The Many Faces of US Politics...

[J70]

The market response looks to have backed him down on the tariffs. He didn't need tariffs to get the Mexican national guard on the border in 2019, neither did Biden in 2021. I guess it's good that Trudeau agreed to do appoint a "czar" to stop the suitcase full of fentanyl that crosses the northern border each year.

[RedHand88]

The market response looks to have backed him down on the tariffs. He didn't need tariffs to get the Mexican national guard on the border in 2019, neither did Biden in 2021. I guess it's good that Trudeau agreed to do appoint a "czar" to stop the suitcase full of fentanyl that crosses the northern border each year.

Was it not Mexico and Canada giving in that backed him down (for a month anyway)?

[J70]

The market response looks to have backed him down on the tariffs. He didn't need tariffs to get the Mexican national guard on the border in 2019, neither did Biden in 2021. I guess it's good that Trudeau agreed to do appoint a "czar" to stop the suitcase full of fentanyl that crosses the northern border each year.

Was it not Mexico and Canada giving in that backed him down (for a month anyway)?

By beefing up border security a little? It took tariffs and counter tariffs and riling up the markets and Canadians to achieve that??

He must have something extremely impressive up his sleeve if he's going to annex Greenland from the Danes.

[Gabriel_Hurl]

Canada announced they'd be beefing up the border security in mid-December - nothing has changed there.

[thewobbler]

The market response looks to have backed him down on the tariffs. He didn't need tariffs to get the Mexican national guard on the border in 2019, neither did Biden in 2021. I guess it's good that Trudeau agreed to do appoint a "czar" to stop the suitcase full of fentanyl that crosses the northern border each year.

Was it not Mexico and Canada giving in that backed him down (for a month anyway)?

No this was one of those rare occasions when neoliberalism worked in the common man's favour. The markets told Trump and his cronies that this policy was going to cost them personal wealth, and he backed away.

[RedHand88]

Canada announced they'd be beefing up the border security in mid-December - nothing has changed there.

Was this not after Trump as president-elect threatened the tariffs in December?
Trump met Trudeau at the time and this came out of it.

[marty34]

I don't think tarifs work..in the long term.

[Milltown Row2]

I think Trump has it in for China, be interesting to see this stand off between them both over the next 4 years

[J70]

Canada announced they'd be beefing up the border security in mid-December - nothing has changed there.

Was this not after Trump as president-elect threatened the tariffs in December?
Trump met Trudeau at the time and this came out of it.

If that's the case, then how exactly did Trudeau, and not Trump, back down?

[RedHand88]

Canada announced they'd be beefing up the border security in mid-December - nothing has changed there.

Was this not after Trump as president-elect threatened the tariffs in December?
Trump met Trudeau at the time and this came out of it.

If that's the case, then how exactly did Trudeau, and not Trump, back down?

By committing 1.3 billion to border security? Hasn't Trump got what he wanted here? I think he's a cretin, but people who refuse to see that this stunt has worked are just bitter.

I also saw someone belittle the fact that a suitcase of fentanyl crosses the Canadian border every year.

2 milligram of that crap is all it takes to kill someone without an opioid tolerance. You can work out the math on that.

[Milltown Row2]

Canada announced they'd be beefing up the border security in mid-December - nothing has changed there.

Was this not after Trump as president-elect threatened the tariffs in December?
Trump met Trudeau at the time and this came out of it.

If that's the case, then how exactly did Trudeau, and not Trump, back down?

By committing 1.3 billion to border security? Hasn't Trump got what he wanted here? I think he's a cretin, but people who refuse to see that this stunt has worked are just bitter.

I also saw someone belittle the fact that a suitcase of fentanyl crosses the Canadian border every year.

2 milligram of that crap is all it takes to kill someone without an opioid tolerance. You can work out the math on that.

If you think reducing that stuff coming into the USA will save lives then you are mad. If its not fentanyl, it'll be something else and so on. Get to the reason why they are taking the drugs and solve that first

[Captain Scarlet]

Your head would be spinning trying to keep up with all the goings on.

Like USaid being shut down. Tariffs galore. Whatever about the other 2, will China back down?

[HiMucker]

Canada announced they'd be beefing up the border security in mid-December - nothing has changed there.

Was this not after Trump as president-elect threatened the tariffs in December?
Trump met Trudeau at the time and this came out of it.

If that's the case, then how exactly did Trudeau, and not Trump, back down?

By committing 1.3 billion to border security? Hasn't Trump got what he wanted here? I think he's a cretin, but people who refuse to see that this stunt has worked are just bitter.

