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Articles on Tariffs

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In this November 2017 photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepare to shake their hands after a joint news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The China-U.S. trade conflict is about far more than trade; it’s about American efforts to change how China deals with the world. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

The China-U.S. conflict is about much more than trade

The recent U.S. trade mission to China failed, allowing no space for future compromise. What follows will likely be much more than a simple trade war.
China hopes to make more microprocessor chips in China, which makes it a great industry to lead a boycott. AP Photo

Boycott China and avoid a trade war

If companies in key industries collectively shunned the Chinese market, that would force China’s leaders to take notice, with less risk of blowback.
A furnace at Dalian Special Steel Co. Ltd. in China’s Liaoning province. Reuters

How transshipment may undercut Trump’s tariffs

This speed read explores why it’s hard to stop manufacturers in specific countries from dodging trade barriers by pretending that their goods come from somewhere else.
Stacks of used clothing are seen in this African warehouse. The U.S. is retaliating against countries that are restricting the import of American used clothing, a marginal industry for the U.S. but a critical one for some African nations. (Shutterstock)

America’s petty policy on used clothes for Africa

The top U.S. foreign policy goals in Africa evidently no longer relate to human rights or democratic freedoms, but to protecting tiny, marginal American industries.
In this November 2017 photo, U.S. President Donald Trump talks to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The brewing China-U.S. trade conflict features two leaders who have expressed friendship but are equally determined to pursue their nation’s interests. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Why China should have chosen honesty in its U.S. trade war

“Honesty is the best policy” is hardly a hallmark of the Trump régime, so China would have been smart to pursue a more honest, less manipulative path in its simmering trade war with the U.S.
A farmer harvest his soybean field in Loami, Ill. AP Photo/Seth Perlman

Why China’s soybean tariffs matter

There’s a good reason China took aim at US soybean exports when it announced its latest list of retaliatory tariffs.
Donald Trump doesn’t liked to be reined in, which is why he has such a problem with trade deals like NAFTA. (The Associated Press)

New NAFTA or no NAFTA? How Trump’s ire could affect Canadian agri-food

Part of the purpose of trade deals is to prevent politicians from inserting politics into matters of commerce. Donald Trump is bucking that trend. What does it mean for Canada and NAFTA?
Foreign goods wait to be unloaded at the Port of Los Angeles. AP Photo/Nick Ut

What is a tariff? An economist explains

A global trade war seems well underway as China and the US exchange targeted tariff attacks. An economist explains what they are, how they work and why they matter.
Former U.S. president Richard Nixon is seen here with Pierre Trudeau in Ottawa in 1972. Nixon was bitterly opposed to Canada’s Auto Pact moves 50 years ago, saying Canada had cheated at the expense of American jobs and investment. He refused calls to exempt Canada from an import surcharge. (THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Why Canada shouldn’t always count on special treatment from the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump has exempted Canada, for now, from hefty tariffs on steel. An increase in defence spending would likely stand Canada in greater stead with the president.
Bush, seen here in 2006, revoked his steel tariffs less than two years after imposing them in 2002. Reuters/Jason Reed

George W. Bush tried steel tariffs. It didn’t work

President Trump slapped steep tariffs on steel imports, echoing protectionist measures taken by Bush in 2002.
A welder fabricates a steel structure at an iron works facility in Ottawa on March 5, 2018. U.S.President Donald Trump’s stated intention to impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could start a trade war. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Canada can’t win a trade war with the United States

Ottawa seems utterly unprepared for a trade war with the United States. The recent federal budget upholding equity values is noble, but won’t mean a thing if the government runs out of cash.

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