In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie sits down with Philip Luck, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies economics programme, and Bruegel’s Ignacio García Bercero and Jacob Funk Kirkegaard to discuss the trade war between the United States and Canada. As the US announces import bans on various Canadian products, this podcast explores how Washington and Ottawa got to this point. What will happen next, and what will be the spillovers for Europe? The European Union has a strong free trade agreement with Canada and is discussing further integration in areas like digital policy. Will Mark Carney’s scheduled September visit to Strasbourg move the dial? What will be the impact on Canada’s internal economy, not to mention the EU single market? Will the EU and Canada move closer to establishing a coalition in support of rules-based trade? And how will the upcoming US November mid-term elections affect – or not – what happens next in the trade wars?Relevant research: Luck, P. (2026) ‘Elbows Up: Economic Coercion and U.S. Border Labor Markets in the 2025 Trade War’, SRRN Luck, P. (2026) ‘Elbows Up: The Price of Economic Coercion Against Canada’, Analysis, Center for Strategic and International Studies García Bercero, I. (2026) ‘An EU strategy in the wake of the United States Supreme Court tariffs ruling’, First Glance, Bruegel García Bercero, I. (2026) ‘Defining the new strategic direction for European Union trade policy’, First Glance, Bruegel Kirkegaard, J. (2026) ‘Europe Is Stuck With America’, Opinion piece, Foreign Affairs Christie, R. (2026) ‘Stuck in the Middle Again’, Opinion piece, Internationale Politik Quarterly

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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