There was a collective sigh of relief Monday afternoon, after word came down from the Prime Minister, there is a 30 day reprieve on Donald Trump’s tariffs.
That put Canada’s plan to retaliate with tariffs on billions of dollars of US goods on hold, at least for now. The White House put a hold on tariffs on Mexican products as well, earlier in the day. In both cases, Canada and Mexico agreed to spend millions of dollars putting more boots on the ground at its border with the US. The prime minister announced an around the clock border surveillance, including the use of helicopters and the appointment of a fentanyl czar. President Trump said from the beginning, this is about curtailing the flow of illegal drugs from both Canada and Mexico into his country, although in the case of Canada, there seems to be more emphasis on trade than drugs. For years, the president has had Canada’s supply managed industries like dairy in his sites and that’s not likely to change.
So what should Canada focus on over the next 30 days? The one issue that seems to be floating to the top is one that I’ve talked about on this show for years, breaking down inter-provincial trade barriers. If you can point to one positive thing from all this turmoil over the past 3 months since Trump was re-elected, is that it’s putting a spotlight on some of the archaic rules still governing trade, or lack of it, between provinces.
Click here to see more...