the tariffs.

  15. Please read this, then continue your discussions. It’s one of the best accounts and explanations as to why the steel/aluminum tariffs are important. It’s not about a slight from the Canadian PM. It’s not about Trump throwing a tantrum. Learn how Trump operates. He formulates a plan with an actual goal, then looks for a way to institute it. Sometimes foreign PM’s make it easy. It’s about National Security and shaking up the market so something new evolves. http://thehill.com/opinion/international/390375-us-steel-and-aluminum-tariffs-the-right-move-at-the-right-time

  16. Many of those commenting here are acting like PM DressUp .. all emotion and not much logic.
    Trump is acting on behalf of the US as he said he would prior to being elected , and one of the sticking points (that Sundance made) , along with Chinese steel and aluminum , is the volume of Chinese car parts being used in cars assembled in Canada , which would only increase if TPP was ratified.

    Data from 2014
    https://www.statista.com/statistics/555696/canadian-auto-parts-imports-from-china-by-product/

  17. Allan S has made some points above which warrant further examination, IMO, and therefore ought not be dismissed out of hand, and with personal invective, as has been done in some cases above.

    He undermines his own argument a bit, however, by reference to softwood lumber, as a sort of “last refuge” (Conservative Treehouse — pardon the pun) for Canada’s case. Softwood lumber has been a subject of contention between the two countries for at least 40 years, by my recollection. The U.S., by my read, has never really accepted the system of stumpage fees (crown royalties) by which we operate: as I understand it, the Americans view the charges as below-market rent/compensation for land and other resource (the trees) utilization (akin to the subsidies paid to Bombardier, etc. in the aircraft manufacturing industry). In both cases, the U.S. Commerce Department has, from time to time, attempted to apply countervailing duties to “level the playing field”, in its view.

    As I recall, it was the softwood lumber issue that led Mulroney to conclude that an over-arching dispute settlement mechanism, within a comprehensive Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, was necessary to “download” the management of these sorts of disputes, which are extremely disruptive to the Canadian economy and political system (as we are now witnessing, again), from the federal cabinet. The dispute settlement mechanism has, more often than not, ruled in Canada’s favour. Why precisely the U.S. agreed to, and acquiesced in, all of this is not clear to me, although Ronald Reagan did campaign in 1980 on the need for North American free trade. And whatever the rationale was, it clearly does not hold sway, now, with the Trump administration. So, I don’t think that softwood lumber is a great last hill to defend.

    What bothers me more, however, as is implied in the article, is the obsequiousness of the Canadian negotiating position, which somehow thought that it would be wise to try to pull an end-run around/stonewall Trump, to wit:

    – aligning Canada’s interests with those of Mexico, rather than with those of the neighbouring U.S. states (the situation with Mexico is fraught, and we had no business getting involved in it);

    – introducing completely irrelevant notions of political correctness (gender equality, environmental issues, etc.) into the negotiations;

    – providing absolutely nothing innovative on the supply management issue (there are many options available, all of which portend great opportunities on the Canadian side; indeed, it appears to me that the Americans even put forward a few, to no avail);

    – and, according to the article, attempting to deal with anybody of a decidedly secondary nature, who might be able to undermine the U.S. administration’s position.

    All of these items (the latter, in particular) fly in the face of the Trudeau government’s statement on U.S. election night, 2016, that it was prepared to work with the new Trump administration.

    Not just sure what Stephen Harper is doing/going to do at the White House, but I’m guessing he didn’t just call up ol’ John Bolton, and say, “Let’s get together, and have a chat for old time’s sake.”

    1. He’s there to confirm the obvious. Justin is, at best, an trust-fund baby in far over his head, controlled by people who don’t have the best interest of the nation at heart, to put it mildly. The Donald Trump the MSM warned you about, basically.

      What might he suggest? That an adult conversation with Justin is impossible, so the US should put any serious discussion of a bilateral trade deal to replace NAFTA on the backburner till Canadian voters come to their senses and drive Trudeau from Rideau Cottage (and preferably put the Liberal Party out of business at the federal level).

      1. I think it may be an effort by the Americans to find an adust Canadain to discuss what’s wrong with the little androgynous twit that the ‘stupid sector’ of Canada elected PM

        Further …
        “We are the $20 trillion customer. We hold the leverage.”
        After all the upcoming job losses coupled with massive tax increases, massive (alleged) refugee entrants … there won’t be much of the 20 trillion in the hands of the middle-class consumers/citizens/tax-slaves and absolutely zero for the poor.

