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President Trump had one large query on his thoughts as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney headed to Washington final week.
“I very a lot wish to work with him, however can’t perceive one easy TRUTH,” Mr. Trump mentioned in a social media post, reiterating a number of of the way he believes Canada advantages unfairly from its commerce relationship with United States.
The president additionally repeated his incorrect declare that america is “subsidizing” Canada to the tune of $200 billion, alluding to the nation’s trade deficit with Canada, which is the worth of what america imports minus its exports.
Actually, the commerce deficit final 12 months was $63.3 billion, based on U.S. information. And if Canada’s power exports have been stripped out, it turns right into a commerce surplus.
For Mr. Trump, all of it boils down to at least one level: does america want Canada?
Mr. Trump’s resounding reply is not any, and he has imposed tariffs on many Canadian items.
“We don’t want their Automobiles, we don’t want their Power, we don’t want their Lumber, we don’t want ANYTHING they’ve, apart from their friendship,” he mentioned within the social media publish.
However trade teams and authorities say in a different way.
The U.S. wants Canada to make vehicles
The auto industries in Canada and america have turn out to be extremely interconnected during the last three many years — particularly between Detroit, Mich., and Windsor, Ontario, the busiest industrial crossing alongside the border — because the international locations knocked down commerce limitations.
So intertwined are the availability chains that automobile elements can cross the border as many as eight instances throughout the manufacturing course of. That has made it troublesome to outline what constitutes an auto import.
In 2023, america imported about 1.24 million automobiles from Canada, the fourth-highest tally behind Mexico, Japan and South Korea.
The U.S. wants Canada’s power
America is the world’s prime oil producer, however lots of its refineries rely partially on heavy crude oil, a spread that Canada focuses on extracting. Retooling U.S. refineries to eliminate the need for crude oil would cost billions and corporations are usually not keen to make these investments, particularly due to the uncertainty over Mr. Trump’s commerce insurance policies.
Sixty % of the crude oil imported from america in 2022 got here from Canada, based on the U.S. Power Info Administration.
In addition to oil, Canada, in 2023, provided almost 100% of the pure gasoline and 85 % of {the electrical} power imported by america, based on Canada’s power regulator. Canadian electrical energy is very vital to powering New England.
Canada additionally extra gives greater than one-fourth of the uranium america imports to run nuclear reactors, federal data reveals, a better share than some other nation.
The U.S. wants Canada’s lumber
Howard Lutnick, the U.S. commerce secretary, is investigating whether or not lumber imports are a threat to national security.
In 2021, the latest 12 months figures have been obtainable, america bought $28 billion value of lumber from Canada, representing almost half of lumber imports.
American trade teams have estimated that the tariffs on lumber that Mr. Trump has launched will improve residence prices by a median of about $9,000.
For now, america lumber trade can’t meet the demand from residence builders, based on a latest analysis by Fastmarkets, a analysis firm, and it will take the nation no less than 10 years to whittle down its want for imported lumber.
U.S. farmers want Canada to plant their crops
Farmers kicking off the planting season this 12 months have been reminded of the U.S. agriculture trade’s reliance on Canadian imports of key chemical elements utilized in fertilizer, just like the potassium-rich minerals referred to as potash.
America imports 85 % of its potash from Canada, which is the world’s largest exporter of the minerals.
However Mr. Trump’s tariffs on Canada will make potash costlier for farmers to import and the will increase might be handed right down to grocery retailer consumers, based on the Fertilizer Institute, a U.S. trade group. The subsequent largest world exporters of potash are Russia and Belarus.
Trump says the U.S. wants Canada’s friendship. Many Canadians say neglect about it.
The normally heat relationship between the 2 international locations is in tatters, with Canada invoking a defensive tactic utilized in hockey — “elbows up” — as its posture towards Mr. Trump’s financial assaults and threats to make Canada a U.S. state.
Canadians have taken to boycotting American-made products and shirking summer season journey to america, with the variety of flights scheduled to the nation from Canada down by 21 %, a New York Times analysis shows.
A unusual image of the international locations’ particular bond has additionally suffered. America has restricted Canadian entry to the Haskell Free Library and Opera Home, a historic web site that straddles the border between Quebec and Vermont. American officers mentioned the transfer was essential to cease “drug traffickers and smugglers.”
Regardless of the frosty relations, Mr. Carney and Mr. Trump had a cordial change in entrance of reports media cameras within the Oval Workplace final week.
Mr. Trump s described his “love” for Canada and need for continued friendship. Nonetheless he repeated his need for Canada to turn out to be a part of america.
Mr. Carney rapidly pushed again to clarify that his nation was not on the market.
Mr. Trump didn’t relent: “By no means say by no means!”
