And this is how tariffs should work - not targeting the whole countries randomly but protecting the local industries and jobs instead against unfair competition. Good job Canada!
Protecting local industries a.k.a. pandering to special interests. Sectoral tariffs are just as corrupt and pernicious when Trump levies them on Canadian steel and cars, as when Canada levies them on other countries’ steel and cars.
Just so long as Carney the Coward retaliates against Trump as well for the tariff increase.
I had not heard this nickname before and am generally not fond of giving politicians silly nicknames, but if the shoe fits ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Why? Why is Canada engaging in a trade war started by the states, for their own selfish reasons? I swear Trump is just a Psy-op for a much broader plan.
Chinese steel is cheaper than Canadian steel, even in Canada. Since Canadian steel is being targeted by tariffs in America, we need to make sure that as many Canadian companies as possible are using Canadian steel in order to make up for lost revenue on orders that were cancelled or were expected but are now economically impractical.
The practice is called protectionism and is an important tool when two countries have vastly different trade circumstances, such as when one can cheaply manufacture and ship products globally and another cannot. A good external example of this is the protectionism of Ghanaian oranges in order to stimulate the local industry.
Chinese steel is cheaper than Canadian steel… Canadian steel is being targeted by tariffs in America, we need to make sure that as many Canadian companies as possible are using Canadian steel
This makes no logical sense. When Canadian steel are priced out of the US by tariffs, the supply available for domestic use goes up, which would normally cause the price to fall, already automatically reducing the price advantage of Chinese steel.
Basically, this is a convoluted way to keep steel prices high, to the detriment of Canadian manufacturers that use steel.
First of all, supply and demand is not a concept bound by natural law, like physics or something. It’s a framework of understanding, not a hard and fast rule. For example, let’s say I’m selling something. It costs me $5 to produce each one and I sell them for $8 each.
A foreign producer comes along and sells the exact same item for $5 each because it costs them $2 to make. Now the market is flooded with this product, but mine cannot be sold for $5 or less (since it would be sold for either no profit or at a loss), so there is direct financial incentive to buy the foreign product.
By adding a tariff, the price of the foreign product becomes higher, artificially driving demand of the domestic product, the price of which generally cannot be lowered without damaging local industry. You can see this in retail markets as well with stores like Walmart and Dollarama, who price other stores out of the market due to their unbeatable prices, which are the result of Chinese manufacturing infrastructure and subsidies.
There is much less flexibility in pricing in heavy industries like steel manufacturing compared to retail, so it doesn’t really make sense for prices to fall significantly enough for Canadian companies to be able to compete with a manufacturing powerhouse like China.
Canada’s economy has never been about using our resources, it’s been about trying to find ways to sell resources to others, so that they can make products and sell those products back to us.
And us applying tariffs on China is almost entirely about US interests, not Canadian. Just look at EVs, and how we block Chinese EVs to protect US auto makers, under the guise of a “Canadian industry” that doesn’t exist. Doug managed to screw the entire country out of cheap, high quality EVs by trotting out an “Arrow” vapourware car that was only ever intended to be used to prove to US/international auto makers that Canada can make the various components that go in to an EV – ie. a fancy brochure / proof of concept to try and suck up to US car makers.
And how do the USA tariffs lower the costs of producing Canadian steel? If the costs are the same, but the prices drop, then the production becomes less profitable or even at loss. How this would help Canadian industry when the steel production is forced to stop? Other countries have already lost their production capabilities similar way, it is natural that Canada tries to be more careful.
Fascinating, thank you for the insight.
China has been dumping cheap steel on the global markets. It’s been hurting the steel companies in many countries.
It makes sense for Canada to preserve its steel industry, economics aside.
Carney is (no surprise) a FUCKING HUGE disappointment and liar. Said he would fund the CBC, instead he’s cutting it - and Via Rail too. Utter complete bullshit. A one term PM and he can fuck off back to wherever he came from.
Problem is, we get pp then…
I don’t think he’s gonna last through the by-election and the leadership renew. He’s not exactly a winning candidate.
Ye gods I hope not
Is there a remind me bot here?
This should have happened immediately after fraudulent steel was discovered in one of the USA’s submarines, but it’s still great to see we’re finally moving on the issue!