        I miss Harper and I love Trump. He is setting an example for the rest of us to follow. Can we get up on our hind legs or moo?

  18. Re harper going to White House, Prime Minister surprised,says CBC.
    The air head is surprised by sunrise and sunset every single day.If awake at those times
    Or “Has milk is scientist” Quantum guy…unaware of reality at any time..

    What is Harper doing?
    Harper Coup?
    Harper loses all hope of just muddling through by his replacement?
    Stephen has been most careful to obey the forms til now,why the slap ?
    Great opportunity to pay the liberals back in kind.
    Think of all the scary rumours you can build on this,make CBC freak out.

    Extreme Ult Right x prime minister attempts to bypass elected incompetents…..

    1. I think it’s being blown way out of proportion. Steve is smart, he knows where the red line lies.

    2. Harper will come back with info on what the real deal is re NAFTA and solving the impasse. He can share that info with Scheer. I am sure Justin will be too busy (har) and too snooty to be interested.

      1. Could be: Andrew has been a privy councillor since September of last year, so it’s possible that he and Mr. Harper could share information on a certain level.

        You don’t suppose that Mr. Harper was sent there, or asked there, do you?

  19. How we got into this trade war….A to Z.

    Back in March the USA applied tariffs on some steel exporters. Australia, Brazil and South Korea had completed trade agreements with the U.S. and were exempted . Canada, the EU and Mexico were given more time to deal with the issue. The EU said they we’re not playing while under threat of tariffs. Trudeau/Freeland were aware but had other priorities.

    NAFTA talks stalled in late May (who is to blame?) so on May 31 the US put the steel tariffs in place against Canada, Mexico and the EU. Wilbur Ross US Secretary of Commerce explained why the tariffs had to be applied on the three countries: “The reason it has to be a global solution is if you just looked at the raw data, you wouldn’t think China is a problem for the U.S. because what they have been doing is masking their exports to us by shipping them through other countries.

    A few days later, the EU announced that they will take action to deal with the Chinese steel dumping and apply their own tariffs similar to what Trump did.

    This week it leaked out that ” The Canadian government is preparing new measures to prevent a potential flood of steel imports from global producers seeking to avoid U.S. Tariffs…:said the people, asking not to be identified because the matter isn’t public.” “The moves follow similar “safeguard” measures being considered by the European Union aimed at warding off steel that might otherwise have been sent to the U.S.” (Bloomberg)
    This confirms what Wilbur Ross said.

    EU said they weren’t going to deal under the threat of tariffs. So Trump stopped threatening and put the tariffs on.
    After the US put the tariffs on, Trudeau ratcheted up the rhetoric and is slapping the USA with counter tariffs on Canada day.

    2. There is no ratcheting up the rhetoric, the counter tariffs are a logical response to unjustified tariffs.

      1. Yes perfectly logical for those with room temperature IQ and delusions of grandeur.

        1. Yes, we should have just told the Americans they were wrong, then everything would be OK.

          Delusional cherry pickers not seeing the forest for the trees.

          Taking us all down with them for a few bumps in the polls.

          Can’t wait for Trudeau’s standing up for carbon taxaction against ON Premier Ford.

          Can you say 905 belt? Or is that a giant sucking sound?

      2. “unjustified” says who? The Senate Finance Committee? the WTO? some NAFTA tribunal?
        Remember to check in when the ruling comes out.
        Meanwhile enjoy your trade war & remember to buy US$ before the loonie goes to 60.

          1. Actually everyone with a brain knows that justice has nothing to do with international trade Drax.

          2. Trump followed the recommendations of a report prepared by the US Department of Commerce.
            It’s available online. It doesn’t matter what you think or Trudeau thinks or Freeland thinks. By US law, Trump is empowered to act on those recommendations.
            If Trudeau & Freeland don’t like it they can appeal to the WTO. And until the WTO makes its ruling, by your reasoning, the RETALIATORY counter tariffs by Trudeau are just as ILLEGAL.
            BUT all along Trudeau/Freeland virtue signal how they are for upholding the world trade order when they do the exact opposite.

  20. Harper being in the news re the White House visit, Five Eyes, is a bittersweet reminder that we once had an adult as PM — and a particularly capable one. So sad what Canada has become under Liberal mismanagement.

    1. Mr Harper may run again under a new party. You never know. I wouldn’t blame him.

  21. Next thing you know, Turdeau, Butts, and the rest of the stooges will unleash their double-secret plan…… entitled “Pull My Finger”.
    Like watching a trainwreck.

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