I also saw someone belittle the fact that a suitcase of fentanyl crosses the Canadian border every year.

2 milligram of that crap is all it takes to kill someone without an opioid tolerance. You can work out the math on that.

I didn't read that comment as belittling it. I thought it was more to the point that regardless of how much border security you have, it would be difficult to make a dent in something that equates to one suitcase size wise over an entire year. Like it wouldn't take many people to take small amounts on as hand luggage to equate to that, and unless there is intel or security is extremely lucky, its very unlikely that it would be detected.

[J70]

Canada announced they'd be beefing up the border security in mid-December - nothing has changed there.

Was this not after Trump as president-elect threatened the tariffs in December?
Trump met Trudeau at the time and this came out of it.

If that's the case, then how exactly did Trudeau, and not Trump, back down?

By committing 1.3 billion to border security? Hasn't Trump got what he wanted here? I think he's a cretin, but people who refuse to see that this stunt has worked are just bitter.

I also saw someone belittle the fact that a suitcase of fentanyl crosses the Canadian border every year.

2 milligram of that crap is all it takes to kill someone without an opioid tolerance. You can work out the math on that.

It was me who made the comment on the suitcase of fentanyl. A tiny proportion of the total comes in through the Canadian border in minuscule amounts, and amounts to less in total than some of the individual airports, never mind the southwestern border. And as you correctly pointed out before, Trudeau had already committed the money, while Trump himself "committed" to stopping the flow of guns out of the US.

If tariff threats worked for this relatively minor concession, what's he going to use next time he wants something?

Will anyone believe he has the resolve?

Meanwhile the muskrats are hard at work accessing everyone's personal information and deciding who and what gets already Congressionally approved payments, based on the whims of the unelected Elon Musk.

One wonders if the likes of Starlink and SpaceX and Tesla will be adversely affected by this "oversight "?

[J70]

WSJ editors:


Trump Blinks on North American Tariffs

The President pauses after minor concessions from Canada and Mexico.

President Trump never admits a mistake, but he often changes his mind. That's the best way to read his decision Monday to pause his 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada after minor concessions from each country.

Mr. Trump claimed victory, as he always does. He pointed to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's decision to deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to the U.S. border to fight drug trafficking, especially in fentanyl.

Ms. Sheinbaum in her morning statement said "we had a good conversation with President Trump with great respect for our relationship and sovereignty." She added that Mr. Trump "committed to working to prevent the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico." The two sides will continue negotiating on "security and trade," and Mr. Trump agreed to pause the tariffs for a month.

Equity markets responded with relief, recovering from steep opening losses and declines in Asia and Europe, though the Nasdaq still fell 1.2% on the day. We're glad to see the two sides step back from an immediate and mutually harmful trade war.

But there's much less to this tariff truce than meets the eye. Mr. Trump won an announcement of help at the border, though what the Mexican troops will actually do to fight the cartels trafficking drugs isn't clear. Drug enforcement is a hardy perennial in U.S.-Mexican relations, and
Mexico has promised help before, notably during the presidencies of Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto.

As for immigration, Ms. Sheinbaum has already essentially agreed to cooperate on restoring the Remain in Mexico policy for migrants who reach the Mexico-U.S. border. Illegal border crossings have also been falling fast as Mr. Trump has sent a signal that illegal migrants won't be allowed to stay in the U.S.

Later Monday, Mr. Trump paused his tariffs against Canada as well after a phone call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Canada is also deploying more law enforcement to the U.S. border and will appoint a "Fentanyl Czar," among other enforcement promises.

If the North American leaders need to cheer about a minor deal so they all claim victory, that's better for everyone. The need is especially important for Mr. Trump given how much he has boasted that his tariffs are a fool-proof diplomatic weapon against friend or foe. Mr. Trump can't afford to look like the guy who lost. Ms. Sheinbaum in particular seems to recognize this, and so far she's playing her Trump cards with skill.

None of this means the tariffs are some genius power play, as the Trump media chorus is boasting. The 25% border tax could return in a month if Mr. Trump is in the wrong mood, or if he doesn't like something the foreign leaders have said or done. It also isn't clear what Mr. Trump really wants his tariffs to achieve. Are they about reducing the flow of fentanyl, or is his real goal to rewrite the North American trade deal he signed in his first term? If it's the latter, there's more political volatility ahead.

Mr. Trump's weekend tariff broadside against a pair of neighbors has opened a new era of economic policy uncertainty that won't calm down until the President does. As we warned many times before Election Day, this is the biggest economic risk of Donald Trump's second term.