Madden Mischief

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney may have unwittingly created a new expression for going off your rocker.

This is when he announced whopping retaliatory tariffs against products of its closest, most powerful ally, the United States which for the Canadian economy is nothing short of nutty.

Trump officials have repeatedly expressed frustration that Canada is the only nation besides China to retaliate for Trump’s tariffs.

Unlike other longtime U.S. partners, Carney has come off as one of the few world leaders cuckoo enough to stand up to Trump’s demands.  Wisely, the European Union and Britain have both cut deals with the administration in the face of Trump’s tariff trigonometry.

Canada crazily struck back at its neighbor on Tuesday announcing new tariffs of up to 50 percent on hundreds of American goods exacerbating a trade war between the two longtime allies that has been simmering since President Trump began his second term.

Beginning Sept. 8, Canada will double its tariffs on American steel and aluminum from 25 percent to 50 percent and will impose tariffs ranging from 15 percent to 50 percent on about 700 other products, including fish, milk and food products, plywood, plastics, aluminum foil, appliances, agricultural equipment, motorcycles and electronics.

The move as presented by careless Carney came in response to the imposition last week of 50 percent U.S. tariffs on about $20 billion in Canadian goods, including whisky, dairy products, toys, clothing and hockey sticks.

After talks in Washington to avert those levies unexpectedly collapsed, Carney promised that Canada would retaliate “dollar for dollar.”

“You’re at war when you’re attacked, and we got attacked,” he told Canadians on Saturday. “We’re going to hit back.”

Meanwhile, the no nonsense President Trump spent Tuesday morning targeting Canada in a series of social media posts complaining “Canada has been ‘Ripping Off’ the U.S.A. for decades.”

“I deal with many countries, and Canada is easily the most difficult and unreasonable,” wrote Trump. “They feel entitled, but they are not a State and will be entitled no longer!”

Trump was also posting about Canada on Monday, when he threatened a new round of higher tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts and steel to take effect Jan. 1.

The U.S. tariffs reportedly had applied to just 5 percent of the $382 billion in Canadian goods that the U.S. imported last year, and Canada’s retaliatory tariffs impact around 6 percent of the $333 billion in U.S. goods exported to Canada. But the two economies remain top trading partners.

Tom Madden has a fondness for catchy expressions which is why he named his blog Madden Mischief and the first of his many books Spin Man.  Often, he sees humor as a safety valve needed to relieve pressure and right now, he feels the U.S. and Canada have too much in common to get into a prolonged trade war that won’t be helpful for either of their economies.