Why Trump’s New Tariff Is Bigger Than Canada | Diving In
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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President Trump just hit Canada with a new set of tariffs in their big 50%. Look, this is a big deal. He's sending a message to every other country watching. They're waiting for the next round of the global trade war. The message is simple. It's not actually about Canada. It's this. It's if you retaliate, your trade deal may not save you. Canada was just the first one to find that out. So yes, this is a story about a 50% tariff on Canadian goods. We'll get into that. But it's also a story about whether executive power can be used this way, about America's place in the world, about whether we... the United States is capable of coming to terms with and living up to a trade agreement and about what the White House may be trying to signal to every other trading partner right now.
Fundamentally, it's a story about the future of our economy. Now, it matters for American families because ultimately what the president's doing is imposing taxes on Americans. He's imposing taxes on Americans who buy stuff from Canada. Another way of saying you, you are paying these taxes. It also matters for Canada. My rough Insta analysis, and it's very quick and dirty, says this is a much bigger deal than the president's most recent volleys in our on-again, off-again trade war with our nearest neighbor. And it matters for the rest of the world and our relationship with the rest of that global economy because the next round of the trade war, it's just around the corner. Okay, so what actually happened?
Yesterday, that was July 20, the White House posted three proclamations using what's called Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. And if you've never heard of it before, don't worry. It was on no one's bingo card. This was a very surprising legal theory. Each one of these proclamations slaps an extra 50% tariff on a different list of Canadian goods. And those tariffs, they're set to come into effect in a month's time, given the president and his on-again, off-again nature of all of this. When he says something's going to happen in 30 days' time, that either means it will happen in 30 days' time or it won't happen in 30 days' time. or there'll be a lot of drama between now and 30 days' time. Take your pick.
These disputes, they have these labels. They're officially over motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages, and dairy.
What happened when the White House announced 50% tariffs on Canadian goods?
Look, there's going to be a lot of ink spilled over these disputes. And you might ask, what is our real beef with Canadian dairy, booze, and cars? Let me save you the time. The dispute over dairy and booze, they're economically tiny. They barely matter for the US economy at all. The motor vehicle thing, it's a bit bigger, but it's really about Canada having retaliated in response to Trump's trade war. So he tried tariffs. They sent a few back and the president's upset about that. Look, there's really not much here to these particular complaints other than a desire to punch Canada dressed up in a novel legal theory. But this punch, this set of punches is different. The White House says that these tariffs hit the listed goods, whether or not they qualify under our existing free trade agreement with Canada.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–3:25
2
What happened when the White House announced 50% tariffs on Canadian goods?
3:25–10:40
3
How did the administration use Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to justify tariffs?
10:40–14:29
4
Which Canadian sectors (cars, dairy, alcohol) are targeted and why does that matter?
14:29–18:40
5
How does this move bypass the USMCA free trade protections?
18:40–31:32
Speakers
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