The Trump American Economic Apex Aggression Against Canada

Canadians and Americans are extremely close in regards to migration, immigration, history, multicultural, sociopolitically, and linguistically.

Every year, there are over 11 million Americans that travel to Canada to visit friends and family. And, every year there are over 13 million Canadians that travel to the USA to visit family and friends.

There are approximately 1 million Canadians that live in the USA. And, there are approximately 1 million Americans that live in Canada.


The apex aggression represents an intensified and heightened expression of strategic dominance where the state puts in play all the available power, geopolitics, finance, and military force that may be disposed with a view to compelling one's will. It is what is done by an empire when at its very height: this is the masterly, imperious assertion that functions in a most overt, covert manner.

When that aggressiveness is economic, financial pressure becomes a tool of subjugation, weakening, or outright enslavement. Even Canada has not been immune, despite its history as the United States' closest ally sociopolitically, economically, and militarily.

For decades, Canada has been America's largest trading ally, a partner intertwined within the very fabric of North American commerce. But even allies can fall prey to the weight of American economic hegemony. The U.S. has used tariffs strategically not just as tools of protection for its industries but as ways of resource extraction, coercion, and political leverage against its northern neighbour.

During the first term of Trump's presidency, in March 2018, imperialistic "king Trump" imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum, invoking national security under Section 232. The pretext was flimsy, Canada was no enemy but a long-standing ally. Trump's real motivation was economic hegemonic dominance hidden in the language of protectionism.

The effects were not only immediate but also severe. North American supply chains, particularly in the auto sector, reeled from this disruption, given that Canadian steel and aluminum are important to the production of such items. Canada lashed back with $12.6 billion in counter-tariffs targeting politically sensitive industries in the U.S. American farmers, who had already grown weak due to trade tensions with China, saw more barriers ahead. American businesses reliant upon buyers north of the border saw their costs rise and profits shrink.

But, of course, retaliation could only go so far. Canada was resilient, yet couldn't match the economic firepower of its southern neighbour.

More obvious, however, was the balance of power between negotiating partners in the recent USMCA trade negotiations. The Americans waved their tariff guns as bargaining chips, strong-arming Canada into economic concessions. Canadian dairy exports took a direct hit while the U.S. muscled its way into greater access to Canada's protected dairy sector. Meanwhile, new, more onerous auto manufacturing rules compelled Canada to comply with tough new labour and sourcing regulations in favour of U.S. manufacturers.

Canada, a country of free trade, individual and collective collaboration culture, was painted into a corner. The economic aggression had very real-life impacts. American tariffs on Canadian goods, most notably, lumber and steel had backfired and increased costs on U.S. companies and consumers. The Canadian counter-tariffs were painful to the U.S. farmers, whiskey producers, and small businesses, but not of a scale that would be needed to balance out the economic harm. As a result, the trust between the two nations started to erode, after which Canada began seeking supplementary trade relationships with the European Union and Asian markets in order to reduce its heavy reliance on the U.S.

At the root, these economic aggressions are not isolated incidents but symptoms of Trump's U.S. economic hegemony in North America, a deeply entrenched power imbalance. The U.S. economy, the dominant force in North America, exerts an almost gravitational pull over Canada. As PM Pierre Trudeau said, "Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt." The reliance on American trade leaves Canada vulnerable, an economic hostage to shifting U.S. politics and policies.

Washington says it uses trade policy to save American jobs and protect American workers. But time after time, these tariffs and trade barriers prove themselves as mechanisms of strategic blackmail, a means to maintain Canada in economic lockstep with American interests. The "protectionist" mask hides a calculated power play in which America hegemony dictates economic coercion that Canada is supposed to obey.

As history has shown, the economic battlefield is ever evolving. The lessons of the past tariff wars hint at a number of possibilities for the future. Past successes with tariff threats will sustain the U.S. to use similar tactics in any future disputes. Knowing that this economy is very vulnerable, Canada needs to deepen its ties with Europe, China, and other global partners to reduce American hegemony negatively affecting Canadians standard of living. Labour rights, energy policy, and agricultural exports have continued to be contentious issues that will ensure U.S. and Canada economic tensions do not disappear anytime soon.

While most would never believe it, Canada has weathered economic storms. While the hegemonic influence wielded by the "king Trump" U.S. government with confidence continues, Canada remains resilient, acting strategically and in adaptive ways unwilling to bow down without a fight.

The way ahead may be strewn with pitfalls, but if history has taught us Canadians anything, it is that Canada is extremely resilient, and don't forget Canadians are the most college educated people in the world.

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